It was the length of one football field. Now it’s two.
That’s how close any ship, boat or vessel — kayaks too — will be permitted to get to any of the Southern Resident killer whales under a new set of rules announced Friday by the National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration.
For whale watching boats and kayak tours, whose busy seasons start in June, new rules create an uncharted area in San Juan sea tourism.
“There is no way to judge how it will affect our business,” said Bill Wright of San Juan Safaris and San Juan Charters. “We feel we can still view the whales and give visitors a good experience and do our best.”
According to NOAA, the new federal rules go into effect in early May and apply to all types of boats, including motor boats, sail boats and kayaks, in the inland waters of Washington state. Vessels will be prohibited from approaching any killer whale closer than 200 yards and from intercepting an orca or positioning in its path.
U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen, D-Bellingham, vowed to keep close watch on the effectiveness and fallout of the new regulations.
“As the summer season begins, I will be closely monitoring the implementation of the new buffer zone and discussing its effect with the local community,” Larsen said in a press release. “This is a significant change to existing rules, and it should protect our environment and endangered species while maintaining appropriate access and opportunities for those wishing to experience it.”
The Southern residents were added to the Endangered Species list in late 2005. The new rules aim at protecting these killer whales, which depend on a highly sophisticated natural sonar to navigate and find food. That sonar, according to NOAA, can be affected by underwater noise from boats and disturbed by vessels, including non-motorized ones. The agency’s killer whale recovery plan, releases in early 2008, calls for actions to reduce disturbance from vessels.
The population of Southern residents, which consist of J, K and L pods, three closely related clans, peaked at 97 animals in the 1990s, and then declined to 79 in 2001. It has seen slow growth since then, and now stands at an estimated 86 killer whales, about half of which are sexually mature.
According to Wright, because these animals are on the endangered species list they have the benefit of observant and concerned eyes.
Scientists have identified the major threats facing the population as a shortage of its preferred prey of Chinook salmon, disturbance from vessels, and water pollution.
Jenny Atkinson, director of the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, said the more protection, the better, even if it only addresses just one of the three threats. “Anything we can do to provide protection is significant,” she said.
Exemptions to the rules for safety include vessels actively fishing commercially, cargo vessels traveling in established shipping lanes, and government and research vessels. Excluded from the new rules is a seasonal half-mile wide no-go zone along the west side of San Juan Island.
See the Fisheries Northwest Region Website for more information:
