Big Tub Harbour Citizen’s Committee

Parks Canda arranged mediated discussions between the concerned residents (namely the Big Tub Harbour Citizen's Committee) and the tour boat operators. These discussions resulted in only increased frustration with no progress towards a viable management plan to address concerns. The following was written by the Big Tub Harbour Citizen's Committee (with some minor edits by myself) following these discussions to convey their views and concludes with a proposed solution.

The Big Tub Harbour Citizen's Committee (BTHCC) is a committee that was formed in 2010 whose primary purpose is to represent the interests and concerns of the property owners located around Big Tub Harbour in Tobermory.

Concerns were raised by the BTHCC resulting from increasing numbers and size of tour boats entering the harbor during the summer months. The BTHCC understands that Tobermory and the surrounding area are heavily reliant on tourism and wants to encourage the industry, however they are concerned that the increasing number of tour boats are detrimentally impacting the natural and social environment, and degrading the shipwrecks.

In 1987 Parks Canada initiated the process to form Fathom Five National Park. During that process concern was expressed about the resulting impacts of increased tourism. Potential impacts identified included degradation of the natural environment and the loss of use and enjoyment of the waterfront due to increased boat traffic in Big Tub Harbour. Additionally, the BTHCC is concerned about traffic causing silting in the shallow waters at the end of the harbour. 

The Provincial-Federal agreement (negotiated when the Fathom Five National Park was established) guaranteed buffering from development and increased tourism would be taken into consideration. In late 1991 an operational plan for Big Tub Harbour was drafted and it reiterated to residents the rights to privacy. The shoreline residents were also promised ongoing monitoring of the harbour to ensure that the increasing use of the harbour by tour boats did not result in any environmental degradation. 

 The Parks Superintendent at that time was Mr. Bob Day who in the Parks Response to Public Comments-February 1991-was adamant that prop wash was an ongoing problem and this led to the environmental study that was conducted in 1993/1994. The 1991 Operational Plan also recognized that there were dangerous conflicts between the dive boat and tour boat operators and it set out separate hours of operation for these two stakeholders for that reason.

Unfortunately Parks Canada has deviated from its original discussions and the Big Tub Harbour residents are observing an increase in tour boat traffic. Currently there are over 1000 tour boat excursions per season, which is not a trivial impact. The BTHCC are concerned that their use and enjoyment of the waterfront is becoming increasingly diminished. Properties in the area are becoming much less desirable resulting in decrease in property values. Area residents who rent out their properties are finding it more difficult to rent during the tour boat season. The BTHCC members at the west end of the harbour have observed a noticeable increase in silting problems and are concerned that this is due to prop wash. 

Furthermore, the BTHCC feels that the concerns it raises are being trivialized to support the tour boat operators. The BTHCC members are concerned that tour boat operators are refusing to change their operating and scheduling procedures because it is not convenient for them. Environmental concerns are being dismissed while tour boat traffic increases and remains uncontrolled, with many of the tour boat excursions entering the harbour at less than 50% capacity.

Unfortunately, the disconnect between the BTHCC, tour boat operators and Parks Canada is leading to increasing anger and frustration. Maintaining the status quo or worse, increasing the number of sparsely occupied boat seats coming in to the harbour is not a viable solution, nor does it protect the
environment for future generations. 

The BTHCC recommends that Parks Canada charge a fee of $10 for every boat seat per trip. This would result in tour boats being filled closer to capacity and may result in a reduction in the number of boat trips. It would generate revenue for Parks Canada to conduct the environmental investigations necessary to determine what measures are required to protect Big
Tub Harbour. The BTHCC will consider any solution that takes their concerns into account.