World Ocean Day
Blog Post Cover Photo: view from Qaitbay Citadel, Alexandria, Egypt (2015)
Another iconic marine mammal on the brink
Orca seen from whale watching boat near Victoria, B.C. (2004)
Author: Kevstan
Killer Whale (Orcinus orca), Northeast Pacific southern resident population (SRKW)
The SRKW was added to the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) registry in 2003 as ENDANGERED. More than 10 years later and the population is still declining. Despite management measures in four separate regions in southern British Columbia waters[1] and a 2017 Action Plan[2] the southern population of Orca is now down to only 74 individuals (as of December 2023).[3]
It is inconceivable that such an iconic species is not being fully protected. The SARA registry indicates the last COSEWIC assessment was in 2023, but only one status report, from 2009, is available on the website.[4] There have also been two Critical Habitat Orders (2009, 2018), and yet in late 2018, “Her Excellency, the Governor General in Council declines to make an emergency order pursuant to section 80 of the Species at Risk Act”[5], due to other measures in place (despite the fact they aren’t working).
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Parks Canada both have webpages that talk a lot about protections, but something smells fishy. If it isn’t working then do better!
Transport Canada, announced new measures in 2023 that require vessels to stay away from the whales by a minimum of 400 metres. Canada is lagging behind the United States on this issue. According to a CBC article by Michelle Morton, the state of Washington “passed Senate Bill 5371 which, beginning in January 2025, will require boaters to stay 1,000 yards away from southern resident killer whales.”[6]
In May 2024, Elizabeth May, Green Party of Canada, presented the Raincoast Conservation Foundation petition to the House of Commons in a call to match the 1000m buffer.[7]
My question is, why does the responsibility for species at risk seem to fall on environmental non-profit groups to try and force government to do the right thing? When are our governments (federal/provincial) going to take proactive measures to protect endangered species like the Southern Resident Killer Whale, Woodland Caribou and Greater Sage-grouse, etc.?
The theme of this year’s World Ocean Day is “Waves of Change: Collective Actions for the Ocean” – let’s make sure we get our government(s) to be part of that collective action!
[1] Maps are provided for the Mouth of the Fraser River, Gulf Islands, Juan de Fuca Strait, and Swiftsure Bank. https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/mammals-mammiferes/whales-baleines/srkw-measures-mesures-ers-eng.html
[2] Action Plan for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) in Canada (2017) https://wildlife-species.az.ec.gc.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files//plans/Ap-ResidentKillerWhale-v00-2017Mar-Eng.pdf
[3] https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/gulf/nature/ocean/erds-srkw/epaulard-killerwhale
[4] https://wildlife-species.az.ec.gc.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files//cosewic/sr_killer_whale_0809_e.pdf
[5] Order Declining to make an Emergency Order for the protection of the Killer Whale Northeast Pacific Southern Resident Population - P.C. 2018-1352 - November 1, 2018, published in the Canada Gazette Part II, Vol 152, No 3 (2018) https://wildlife-species.az.ec.gc.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files//orders/g2-15223.pdf
[6] Michelle Morton (2024) B.C. group pushes for greater buffer between boats, killer whales. CBC News, published March 31, 2024.
[7] https://www.raincoast.org/2024/05/elizabeth-may-house-of-commons-petition-southern-resident-killer-whales/
Also out this week (June 6, 2024) is this notice by Ecojustice fighting for emergency protections of the SRKW on behalf of the David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, Living Oceans Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and World Wildlife Fund Canada.
