Dear Vancouver Port Authority,
I am writing as a Vancouver resident and the owner of a licensed Canadian fishing vessel to address the significant challenges related to mooring and anchoring within the Port of Vancouver.
Your website states:
“The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is an arm’s-length federal agency responsible for the shared stewardship of the lands and waters that make up the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest port. Our mandate, as outlined in the Canada Marine Act, is to enable Canada’s trade objectives on behalf of all Canadians, ensuring goods are moved safely through the Port of Vancouver, while protecting the environment and considering local communities.”
I am concerned that you have overlooked entire segments of the marine community and that this has caused hardship and harmed families that rely on access to safe harbour to live, work, and participate in recreation. Many Metro Vancouver residents struggle to access boating infrastructure they need on the mainland’s south coast. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority controls or governs much of the critical infrastructure that resident marine communities rely on for commerce, recreation, and habitation, and needs to assure the livelihoods of people who rely on Port of Vancouver in their daily lives are not put in jeopardy because these people are missed in community considerations.
For example, many fishers who live in Metro Vancouver can not access moorage in the region. Their commercial fishing boats are repeatedly denied moorage at fishing harbours despite repeated requests.
Steveston HA and False Creek HA have denied moorage at their fishing docks to my DFO licensed commercial fishing vessel, citing space constraints. A simple inspection of both facilities reveals that many docked vessels are inoperable and likely uninsurable. Fishers also cite the fishing harbours in BC are repurposing docks from fish boat storage to highly-lucrative transient moorage for visiting vessels.
Vessels denied dock space have no choice but to anchor or relocate further afield, increasing risk and costs. For commercial Vessels, this is passed on to the consumer – sometimes rendering a business venture non-viable.
This practice specifically negatively impacts Metro-Vancouver resident vessels, since only local vessels rely on long term moorage in the region.
Because vessels without dock allocation depend on anchoring, the Designated Anchorage Areas that are increasingly constraining access to safe anchorages in the region are making it increasingly difficult to anchor a vessel in the region.
The encroachment on previously-available resource or mooring spaces on existing docks and at anchorages is permitted by DFO, TC, and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Few measures have been taken to address docks occupied by numerous derelict vessels. Steveston HA has initiated a number of legal cases to address this, but there has been no discernable improvement in years.
The presence of inactive fishing and other vessels, including pleasure crafts—a situation that has persisted for decades under these organizations’ oversight—prevents access to dock space and increases the fees that dock operators charge desperate vessel owners.
Additionally, local measures are restricting anchorage opportunities in safe harbors for vessels under 100 feet.
Notably, enforcement in False Creek by the Vancouver Police Department appears overly stringent, given the absence of supporting municipal bylaws. Similar restrictions have been implemented in Port Moody, the District of North Vancouver, and Bowen Island, under the DAA program, where designated anchorage areas displace vessels from the few safe anchorages available to mariners within the boundaries of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
The scarcity of storage options across Metro Vancouver and Howe Sound is increasingly problematic and has reached a crisis level. This issue is exacerbated by municipal encroachments into federal waters, driven by local residential preferences, which the Vancouver Port Authority seems unprepared to manage effectively by balancing landside preferences with the existential need for safe storage of mariners affected by a lack of suitable infrastructure.
It is essential for the Port of Vancouver to address this.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority also needs to communicate clearly about current and future anchorage constraints and to outline strategic plans aimed at supporting the marine sector. It is critical that Vancouver’s boating community be considered in strategic planning and that adequate infrastructure be provided for commercial and recreational marine users of Vancouver Harbour waters, as well as the commercial services and manufacturing sectors that support them. All are vital segments of the local marine economy and community, and these communities deserve meaningful engagement by the Vancouver Port Authority. It has been consistently disappointing that stakeholder engagement has missed the voice of vessel owners who live on their vessels, those who store their vessels at anchor due to a lack of adequate infrastructure, and small commercial vessel operators not backed by large fishing processors or business associations.
Addressing the lack of mooring spaces and growing encroachment on historic anchorages on the south coast is crucial for these communities.
As the Port of Vancouver continuously grows and adapts to support its core mission of supporting maritime commerce, the needs of all stakeholders must be considered. Please ensure to not only support current marine industry participants but also to ensure that Metro Vancouver remains a vibrant hub for coastal maritime activities and commerce.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Morgane Oger
I will post a copy of this letter to my blog below.
https://morganeoger.ca
Morgane Oger 
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