New Federal Guidelines for Orca Whale Watching
The Orca whales of Washington state have roamed the San Juan Island archipelago for thousands and thousands of years. It is estimated that this group of whales in the past had a population of over one hundred and fifty animals. The reason this many Orca whales could survive in such a small geographical area is because of Salmon. The Orca whales of the San Juan archipelago only eat fish.
One hundred years ago there used to be so many salmon that they were often pitch-forked in the shallow streams that they used to spawn in and were feed to pigs. In the hey-day of salmon fishing literally hundred of small fishing boats strung their nets across miles and miles of Puget Sound catching millions of pounds of fresh Salmon. A hundred years of un-regulated over-fishing, clear cut logging, dam building and general pollution have taken their toll on the Salmon of Puget Sound. This one hundred years of abuse has a critical effect on the Orca whales of today.
In the early 1990′s as the interest in whale watching continued to grow in Puget Sound and the San Juan Island archipelago a small group of whale watch operators gathered together and formed The Pacific Whale Watch Operators Association. This group of dedicated professional tour operators came up with the very first set of guidelines that were used to view Orca Whales. This voluntary set of guidelines was established in 1994 and was simply called “Be Whale Wise”. It has some key points that have since become standard whale watching practice around the world. First and most important was that all whale watching vessels would now leave a one hundred yard buffer around the whales. This one hundred yards distance is now the norm in most places in the world. Second it was agreed that there would be no “parking in the path”( an old habit of getting the Orca’s to swim under your boat). Boat speeds while viewing the animals were substantially reduced, and vessels slowed down while arriving and leaving the scene where the whales were to be found.
In the late 1990′s the Orca whale population of Puget Sound and the San Juan Island archipelago took a serious decline and there is much debate as to the reasons for this sad turn of events. It is thought by some scientists that many factors are behind this sudden decrease in population. But there is one factor that stands out above all the rest and it can not be denied as a major reason for this sad problem. The ever declining runs of Salmon returning from the sea. The fact that these Orca whales have grown so accustomed to feeding on such a rich, renewable resource that has constantly been available to them for thousands of years has left them in a very vulnerable situation as Salmon runs continue their decline.
In November 2005 the resident Orca whales of Puget Sound (also called Southern residents) were listed on the Endangered Species List. This new status brought the federal government into the act of trying to understand why the whale population was declining and then trying to stop this downward population spiral. After many years of research and lots of bureaucracy a new set of guidelines was established and went into effect in May 2011. These new guidelines are similar to the original “Be Whale Wise” rules except for two big changes. 1) All vessels (including human powered crafts) must stay two hundred yards away from the Whales. 2) All vessels will stay four hundred yards away from the path of the whales ( in front of the whales as they travel).
There is some hope that these new guidelines will have a positive impact regarding the Orca whale populations. Yet many who live here and study the whales, myself included feel that until there is enough for the Orca whales of the San Juan Island archipelago to eat they will continue to face an un-certain future.
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