Something is missing from the illustration accompanying the recent article on proposals for the Beacon Avenue wharf in Sidney. Where is the fish market?

Wolf DepnerB次元官网网址檚 July 22 article on the B次元官网网址 Review website also makes no mention of it. A July 15 article refers to B次元官网网址渢he iconic wharfB次元官网网址� but fails to say whatB次元官网网址檚 iconic about it. Hint: itB次元官网网址檚 the fish market!

Forget that members of my family, which has roots over a century deep in Sidney, have owned and operated Satellite Fish Company for nearly 60 years. Consider instead what exists on the Beacon wharf right now and what people who frequent it might miss if it were to disappear. Complementing the fish market for the last 17 years has been the Pier Bistro, yet thereB次元官网网址檚 no indication in town councilB次元官网网址檚 two options for the wharf that the bistro has a future either.

The stewards of most communities perform backflips to preserve their heritage icons. The current stewards of Sidney, however, are not merely iconoclasts; they have chosen to act as though the iconic fish market doesnB次元官网网址檛 even exist.

ItB次元官网网址檚 an interesting strategy to get rid of something by pretending it doesnB次元官网网址檛 exist. It also lacks imagination.

The federal government is practically shovelling money at infrastructure projects. Surely, Sidney town council could dream up a better way of reimagining the Beacon wharf, that would preserve its iconic character, than replacing it with a 60-year-old section of floating bridge.

Town councillors should at least ask their constituents this question: B次元官网网址淲ould you like to keep your iconic seafood market at the foot of Beacon Avenue?B次元官网网址�

Sidney has changed a lot in 60 years from when it was a village of about 1,500 people to become a city of 10 times that number. But what brought everyone to this place, newcomers and old-timers alike, is its proximity to the ocean. And a fish plant B次元官网网址� harvesting and processing seafood by local hands on that waterfront B次元官网网址� is something iconic thatB次元官网网址檚 worth keeping at Sidney by the Sea.

Keith Norbury

Victoria