On March 31st, 2014, from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm, the Oak Bay Police and the RCMP Marine Section assisted Transport Canada with Phase 1 of the removal of non-compliant moorage buoys and vessels from the Oak Bay Marina Bay area.

In total, 5 non-compliant moorage buoys were seized on Monday, two of which had derelict boats attached to them. These boats were removed as well. One of the five private buoys was returned to the water when the owner showed up with the appropriate material to make the buoy compliant under the Canada Shipping Act guidelines for private buoys.

Five other moorage buoys with attached vessels were also identified in the vicinity of the Oak Bay Marina and marked for future enforcement efforts. These were not removed today due to space and capacity limitations on the barge. All seized buoys and both boats were photographed and plotted on a GPS to be added to the project database. Owners of the seized boats have 30 days to contact Transport Canada should they wish to attempt to retrieve their vessels on a cost-recovery basis. A local marine recovery specialist, Rooke Marine Towing was utilized during this project for removal of the buoys and vessels.

Further patrols of the surrounding marine environment adjacent to the Oak Bay waterfront was undertaken later the same day and several dozen other non-compliant moorages and some semi-derelict vessels were observed. Additional investigation and follow up will be done on these buoys and boats, and will be addressed during phase 2 of this on-going project later this spring.

Further information with regard to the guidelines and specifications for private moorage buoys can be found at https://www.tc.gc.ca/Publications/en/TP14799/PDF/HR/TP14799E.pdf