A rally in Union Bay yesterday as residents gathered to protest ship-breaking operations along the waterfront.

They’re concerned with the Baynes Sound ecosystem and how the dismantling of ships for recycling leads to carcinogens and toxins spilling into the water.

Union Bay resident and rally organizer Ray Rewcastle says community members were shocked to learn of the lack of regulation on boat dismantling.

He said they are even more perturbed that municipal, provincial and federal governments had little understanding about ship-breaking as an industry before residents spoke up.

“It’s not something that should be done in an area like Baynes Sound,” said Rewcastle, who estimated about 200 people attended Sunday’s rally.

“It should be done in an industrial port like the Port of Vancouver, Esquimalt or Nanaimo … deep water ports that, basically, you can have 100 per cent containment with dry docking.”

The BC Ministry of Environment issued three warnings, and one advisory, against the foreign operators of the site last year.

The Comox Valley Regional District filed suit last year trying to get work halted, citing zoning bylaw regulations.