Mannion Bay Revitalization - Bowen Island Municipality

Bowen Island Municipality has a Licence of Occupation for Mannion Bay, which will help us restore environmental and community well-being to the area.

If you own a boat in Mannion Bay, you are required to provide to Bowen Island Municipality:

Your name and proof of ownership
The name of your boat and license information
Your contact information (on Bowen Island, please)
Proof that you have third party liability insurance

Download the Registration Form

Violations that risk public safety and/or the loss of enjoyment of the beaches and waters of Mannion Bay will be subject to enforcement and fines.

If you have a mooring buoy in Mannion Bay, you are required to:

Pay an annual fee of $240 to Bowen Island Municipality in one installment by the first day of the calendar year
Ensure your vessel is safe, seaworthy and in compliance with the Licence of Occupation
Ensure the use of your vessel complies with the Use of Beaches and Water Areas Bylaw No. 418, 2016, including the restrictions related to live-aboards and floating storage units

Campfires around Mannion Bay are prohibited year-round

The Use of Public Beaches and Water Areas Bylaw prohibits fires of any kind year round on the beaches around Mannion Bay, specifically Sandy Beach.

Have you seen the Mannion Bay marking buoys?

The buoys installed in Mannion Bay outline a voluntary No Anchor Zone to protect eelgrass. Eelgrass meadows provide vital habitat to hundreds of marine creatures including wild Pacific salmon – but they are easily damaged by anchors and chains. You can help protect these ecosystems by spreading the word about this initiative and anchoring in deeper waters.

The project was the collaborative effort of Bowen Island Municipality and SeaChange Marine Conservation Society. It was modeled after successful initiatives in Washington State but the first of its kind on the Canadian side of the Salish Sea! Already, the initiative is gaining traction, with similar projects planned in Gibsons and Cowichan Estuary.

For more information download the Mannion Bay Marker Buoys Fact Sheet

Eelgrass inventory completed in 2014 helped determine buoy placement. Protect eelgrass in any bay by anchoring outside of eelgrass depth (7m/23ft chart datum in the Salish Sea).

SeaChange Marine Conservation Society’s nearshore habitat restoration was the inspiration for the project. With the help of Bowen volunteers, they planted eelgrass shoots in Mannion Bay in summer of 2020 to restore these important salmon-rearing areas.

The eelgrass shoots have already shown over 100% growth, let’s keep the eelgrass in by keeping anchors out!

April 10, 2017 – Read Bonny Brokenshire’s Mannion Bay Management and Implementation Report.

February 27, 2017 – Bowen Island Municipality has obtained a 30 year tenure (Licence of Occupation) for Mannion Bay from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations with the intent of restoring socioecological integrity in the Bay. Municipal staff will bring forward a Mannion Bay Update and Implementation Report in April 2017.

August 2, 2016 – As part of the Mannion Bay Revitalization Strategy, a rack for small self-propelled water craft will be installed at Sandy Beach for community use. In order to determine which vessels are actively being used for recreation, all water craft in the rack will be required to display the owner’s name and telephone number.

July 25, 2016 – The Use of Beaches and Water Areas Bylaw (No. 418) was adopted by Bowen Island Municipal Council on July 11, 2016. This bylaw will assist the Municipality in moving forward with the five step Mannion Bay Management Strategy, which includes obtaining a Licence of Occupation (LOO), social planning and environmental assessment.

Most provisions of Bylaw 418, including the live-a-aboard section, will not be actively enforced until social planning options and an enforcement strategy is endorsed by Council. However, breaches that result in loss of public safety and enjoyment of the beach areas in Mannion Bay may result in fines issued primarily by the RCMP. Up until the adoption of this bylaw, fines could not be issued for contraventions such as intentional beaching of boats or using the beach as a workshop.

Outside agencies like Vancouver Coastal Health and addiction services will be consulted to assist staff with the creation of social planning options. The enforcement strategy will be developed with the assistance of the RCMP and their marine affiliates.

Municipal staff will bring a social planning and enforcement strategy (the last remaining two steps in the Strategy) forward to Council within the next 3 – 4 months. Bylaw No. 419, also adopted at the July 11 meeting, outlines the fines associated with contraventions of Bylaw 418.