Keen-eyed lightkeeper spies water spouts: Staffed lighthouses needed to warn of 'tornadoes over water': advocates.

(Victoria) - Inky-black clouds first caught the attention of lightkeeper Glenn Borgens as he looked out from the lighthouse on Entrance Island, off Nanaimo, Thursday morning.

Then the weird weather became more dramatic as five water spouts dropped out of the bottom of the clouds.

"It was quite something to see," said Borgens, who, as the first spout developed, phoned the Canadian Coast Guard so warnings could be broadcast to marine and air traffic.

The Senate Fisheries and Oceans Committee issued a report December 21 that recommends keeping professional lightkeepers operating Canada's lighthouses.

The report lists recommendations that include developing a long-term policy to ensure "continuation of a suitable level of staffing," and that a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis be undertaken before the Coast Guard undertakes any further evaluation of lighthouses.

The Senators issued their report following visits in November to coastal communities and lighthouses in Newfoundland and B.C.

How important is maintaining staffed lighthouses to the safety and well-being of mariners along B.C.’s coast?

It’s hard to know, particularly since the federal government is keeping a tight lid on the information being made available to the public.

In fact, Ottawa is even limiting the information being given to the committee charged with reviewing the decision to de-staff lighthouses, by refusing funding for committee members to visit lighthouses on the B.C. coast.

The possibility that up to 1,000 Canadian lighthouses could soon be up for private sale by Ottawa is seen as federal "muscle-flexing" by Vancouver Island's lighthouse keepers.

Under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act that came into force on May 29, private sector buyers can apply to purchase lighthouses deemed surplus by the federal government.