SMALL SHIP TOUR OPERATORS ASSOCIATION / SIMON AGER
The Small Ship Tour Operators Association of BC (SSTOA) is comprised of seven Canadian owned and operated, small-ship based travel companies: Bluewater Adventures, Maple Leaf Adventures, Mothership Adventures, Ocean Adventures, Ocean Light II Adventures, Outer Shores Expeditions and Pacific Yellowfin. Each specializes in providing niche wilderness travel experiences for small groups of 6-24 passengers along the British Columbia and Alaska coastline.
SMALL SHIP TOUR OPERATORS ASSOCIATION
Marine Debris Removal Initiative
As the events of the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in the spring and early summer of 2020, and travel and tourism came to a halt, the SSTOA and the WTA conceived and conducted a massive Marine Debris Removal Initiative (MDRI) along British Columbia’s coast.
At a critical point in time, this initiative helped support BC’s iconic small ship-based expedition travel industry, employ seasonal and full-time employees, all while contributing substantial benefits to coastal wildlife and marine ecosystem health.
The MDRI is led by the SSTOA and the WTA, with active support from the Wuikinuxv, Nuxalk, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, and Gitga’at First Nations whose territory the expeditions worked in, and with generous funding from Province of British Columbia’s Clean Coast, Clean Waters Fund. Thank you to Honourable George Heyman, BC Minister of Environment and Climate Change, for prioritizing this project and the future health of our coastlines.
SSTOA / JEFF REYNOLDS
SSTOA / SIMON AGER
In 2020 and 2021, the MDRI saw a collective 327 tonnes of plastic waste removed and recycled from Canada’s west coast, making it BC’s largest marine debris clean up in history.
The impact of the first SSTOA-WTA MDRI prompted the BC Government to launch the Clean Coast, Clean Waters Fund, allowing other marine-based operators, like WTA member Spirit of the West Adventures, to lead coastal clean up projects of their own.
Interested in learning more? Read our the project resources linked below for more details on the scope of work, employment and economic impact, and statistics on the marine debris collected and recycled.
