Abandoned boats left high and dry on west coast as funding cuts deepen
Officials say the ended program removed 223 vessels, while B.C. communities face cleanup costs of up to $50,000 per boat.
- Transport Canada confirmed in a May 29 email that the federal Abandoned Boats Program , launched in 2017 with a $6.4 million investment, will not be renewed and no further funding is available.
- Derelict vessels pose serious environmental risks, with a 2025 House of Commons Standing Committee report warning that aging boats leach toxins like heavy metals into marine environments, poisoning traditional food harvesting areas.
- British Columbia currently lists 935 wrecked or abandoned vessels, including 175 aging fishing boats, with disposal costs often ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per vessel, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada .
- Rugged Coast Research Society, which previously removed 65 vessels from B.C. communities, now faces a funding gap as its provincial support program is closed and disposal costs remain prohibitively high.
- Proposed legislation, the Clean Coasts Act , aims to amend the Wrecked, Abandoned and Hazardous Vessels Act to hold polluters legally liable for marine dumping, though the bill remains under consideration by the standing committee.
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Abandoned boats left high and dry on west coast as funding cuts deepen
Tofino, B.C. – Down the dock of broken dreams lies a fleet of old fishing boats that are the end of their life—and there’s next to no money left in federal or provincial coffers to do anything with them. The federal Abandoned Boats Program (ABP), which was launched in 2017 with an initial investment of $6.4 million, was not renewed. “There is no more funding for ABP at this time,” said Transport Canada in a May 29 email. The program disposed of …
Abandoned boats left high and dry on west coast as funding cuts deepen - Tofino/Ucluelet Westerly News
Tofino, B.C. – Down the dock of broken dreams lies a fleet of old fishing boats that are the end of their life—and there’s next to no money left in federal or provincial coffers to do anything with them. The federal Abandoned Boats Program (ABP), which was launched in 2017 with an initial investment of $6.4 million, was not renewed. “There is no more funding for ABP at this time,” said Transport Canada in a May 29 email. The program disposed of …
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