How often must we hear from people who have bought property fronting on public beach complaining that the public are on ‘their’ beach?
What about some facts instead of gossip and how about leaving people’s racial origin out of the equation?
We are all immigrants, including the Japanese oyster and the manilla clam that are so popular.
They are both Asians that were brought here in the 1930s by a Dr. Quail.
Having had 40 years of experience with beach mariculture and the energy to go to the beach to do some test digs this week, I can reliably report that the Qualicum beaches I checked out are very healthy and a person can actually rake a 75 clam limit of little necks and manillas in just under five minutes.
No geoducks though, since they don’t grow there and never have. Try horse clams instead.
People have been getting ‘free lunch’ from these beaches for thousands of years and why on earth would we pass a law to prevent ourselves and our great grandchildren from doing so in the future, based on no facts at all?
One-sided reporting which supports self-serving gossip is just not good enough.
If council actually supported this without investigation they should be embarrassed at the very least.
Why would “locals” have any more right to a Canadian beach than any other licence holder?
If you don’t harvest seafood, fine, just don’t pass laws to prevent others from enjoying this pleasure. Some enforcement is always necessary but creating another expensive bureaucracy will not loosen any purse strings for enforcement.
Jim Pepper
Parksville