Whereas Canada is home to 20 percent of the worlds fresh water, and the spread of aquatic invasive species AIS poses irreparable environmental, social and economic threats that will cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars in lost tourism and economic opportunities, and other unknown costs; And whereas the spread of AIS is largely connected to human activity, including the unsafe transport of watercraft and floatplanes between bodies of water; And whereas current government efforts through fines for failing to stop at a BC watercraft inspection station, there is a lack of specific provincial or federal regulation and enforcement that is directed at watercraft owners who fail to prevent the spread of AIS by cleaning, draining, and drying their watercraft before transport: Therefore be it resolved that the provincial and federal governments adopt increased and stricter enforcement measures for watercraft and floatplane owners including the introduction of a significant fine for watercraft and floatplane owners that fail to clean, drain and dry their watercraft or floatplane before transporting it to another body of water and an increase in the fine issued to motorists who fail to stop and a watercraft inspection station.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy Watercraft Government continues to deliver the Invasive Mussel Defence Program and work with partners. Ongoing feedback and recommendations are taken into consideration as part of the programs annual review process. The Ministry recognizes that pull the plug legislation, making it mandatory for boaters to clean, drain, and dry their watercraft, has been successfully implemented in other jurisdictions and this is something under active consideration. The fine for motorists who fail to stop at a watercraft inspection station in BC is 345 and the Ministry is not currently looking to increase this fine amount. Higher fines are unlikely to result in increased compliance as repeat offenders are not common. Floatplanes The potential risk that floatplanes may pose as pathway for the transport of aquatic invasive species is largely unknown. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force are undertaking a project to assess the risk of spreading aquatic invasive species via the seaplane pathway and develop measures to mitigate this risk. The results from this work will help inform future actions in BC.