Nanaimo Harbour Patrol and volunteers from Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue No. 27 Nanaimo responded to a tugboat that got tangled in a gillnetter’s net yesterday afternoon in the Nanaimo Harbour.
The incident happened at about 2 p.m. when a tug, towing barges ran afoul of the fishing boat’s net off Gabriola Island’s Malaspina Point about halfway between downtown Nanaimo and Descanso Bay.
“The sun and waves made it very difficult for the tug to see the net on top of the water and a vessel went over the net,” said David Mailloux, Nanaimo Port Authority spokesman, in an e-mail to the News Bulletin. “The fishing vessel became entangled in the net as well while it was attempting to disengage the tug from the net.”
Nanaimo Port Authority’s patrol boat Osprey and RCM SAR Nanaimo’s rigid hull inflatable rescue craft responded to the scene. The tugboat had two propellers it which allowed it to maneuver and return to its dock, according to Josh Minami, RCM SAR No. 27 public relations manager.
The Nanaimo Port Authority’s patrol boat was first to respond to the scene and began to tow the fish boat to Nanaimo before the task was handed off to the RCM SAR rescue boat. The tug and gillnetter were eventually brought to the Visiting Vessel Pier in downtown Nanaimo where a diver cleared the netting from the vessels’ propellers.
Minami said there were no injuries and no collision between the two craft, but the incident is a good reminder for boat operators to be aware of the high number of fishing boats – Minami estimated 50 to 100 boats between Neck Point in north Nanaimo and Entrance Island off Gabriola Island – and fishing gear in the waters around Nanaimo taking advantage of a current salmon run.
“Right now I believe they’re fishing for chum … there’s a real traffic issue going on out there because there’s not only gillnetters, but there’s also seine boats out there as well, so there is a ton of gear in the water,” Minami said.
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