08/04/2005: "Protecting Our Orca Whales on a Daily Basis"

By Mark R. Anderson

Nearly one month ago, on July 3, an orca whale was injured in an accident with a whale watching boat in the San Juan Islands. You may not have heard much about it, because the incident has been kept quiet by the Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

No one knows the extent of injury sustained by the orca, no one knows which member of the southern residents it was, or why the orca rammed a whale watching boat. We DO know the whales were feeding at the time, that about 40 boats were surrounding the whales and that the Canadian-based boat that was hit had already been cited once that day by Mark Pakenham of M3, the enforcement division from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

There are a variety of reasons a whale might get injured by a boat. Whatever the reason, this accident underscores the inherent negative consequences of boat/whale interactions and the need for change to protect our Southern Resident orcas of Washington State.

Orca Relief Citizens' Alliance urges the following to be implemented.

o No more leapfrogging and parking (situating) boats in the whales' path.
o Boats should stay a minimum of 400 yards away from the closest whale.
o Boats must NOT position themselves between whales and the shore.

Since 1995, the southern resident population of orcas declined nearly 20 percent. During that same period, the number of motorized whale-watching boats in the area has increased dramatically – reaching up to as many as 140 boats in a single day.

Marine vehicles harassment is among the factors cited last year by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife as contributing to the whale population decline. In April 2004, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission added the Southern Resident orcas to the list of state endangered species. In December 2004, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed the Southern Resident orca whale population as "threatened" on the Endangered Species List.

Orca Relief began encouraging land-based watching in 2002, after commissioning three separate scientific studies that showed motorized whale-watching boats may play a primary role in the decline of the southern resident Orca population. For information, go to www.orcarelief.org .

To Report Marine Mammal Harassment in the United States, call the National Marine Fisheries Service at 1-800-853-1964. In Canada, call Fisheries and Oceans Canada at 1-800-465-4336.

Clearly, more emphasis needs to placed on protecting these whales on a daily basis.

Mark R. Anderson is the Founder & President, Orca Relief Citizens' Alliance (ORCA)