Category: Reduce Threats

Ocean Voices

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Ocean Voices – Education to decrease noise impacts to marine mammals

Living in a world of sound
Most animals that live in the ocean rely on sound for their survival. Marine mammals in particular use sound to navigate, find food, and communicate. While marine mammals have good eyesight, their vision is often limited because light does not penetrate water very far. Their vision is often limited further by the amount of plankton and turbulence in the water.

Sound, however, travels well in water, approximately 5 times faster and much further than in air.  This allows marine mammals to use sound over great distances. It also means that noise can travel far and have significant negative impacts on the ability of marine mammals to communicate, rest, mate, establish territory, navigate, socialize, hunt, and avoid predation and other dangers.

Human-made noise results from a wide range of activities such as boating and shipping, coastal development, and resource exploration and extraction.

Click here to Listen to Whales
Click here for Laws and Boater Safety

Click here for more MERS videos related to ocean noise and sound in the sea.

Why human-made ocean noise is a problem
Underwater noise affects the ability of marine mammals to both receive and transmit sound. In other words, it impacts their ability to hear and be heard. Especially loud, repeated, and long-lasting exposure to noise can significantly impact many life processes, and exacerbate the effects of other threats such as reduced prey availability and chemical pollution.
Underwater noise is linked to a wide range of possible impacts on marine species including:
  • Disruption of their behaviour
  • Loss of habitat
  • Masking sound transmission and reception
  • Changes to their physiology and/or increased stress levels
  • Temporary or permanent hearing impairment
  • Permanent injury or even death
How marine mammals use sound
Examples of how marine mammals off the coast of British Columbia rely on sound

Seals and Sea Lions:

  • Harbour Seal males establish acoustic territory with vocals known as roars.  
  • Harbour Seals are capable of complex acoustic discrimination. They are known to selectively habituate to the calls of familiar fish-eating Orca . They only react strongly and adversely when they hear the calls of mammal-hunting Orca (Bigg’s) or unfamiliar fish-eating Orca.
  • Mother Steller Sea Lions and California Sea Lions are known to have “pup-attraction calls” to help mother and pup find one another.
Orca:
  • Northern and Southern Resident Orca are fish-eaters that use echolocation to locate and identify their prey. They are even able to discern different species of salmon using echolocation. The most important prey for their survival are Chinook Salmon, followed by Chum Salmon. 
  • Different Orca populations have different languages. This is believed to help ensure they do not breed outside their populations e.g. Southern Residents only mate with Southern Residents and Northern Residents only mate with Northern Residents. By only mating with Orca in the same population (who have the same language) their distinct cultures are maintained e.g. mammal-hunting Orca need to live very differently than fish-eating Orca.   
  • Within Resident Orca populations (inshore fish-eaters), there are different dialects. These differences within the language are believed to be important to avoid inbreeding.
    For example, every Northern Resident matriline has specific calls. A matriline is a stable social unit made up of a mother, her sons and daughters and her daughters’ offspring. The calls are passed on from mother to offspring ensuring all members of the same matriline sound the same. The more closely related Northern Resident matrilines are, the more similar their calls are i.e. there is a direct correlation between acoustic similarity and degree of relatedness.
    Recognizing vocal similarities and differences is believed to affirm relatedness and avoid inbreeding. Research supports that Northern Residents who sound exactly the same are members of the same matriline; they stay together; and do NOT mate with one another.  The greater the vocal differences between Northern Residents matrilines, the more distantly they are related, whereby mating would not lead to inbreeding. Note that the Orca do not leave their matrilines to mate, the matrilines group together.
    Note that there are also differences in dialects in the endangered Southern Resident Orca population. There are vocal differences between members of the three Southern Resident pods (J, K and L) and there are likely also acoustic differences between matrilines. Resident Orca in Southern Alaska also have distinct dialects and separate vocal clans.
Porpoise:
Minke Whales:
  • Minke Whales use very distinct calls, known as “boings”, in the warm-water breeding grounds. When in the cold-water feeding grounds, they are not known to make this call. Rather, they appear to use very different calls and vocalize far less frequently. This may be to avoid detection by mammal-hunting Orca in the feeding grounds.
Humpback Whales:
  • The vocalizations of Humpback Whale mothers include calls to stay in contact with their calves. 
  • Humpback Whales who work together in a group to bubble-net feed use an acoustic signal to coordinate the feeding strategy and/or to help concentrate the small schooling fish e.g. Pacific Herring. 
  • Male Humpback Whales produce songs that are considered amongst the most intricate acoustic displays in mammals. They learn their songs socially, much like humans and all males in one breeding ground sing the same song. If the song changes, they all adopt the change.
  • Male Humpback Whales sing in both the feeding grounds and breeding grounds. Theories for the purpose of the song are that it has a role in male-male relationships; attracting mates; and possibly establishing territory in the warm water breeding grounds.
How to reduce noise
There is much that can be done to reduce ocean noise caused by marine traffic.

1) Give them space
The further away vessels are from marine mammals, the less the impacts are from noise. The risk of collision is also reduced.
There are laws about how far to stay away from marine mammals. This includes staying 400 metres away from Orca in southern British Columbia and staying at least 200 metres away elsewhere, especially when there are resting whales or whales with calves. If, despite your vigilance, a whale surfaces within the legal distance, put your engine in neutral and only slowly proceed when you are sure the whale is beyond the legal distance.
By knowing the laws and best practices, you are not only reducing your impacts, you are helping by modelling good boater behaviour to others.

Click here for Laws and Boater Safety

2) Slow down
It is almost always the case that when vessels slow down, noise is reduced. Slowing down also reduces the risk of collision* and lowers fuel consumption and engine emissions. 

“Be Whale Wise” best practices to reduce noise impacts to Orca include:  

  • Reduce speed to less than 7 knots when within 1,000 metres 
  • Turn off echo sounders and fish finders if safe to do so
  • Place engine in neutral when, despite best efforts to maintain legal distances, animals are near

Current slow down and sanctuary zones off the coast of BC that are aimed at reducing impacts to Orca: 

*With the fortunate recovery of Humpback, Grey, and Fin Whales from whaling, there is greater overlap between these large whale species and vessels.  This necessitates measures to reduce the threats of collision and noise.

3) Whale Warning Flag
Through raising the Whale Warning Flag, you signal to other boaters that there are whales in the area and that it is necessary to increase vigilance and slow down.

4) Turn down the volume
Well-maintained engines tend to be less noisy. Four-stroke engines are usually quieter than two-stroke engines and also create fewer emissions.
Additionally, clean hulls and propellers cause less drag, and therefore less noise. Damaged propellers, shafts and axles tend to produce sounds that can interfere with the whales’ vocalizations and can increase stress.
Ideally use vessels with optimized noise reduction designs, including propellers with reduced cavitation. Cavitation is often related to the specific rotation speeds of propellers, measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). Operators can reduce noise by knowing at what RPM their vessel’s propeller starts producing cavitation sounds.  
Note that technological advances must consider that motorized vessels that are completely silent / stealth may increase the risk of collision with whales.

5) Consumer clout 
When more people care about the impacts of ocean noise, there is greater motivation to design quieter vessels and engines.
But you don’t need to be a boater to make a difference. Our daily consumer and energy-use decisions impact how much noise is in the ocean. Large vessel traffic, such as tankers and cargo ships, is reduced through buying less and from closer to home, and by reducing use of fossil fuels.

6) Shout it out
The more people care about ocean noise, and the many solutions to reduce the impacts, the more we are helping shape values, voting behaviour, policies, and technological advances. 

The Science of Sound
Sound travels much faster in water than in air. The radiated sound energy is measured in decibels and changes with speed and distance between the source of the sound (e.g. vessel) and the receiver (e.g. whale). Generally, sound travels approximately 5 times faster in water than in air but this varies depending on temperature, depth/pressure and salinity.
Recording of our October 4, 2023 webinar.
 Initiatives to document noise off the coast of British Columbia

The British Columbian Hydrophone Network, also known as “Whale Sound”, is a collaboration of First Nations and non-governmental agencies to build, maintain, and contribute to a shared, coast-wide acoustic information system. Collecting acoustic and visual data on whale activity using consistent standards and protocols, via professionally maintained and consistently calibrated equipment, will enable (1) the quantification of how the ocean soundscape is changing; and (2) a comparison of vessel traffic impact on whales in areas that differ environmentally and acoustically.

The high-quality, comparable ocean acoustic datasets gathered by Network members will be archived using a centralised database and will be available for scientific, stewardship, and/or educational purposes.

NoiseTracker will be a publicly available website and map-based noise visualization tool that brings  together the efforts of those measuring noise off the coast of British Columbia. NoiseTracker will allow for:

  • Identification of acoustic disturbance hotspots—places where high levels of noise and high biological productivity coincide.
  • Evaluation of the effectiveness of noise mitigation measures by documenting changes in noise levels over time.
  • Development and implementation of additional measures to reduce ocean noise.
Acknowledgements:

Financial support for Ocean Voices was provided by the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association’s Conservation Fund (NIMMSA).

Guidance and expertise were provided by Helena Symonds, Co-founder of OrcaLab; Dr. Valeria Vergara, Co-director of Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s Cetacean Conservation Research Program; and Dr. Harald Yurk, Bioacoustician / Biophysical Scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Animations made by Dawn Dudek with sound from OrcaLab.

Dive Deeper:

Another Humpback Hit By a Boat

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Compelling?
Harlequin the Humpback Whale was hit by a boat. See video below.

This is one of the seven known hits of Humpback Whales between July 20 and August 11, 2023

Three hits involved MUCH larger vessels – a cruise ship, ferry, and a large catamaran. See our previous blog post for detail about this vessel strikes.

This is the only case where identity and fate of the Humpback is known. Harlequin is being monitored by local whale watchers and #Straitwatch.

We are sharing to increase awareness of collision and how much can be done to reduce risk – from boater education, to use of #WhaleWarningFlags, to slow down and avoidance zones.

The area where this happened is known to have many Humpbacks at this time of year (Sutil Channel to Mittlenatch).

The whales can be resting right below the surface or are feeding and can suddenly surface or become acrobatic.

In this case, Harlequin had been active at the surface. There was a whale watching boat near and people were signalling to the boat to stop.

This is not about blame and vilification.
This is about learning and avoidance.

See out bundling of information on the laws and best practices to avoid collision at www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org
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#WhaleSafeBoating #SeeABlowGoSlow #BoaterEducation #BoatingBC #whateveryboatershouldknow
#SlowDownZone

Four Large Vessel Collisions With Whales – BC coast

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[Update: August 30, 2023: Fourth known large vessel strike of a Humpback off the coast of BC between July 20, 2023 and: August 29, 2023. The latest vessel strike was by the BC Ferry, the Northern Expedition, in Fitz Hugh Sound.]

There have been three known large vessel strikes of whales off British Columbia’s coast between July 20 and July 29.

One dead Humpback Whale was found. There was no opportunity to know if this is from one of these collisions.

We were interviewed. Our comments are about increasing awareness. It’s about needing a culture of openness and learning that allows for the threat of collision to be reduced.

This is #ForTheWhales but also, regarding smaller vessels, it’s about boater safety.

There is such gratitude to all who insist on this – from those within federal government agencies, to First Nations, to colleague researchers and journalists, to those who dared make sure that the collisions were known.

The full article is at this link.

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Quotes from the article follow:

“Nobody ever wants to hit a whale,” Hildering stressed [Marine Education & Research Society]. “But it’s not acceptable to just accept [whale deaths] as collateral damage.

“There’s so much we can do, and the core of that is learning all we can about these accidents.”

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Any vessel that hits a whale must report it to the DFO. However, there’s no policy or protocol for vessels involved or DFO to relay information in a timely way to other groups that monitor whales — which are often operating in nearby waters and able to respond to incidents more quickly, Hildering said.

When research groups and First Nations guardian programs don’t get key information about the incidents when they happen, it’s a missed opportunity to capture data crucial to protecting whales into the future, she said.

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Shipping traffic and humpback whale populations are both on the rise — often in the same areas — escalating the risk of vessel strikes to humpbacks, the greatest threat to the species of special concern along with entanglements in fishing gear.

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Janie Wray, CEO of the North Coast Cetacean Society (BCWhales), agreed, noting the research team and the Gitga’at Guardians could have had boats on the water quickly to respond to the vessel strikes in the waters around Kitimat.

The research group and the Gitga’at Guardians were informed about a dead whale floating in nearby waters on July 30, but by the time they heard about it and responded, they couldn’t locate the mammal, Wray said.

Confirming and identifying a whale fatality also helps determine impacts on the local population and allows researchers to secure the carcass for DFO for a necropsy and analysis, she said.

Understanding other details like vessel speed, size, weather conditions and location of the strike are all important to determine hot spots of concern where whales and ships are most often coming into contact.

“Those are all parts of the equation, with the whole idea being to reduce the risk of vessel strikes to whales, especially in some areas along the coast where we know we have high populations,” she said.

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The most effective way to reduce the danger of collisions for humpbacks and other threatened whales is implementing shipping slow zones, or even steering clear of known hot spots of whale activity along the B.C. coast, says Hussein Alidina WWF-Canada

Boater survey. Big prizes!

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Please can you help?
There are big prizes and big gratitude!

We are conducting a survey for recreational boaters who paddle, sail, or motor off the coast of British Columbia. 

By doing the survey, you are helping with the safety of whales and boaters. The answers will inform our future education efforts, including the development of an online course aimed at the safety of boaters and whales.

The link to the survey is www.surveymonkey.com/r/whalesafeboating. 

The survey will take 5 to 10 minutes to complete; answers are confidential; and you could win the prizes listed below.

It would also be greatly appreciated too if you could spread the word about the survey by sharing the link to this blog, the poster included at the end of this blog, and/or our social media posts provided at the links below.

We need MANY boaters to do this survey. The more input we get, the greater the insights into what information about laws and best practices is reaching recreational boaters, and what the limiting factors might be.

Thank you from our team at the Marine Education and Research Society and our partners in this survey, the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Research Program, and Cetus Research & Conservation Society. Funding support has been provided by the Government of Canada.

If you need further information, please contact us at info@mersociety.org.

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Social media posts about the survey: 
Facebook at this link. 
Instagram at this link 
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Prize information: 
Out of gratitude for your time, those who participate in this survey can choose to be entered into a prize draw. 
The draw will take place on March 1, 2024.  

There will be four winners, one winner for each of the following prizes. 

1. Gift card to Steveston Marine & Hardware ($500; online or in-store)

2. Kelp Canvas from The Marine Detective (Value: $300)

3. Gift card to Mountain Equipment Co-op ($250; online or in-store)

4. Marine Mammal Boater Pack. Includes “Marine Mammals of BC” book, Whale Warning Flag, and Marina Bag from Puddle Jump Bags. Locally made in Sointula, BC (Value: $280)



Multiple Dead Humpback Whales – What you can do.

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Update: Known dead Humpbacks between October 12 and November 30, 2022 are:

  • October 12, 2022 – Dead Humpback #1. Floating near Lax Kw’alaams, northern BC. 
  • October 15, 2022 – Dead Humpback was seen floating from a distance near Wales Island. Presumed to be Whale #1. 
Colouration on the underside of the whale and location suggest this is likely. 
  • October 23, 2022 – Dead Humpback #2 on the north side of Malcolm Island. We secured her body and identified her. She was Spike (BCX1847) a young female. Signs of blunt-force trauma. 
  • November 5, 2022 – Dead Humpback #3 (male). Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida Gwaii To date we in the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration have not been able to identify this individual. He is likely a previously undocumented 
Humpback. He has very distinctive markings allowing us to know this is not the same whale as dead Humpback #1. Signs of blunt-force trauma. 
  • November 13, 2022 – Dead Humpback #4 (male). Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida Gwaii. This whale was in a further 
state of decay confounding the ability to ID who this might be. We were however able to conclude by comparing photos of a pectoral fin and underside of the body that this is not the same whale as dead Humpback #1.
  • November 20, 2022 – Dead Humpback #5 (3rd dead Humpback on East Beach, Haida Gwaii). Very decomposed but photos allowing us to compare the shape of the right pectoral fin to dead Humpback #1 lead us to believe this is an additional dead Humpback.

    Original post:

With more Humpbacks along the coast, there is more overlap with fishing gear and vessel traffic and indeed: “Dead whales most often sink. So, as bad as the situation appears, it is likely worse.”

We are heartened that there has been this level of concern and have strived to speak about these whales as ambassadors.

See below for what you can do to increase whale and boater safety. Thank you.

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Summary of the known dead Humpback Whales:

1. October 12, 2022 – Dead Humpback #1. Floating near Lax Kw’alaams, northern BC.

2. October 15, 2022 – Dead Humpback seen floating from a distance near Wales Island. Presumed to be Whale #1. Colouration on the underside of the whale and location suggest this is likely.

3. October 23, 2022 – Dead Humpback #2 on the north side of Malcolm Island. We secured her body and identified her. She was Spike (BCX1847) a young female. Signs of blunt-force trauma.

4. November 5, 2022 – Dead Humpback #3 (male). Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida Gwaii To date we in the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration have not been able to identify this individual. He is likely a previously undocumented Humpback. He has very distinctive markings allowing us to know this is not the same whale as dead Humpback #1. Signs of blunt-force trauma.

5. November 13, 2022 – Dead Humpback #4 (male). Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida Gwaii. This whale was in a further state of decay confounding the ability to ID who this might be. We were however able to conclude by comparing photos of a pectoral fin and underside of the body that this is not the same whale as dead Humpback #1.

6. November 20, 2022 – Dead Humpback #5 (3rd dead Humpback on East Beach, Haida Gwaii). Very decomposed but photos allowing us to compare the shape of the right pectoral fin to dead Humpback #1 lead us to believe this is an additional dead Humpback.

Note that there are currently at least 3 Humpback Whales known to be entangled along BC’s coast. This has been reported to the Incident Reporting Line 1-800-465-4336.

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What to do?

– Know the laws and best practices to reduce the chance of collision, and what to do if you see entanglement, a dead marine mammal, violations or other incidents of concern. See www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org.

– If you are a coastal British Columbian, put the Incident Reporting Line number into your phone 1-800-465-4336.

– Model best boater behaviour including the use of the Whale Warning Flag in the waters of British Columbia and Washington State. See www.whaleflag.org.

– Use your voice for the other large whale species that is very vulnerable to vessel strike. Up to December 2nd you can weigh in that protection should not be reduced for Fin Whales when it is not known how many whales there are and threats are increasing. Please see our information at this link.

– Use the Whale Report Alert System. See https://wildwhales.org/wras

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Please note that the source of the Humpback Whale population estimate used in last night’s news report is not known to BC’s Humpback Whale researchers. There have not been multi-year surveys to allow for an accurate / reliable population estimate.

There is one study (SPLASH) that led to the estimate that in 2006, the number of Humpback Whales along BC’s coast was 2,145 whales. This estimate did not include 1st-year calves nor Humpbacks in BC’s non-coastal waters.

A survey was done in 2018 (PRISMM) that will lead to another estimate for all of BC’s waters. But that will be based on one year of data and this was a year where whale presence / absence is likely to have been impacted by a marine heat wave.

CBC “The National” news coverage – www.cbc.ca/player/play/2122714691987

Great thanks to all who have helped raise awareness, especially the journalists who have reported with such understanding.

The Return of Giants- Why Humpback Whales are a game changer for boaters

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This article also appeared in the Canadian Power Squadron members’ magazine, The Port Hole, in December 2021.

Humpback Whales were heavily targeted by whaling. The last whaling station in BC only closed in 1967. Humpbacks remained an uncommon sight off our coast for many decades. 

As an indication of how quickly the numbers of Humpbacks have increased, in 2003, when we began research in our core study area around north eastern Vancouver Island, we documented only seven Humpbacks in the whole year. Come 2019, we documented 95 in the same area with the same amount of research effort.

With the return of these giants, there is an increased overlap with human activities. Therefore, it is essential that coastal British Columbians know about large whales like Humpbacks, for the sake of whale AND boater safety. Not only have whales died as a result of collision and entanglement, there has been significant human injury (one boater is paralyzed as the result of collision), kayaks have been flipped, and motorized vessels have been disabled.

One of the most common misconceptions about Humpbacks is that they know where boats are and will get out of the way. Unlike toothed whales, such as Orca, Humpback Whales do not have the same bio-sonar capabilities. These giants are very unpredictable. They can be oblivious of boats especially when feeding or socializing. They can be resting just below the surface; unexpectedly surface after long dives; or suddenly become acrobatic.

A further dangerous misconception is that Humpbacks are migrating through BC waters, travelling in a predictable direction. Reality is that many of these whales return from the breeding grounds to feed in the same, specific areas of our coast year-after-year. They are seasonal neighbours who have preferred feeding areas and strategies. Thereby, they are often travelling in unpredictable patterns in the same area NOT travelling in a straight line.

What can you do to reduce your risk of collision? 

  • Give whales space. It is the law to stay 100 metres away from Humpbacks and this becomes 200 metres when the whales are resting or with a calf. Since it is difficult to determine if a whale is resting or when is a mother with a  calf, we recommend always staying at least 200 metres away from Humpback Whales. For Orca in the area south from Campbell River to Ucluelet, the minimum approach distance is 400 metres.
  • Always be on the lookout for blows and other indicators of whale presence such as large aggregation of birds. Humpbacks and some bird species share the same food sources, such as krill and small schooling fish. More birds therefore signal an increased chance of whale presence. 
  • If despite your vigilance, a whale surfaces within 100m, shut off the boat engine until the whale is beyond 100m.
  • Watch for vessels flying the “Whale Warning Flag”. This signals that whales are in the area.
  • Familiarize yourself with areas known to have a greater likelihood of whale presence and be extra vigilant in these areas. See link below.  
  • Know the laws and further best practices. Including your legal responsibility to report any collisions and entanglements to the DFO Incident Reporting Line. See www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org

Whale “Mugging”?

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Last update: August 6, 2023

This information is being provided:
1) As background for boaters to better understand these interactions and the importance of avoiding them when possible.
2) Because of concerns about the ethics of promoting such encounters
3) Because we are keeping track of which whales do this and under which circumstances. Data contributions are valued. Please see www.mersociety.org/data. 

As much as it is true that Humpbacks can be astoundingly oblivious of boats,  there are some Humpbacks that occasionally  interact with boats. Both cases have the potential for extreme risk to the whales, and to boaters (see www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org).


Why are there interactions like this? And, what are the best practices for boaters / tour operators when this happens?

We strive to document these interactions and which individuals are involved. While we know of a small number of individual Humpbacks who interact with boats, it appears such interactions may be more likely when the whales are socializing with one another. Not surprisingly, these interactions are more likely when the whales are not directed at feeding.

Is habituation a factor? It may be that some Humpbacks have had previous encounters with boats which perpetuates these interactions. For some Grey Whales, it is believed that they have become accustomed to the interactive whale watching practices in Mexico and thereby approach boats when off the coast of British Columbia.

It certainly is a concern that with each boat interaction, the behaviour may be reinforced and that this increases the risk of collision.

But human behaviour is of course also a concern. Many boaters do not know about the increase of Humpbacks we are so fortunate to have off the coast of British Columbia and just how unpredictable this large whale species can be.

Risk of collision is increased if boaters believe that Humpbacks always know where vessels are.

Baleen whales like Humpbacks do not have the biosonar that toothed whales have. They can surface suddenly after long dives, can become highly acrobatic, are often travelling in random patterns, and can be oblivious of boats.

Risk of collision (and habituation) is also increased if the promotion of such interactions leads to increased demand/expectation for close encounters with whales. 

It is a best practices policy of the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association not to promote imagery of whales in close association with vessels. (See the end of this blog for more detail on the NIMMSA Code of Conduct).

The sampling below gives a sense of the human injuries and material damage resulting from collisions. Note that it the law that collisions and entanglements must be reported to DFO (1-800-465-4336) which will allow for better potential to reduce the risks.

Click to enlarge.

How often do the whales die as a result of collision? Dead whales most often sink to the ocean bottom so this is not known.

What to do if Humpbacks choose to interact with a boat, despite all attempts not to put the whales at risk and contribute to their habituation? Put engines in neutral and ideally turn them off and lift them till the whale(s) are beyond 200m and no longer appear to be advancing toward the boat.

In light of the information above, there is then the moral dilemma for boat operators (and media) about whether to promote such interactions and how they are promoted. The NIMMSA guidelines below and the information at www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org may be of use in this regard.

NIMMSA Viewing Guidelines include:

“Keep a distance of at least 200 metres if any whale shows signs of trauma, stress, labour, unfamiliar behavior, habituation towards people or vessels, or the need for extra space.

If a whale approaches a vessel (regionally known as “mugging”) the vessel should turn off their engines and wait for the whale to move outside of 100m. If a vessel captain is aware of another vessel being “mugged” or a whale in the area that is known for mugging vessels, the captain should avoid the area.”

NIMMSA Marketing and Social Media Guidelines: 

“As stewards, it is important NIMMSA members set realistic marine mammal viewing expectations and educate others on best marine mammal viewing practices. To help achieve this NIMMSA members are expected to follow the below marketing and social media guidelines.

  1. Only use images or video in marketing material and on social media that reflects responsible marine mammal viewing in line with this Code of Conduct.
  2. Educate clients on the importance of responsible marine mammal viewing and encourage them to only post images or video to social media that reflect operations in line with this Code of Conduct.”

The North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship’s full code of conduct can be accessed at this link. 

Ocular and Slash – Ambassadors of the realities of risk

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Another whale has recently been documented with scarring from entanglement. We’ve identified the whale as Ocular, born in 2016 to Slash (BCY0177). Slash has her nickname because, from the first time we saw her in 2008, she had extreme scarring from a large boat propellor. Ocular’s entanglement scarring was first documented last week.

Ocular and Slash – ambassadors of the realities of the risk to whales of vessel strike and entanglement.

They are not exceptional cases. Our research, done in collaboration with DFO, shows that ~1 in 2 Humpback Whales off BC’s coast have scarring from entanglement. This data provides an indication of how serious the risk of entanglement is but does not reveal how many Humpbacks die after becoming entangled.


How many are hit by boats? We don’t know. We see scarring on some survivors but here too, it is not possible to know how many are hit and die as a result of their injuries. There are whales like KC (BCY0291) that we know have been both hit by a boat and been entangled (twice that we know of in KC’s case).

Thankfully, with the new Marine Mammal Regulations it is now law that such interactions with marine mammals must be reported (all incidents of concern to 1-800-465-4336). But increased public awareness is also very much needed. Please see www.HowToSaveAWhale.org.

Content about what to do if you find an entangled whale is summarized below:

  • With great urgency, report the entanglement with location to the DFO Incident Line / VHF 16. 1-800-465-4336.
  • Do NOT attempt to remove any fishing gear or rope from the whale as it risks human and whale safety (has led to human death).
  • If at all possible, remain with the whale at a distance until trained help arrives or another boat takes over tracking, otherwise the chances of relocating the whale are greatly diminished
  • Take whatever video/photos are possible but maintain a distance that doesn’t stress the whale.

Professional training and equipment are needed to assess the entanglement and proceed safely with the greatest chance of success. Often, much of the fishing gear in which the whale is entangled is not visible at the surface. If well-intentioned members of the public remove the gear at the surface, it is made much more difficult to:
1. recognize that the whale is entangled and;
2. disentangle the whale even if it is relocated.

Trailing gear at the surface provides the opportunity for trained responders to attach a tag to track the whale and/or to attach floatation to maintain contact with and slow down an entangled whale. Loss of this gear can significantly reduce rescuers’ ability to save the whale.

July 8th documentation of Ocular’s entanglement injury near Comox by Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce Foundation.

Who You Gonna Call? Helping BC’s marine mammals.

~ MERS ~ 2 Comments

*Call 1-800-465-4336 to report entanglement, injury or disturbance of a marine mammal in British Columbia.

“Who You Gonna Call” is a series of four short videos aimed at increasing knowledge of how to help marine mammals in British Columbia.

These resources provide background on threats sake disturbance and entanglement and provide information on what to do, and who to call, when incidents of concern are witnessed.

See below for the following videos:
#1 Marine Mammal Disturbance                #2 Whale Entanglement
#3 Seal and Sea Lion Entanglement           #4 Injured, Stranded or Dead Marine Mammals

Marine Mammal Disturbance
By Jackie Hildering; Marine Education and Research Society

Whale Entanglement
By Christie McMillan; Marine Education and Research Society

Seal and Sea Lion Entanglement
By Wendy Szaniszlo; Vancouver Aquarium

Injured, Stranded or Dead Marine Mammals
By Lisa Spaven; Fisheries and Oceans Canada

 

Our gratitude to all who made these resources possible.
Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) funding was provided through the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) / Canadian Marine Animal Response Alliance (CMARA).
Videography was so generously provided by April Bencze.

Whale Species at Risk and the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Project

~ MERS ~ 4 Comments

As a result of the November 29th announcement by Prime Minister Trudeau giving conditional approval to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Project, we have been receiving questions about what this might mean for whale species recognized to be at risk and protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA).

We have written the following in order to answer these questions related to the potential increase in tanker traffic and whale species at risk by summarizing available information from federal documents including Recovery Strategies and Action Plans.

In addition to this review of federal documents, MERS research on Humpback Whales and the risk of vessel strike is pertinent to the potential of increased tanker traffic. Our extensive experience with Humpback Whales provides us with the knowledge of how incredibly unaware Humpbacks can be of boats and how very unpredictably they can surface. This has made our “See a Blow? Go Slow!“campaign a necessity to raise awareness about reducing the risk of collision for the sake of whale and boater safety. Our work with Humpback Whales makes us all too aware that large vessels like tankers cannot divert course fast enough to avoid hitting humpbacks.

The more vessel traffic, the greater the risk becomes.

Questions:

What are the specifics of the tankers – size, number and route?

  • The Aframax tankers proposed to serve the pipeline are 245 m long and 42 m wide.
  • There would be an approximate sevenfold increase in the number of tankers – from 60 to 408 tankers annually.
  • The tankers would carry diluted bitumen to Asian and Californian refineries along the route in the figure below. Note that tanker route (red line) is shown relative to acknowledged critical habitat for the endangered southern resident killer whale population (purple area).

Figure 1: Red line is the tanker route. Purple area is acknowledged critical habitat for the endangered southern resident killer whale population. Click to enlarge. Source: www.wildernesscommittee.org/kinder_morgan_pipeline_route_maps
Figure 1: Red line is the tanker route. Purple area is acknowledged critical habitat for the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale population. Click to enlarge. Source: Wilderness Committee.

How important is the tanker route area to whale species at risk?
The following whale species are recognized to be at risk and are commonly present along the tanker route. They are protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.

  • Southern Resident Killer Whales – Endangered
    Area is designated critical habitat (see Figure 2)
  • Transient / Bigg’s Killer Whales – Threatened
    Area is proposed critical habitat (see Figure 3)
  • North Pacific Humpback Whales – Threatened
    In addition to the designated critical habitat (see Figure 4) there has been a recent dramatic increase in humpbacks in the Strait of Georgia and the Juan de Fuca Strait.

You will note that the area through which increased numbers of tankers would transit is designated or proposed critical habitat for all three at-risk whale species.

“Critical habitat” is defined under SARA as “the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species that is identified as the species’ critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species” (SARA s.2 (1)).”

Figure 2: “Critical habitat for southern resident killer whales. The hatched area in US waters shows the approximate areas designated as southern resident critical habitat under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2011. Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series, Fisheries & Oceans Canada, Ottawa, ix + 80 pp. http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/rs_epaulard_killer_whale_1011_eng.pdf
Figure 2: “Critical habitat for Southern Resident Killer Whales. The hatched area in US waters shows the approximate areas designated as Southern Resident critical habitat under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA).” Source: Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada.

Figure 3: “Map showing the habitat considered necessary for meeting recovery objectives for inner coast WCT killer whales [West Coast Transient]. Area includes marine waters bounded by a distance of 3 nautical miles (5.56 km) from the nearest shore. This area includes the locations of over 90% of all individual identifications and predation events documented in BC waters during 1990-2011.” Source: Ford, J.K.B, E.H. Stredulinsky, J.R. Towers and G.M. Ellis. 2013. Information in Support of the Identification of Critical Habitat for Transient Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) off the West Coast of Canada. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2012/155. iv + 46 p. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Csas-sccs/publications/resdocs-docrech/2012/2012_155-eng.pdf
Figure 3: “Map showing the habitat considered necessary for meeting recovery objectives for inner coast WCT Killer Whales [West Coast Transient]. Area includes marine waters bounded by a distance of 3 nautical miles (5.56 km) from the nearest shore. This area includes the locations of over 90% of all individual identifications and predation events documented in BC waters during 1990-2011.” Source: Information in Support of the Identification of Critical Habitat for Transient Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) off the West Coast of Canada.
Figure 4: “Locations of the four critical habitat areas [for humpback whales]: a. Southeast Moresby Island, b. Langara Island, c. Southwest Vancouver Island, d. Gil Island (DFO 2009). The existence of other areas of critical habitat for Humpback Whales in B.C. is likely.” Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2013. Recovery Strategy for the North Pacific Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa. x + 67 pp. http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/rs_rb_pac_nord_hbw_1013_e.pdf
Figure 4: “Locations of the four critical habitat areas [for Humpback Whales]: a. Southeast Moresby Island, b. Langara Island, c. Southwest Vancouver Island, d. Gil Island (DFO 2009). The existence of other areas of critical habitat for Humpback Whales in B.C. is likely.” Source: Recovery Strategy for the North Pacific Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Canada.
What risks are associated with increased tanker traffic?
Below, we have summarized associated risks as specified in the SARA Recovery Strategies or Action Plans for whale species at risk (click to enlarge).

Figure 5: Summary of risks associated with tankers as specified in the SARA Recovery Strategies or Action Plans for whale species at risk. Click to enlarge.
Figure 5: Summary of risks associated with tankers as specified in the SARA Recovery Strategies or Action Plans for whale species at risk. Click to enlarge.

Further language from federal Recovery Strategies specifically referencing oil spills and/or tankers:

  • Resident Killer Whale Recovery Strategy (2011): “The threat of a spill of oil or other toxic material within the areas of critical habitat pose not only an immediate and acute risk to the health of resident populations  . . . but have the potential to make critical habitat areas un-inhabitable for an extended period of time. . . . While the probability of either northern or southern resident killer whales being exposed to an oil spill is low, the impact of such an event is potentially catastrophic [Note that this Recovery Strategy dates back to 2011]. Both populations are at risk of an oil spill because of the large volume of tanker traffic that travels in and out of Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia (Baird 2001, Grant and Ross 2002) and the proposed expansion of tanker traffic in the north and central coast of BC. In 2003, 746 tankers and barges transported over 55 billion litres of oil and fuel through the Puget Sound (WDOE 2004). If the moratorium on oil and gas exploration and development is lifted in British Columbia, the extraction and transport of oil may put northern resident killer whales at additional risk.
    Killer whales do not appear to avoid oil, as evidenced by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Less than a week after the spill, resident whales from one pod were observed surfacing directly in the slick (Matkin et al. 1999). Seven whales from the pod were missing at this time, and within a year, 13 of them were dead. This rate of mortality was unprecedented, and there was strong spatial and temporal correlation between the spill and the deaths (Dahlheim and Matkin 1994, Matkin et al. 1999). The whales probably died from the inhalation of petroleum vapours (Matkin et al. 1999). Exposure to hydrocarbons can be through inhalation or ingestion, and has been reported to cause behavioural changes, inflammation of mucous membranes, lung congestion, pneumonia, liver disorders, and neurological damage (Geraci and St. Aubin 1982).”
  • Transient Killer Whale Recovery Strategy (2007): “Killer whales do not appear to avoid toxic spills, as indicated by the behaviour of a group of transients in the vicinity of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska (and described in Section 1.4.3.8). This spill was associated with unprecedented mortality of both transient and resident killer whales, which likely died from the inhalation of petroleum vapours (Matkin et al. 1999). Spills on a smaller scale have occurred in British Columbia, such as the Nestucca oil spill (875 tonnes in December 1988) in Gray’s Harbor, Washington, which drifted into Canadian waters, and the more recent spill of 50 tonnes of bunker fuel into Howe Sound from a ruptured tanker in August 2006. There is currently a considerable amount of tanker traffic in and out of Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia, which poses a risk for killer whales (Baird 2001, Grant and Ross 2002). If the proposed 30-inch 400,000 barrel/day Gateway Pipeline is built near Kitimat, the risk of an oil spill associated with tanker traffic running from inshore waters to California and Asia will increase significantly.”
    [Note the Recovery Strategy was finalized prior to the announcement rejecting the Northern Gateway Project and developments with the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Project].
  • Humpback Whale Recovery Strategy (2013): “The recent oil platform blowout in the Gulf of Mexico released an estimated 5.2 million barrels of oil (Crone and Tolstoy, 2010) is a poignant reminder of the potential for failure in engineered infrastructure in the marine environment. Even with very low odds and excellent safety records, catastrophic events can lead to undesirable outcomes. Proposed pipeline projects, associated tanker traffic, and possible offshore oil and gas exploration and development in coastal British Columbia all increase the likelihood of toxic spills in Humpback Whale habitat in the future, and underscore the importance of protecting critical habitat and supporting mitigation measures and plans.
    In 1989 and 1990, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Humpback Whales in Prince William Sound were monitored for resulting effects. A change in abundance could not be determined, no change in calving rate was observed, and distribution varied by year, possibly related to changing prey abundance or distribution. Since there were no reports of Humpback Whales directly exposed to the spill (i.e. swimming through oil slicks), or of dead stranded whales (Dahlheim and von Ziegesar 1993), it is difficult to conclude whether Humpback Whales are vulnerable to oil spills or whether there were simply no whales in the vicinity at the time of the spill. However, other cetaceans such as Killer Whales do not appear to avoid toxic spills, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill was associated with unprecedented mortality of both Resident and Transient Killer Whales, likely resulting from inhalation of petroleum vapours (Matkin et al. 2008). Toxic spills have occurred impacting marine habitat along the B.C. coast. For example, the Nestucca oil spill (1988) resulted in 875 tonnes of oil spilled in Gray’s Harbor, Washington. Oil slicks from this spill drifted into Canadian waters, including Humpback Whale habitat. In 2006, a tanker ruptured in Howe Sound, B.C. spilling approximately 50 tonnes of bunker fuel into coastal waters. In 2007, a barge carrying vehicles and forestry equipment sank near the Robson Bight-Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve within the critical habitat for Northern Resident Killer Whales, spilling an estimated 200 litres of fuel. The barge and equipment (including a 10,000L diesel tank) were recovered without incident. When the Queen of the North sank on March 22, 2006, with 225,000 L of diesel fuel, 15,000 L of light oil, 3,200 L of hydraulic fluid, and 3,200 of stern tube oil, it did so on the tanker route to Kitimat, which is currently the subject of a pipeline and port proposal and within the current boundaries of Humpback Whale critical habitat . . .
    Strong avoidance reactions to underwater noise by Grey, Humpback and Bowhead Whales has been observed at received levels of 160-170 dB re 1 µPa (Richardson et al. 1995; Frankel and Clark 2000; McCauley et al. 2000; Stone and Tasker 2006). The level of noise from a tanker may be as high as 190 dB re 1 µPa, and bathymetric features that reduce sound dissipation would further increase the level of disturbance. For this reason, fjords or channels may be particularly sensitive to noise propagation from vessel traffic. The disruption of access to these areas would limit or reduce foraging opportunities or alter behaviours that support other life processes, such as resting, socializing, and vocal interaction.
    Humpback Whales exhibit strong site fidelity for feeding along the B.C. coast (DFO 2009; Ford et al. 2009) and increased acoustic disturbance in these areas may be detrimental to the quality and accessibility of the feeding grounds.”

What mitigation measures has the federal government put forward?
On November 7th, the federal government announced the “Ocean Protection Plan” for which “Canada will invest $1.5 billion over five years in long-needed coastal protections, with an action plan to deliver results for the coming decade. This Plan will engage communities, first responders, and governing authorities to work together effectively to respond to emergencies.” Many details have not yet been released.

The announcement includes the following plans to address specific risks:

Collision: “The Government of Canada will . . .. Work with partners to implement a real-time whale detection system in specific areas of the species’ habitat to alert mariners to the presence of whales, which will allow them to better avoid interactions with this and other marine mammal species.”

Noise: “The Government of Canada will . . . Take action to better understand and address the cumulative effects of shipping on marine mammals, such as the southern resident killer whales pods . . . This includes work to better establish baselines for noise and consideration of options to mitigate these effects.”

Oil spills: “The Government of Canada will fund improved research capacity to seek safe, reliable, and more effective technologies to clean up oil spills. Research into new clean-up technologies is an essential part of a world-leading marine safety plan.
New investments will fund research to help improve emergency response to marine pollution incidents on the water drawing on the expertise and experience of the science community both in Canada and abroad.
New international partnerships will give Canadians access to the best technology available for spill clean-up. A program will build on the work of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s world-leading Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research and will encourage collaboration on scientific research with Indigenous and local communities, international research facilities and industry.”

Federal documents that have informed the above: