Video shows humpback tail making contact with boat

“The boat was officially, quote, ‘not under command’ but the whale in full command of the situation.”

Melville called the event “highly unusual,” but he said he’s noticed more whales swimming near vessels in recent years as food supplies diminish.

“Being incredibly intelligent animals, I think it was partly a curiosity move and partly a little bit of a dominance move,” he said.

In July, the federal Fisheries Department implemented new regulations that require people and vessels to maintain a minimum distance of 100 metres from most whales, dolphins and porpoises to protect them from human disturbances.

A distance of 200 meters is required when approaching killer whales in B.C. and 400 meters when approaching threatened or endangered species in Quebec’s St. Lawrence Estuary.

Melville said he hopes the video is a reminder for people to respect these curious, intelligent animals.

“We as people, the onus is on us to assess and modify our actions ... in order to accommodate these animals.”

--On

Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight heading to Zurich from San Francisco on Friday will be propelled in part by a biofuel created by a Quebec company aiming to clean up the skies.

Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. is the firm behind the biofuel made from Carinata mustard and company founder and president Steve Fabijanski believes it could help dramatically decarbonize the aviation industry.

“For me, this is a very good example of Canadian innovation and especially innovation from Quebec in terms of looking at green solutions,” he said in an interview from Paris with The Canadian Press.

Thirty per cent of the jet fuel used in the Boeing will be replaced by the biofuel, leading the company to proclaim the plane will emit 30 per cent less greenhouse gases than a regular flight.

Fabijanski said he believes his company’s product is the greenest biofuel ever used in a plane to date and that partnering with United Airlines will serve as a showcase for attracting new projects.

With a flight time of 11 hours, the California-to-Switzerland flight will be the longest transatlantic trip to date using biofuels and the second time Agrisoma’s mustard-based product will be used in a commercial flight.

Last Jan. 28, it was used in a 15hour transpacific Qantas Airways

Helicopters and trucks are relocating hundreds of mountain goats from Olympic National Park in an effort officials said will protect natural resources, reduce visitor safety issues and boost native goat populations elsewhere in Washington state.

Professional crews used tranquilizer darts and net guns to capture the animals from rocky ridges and slopes within the national park, located about 100 miles (160 kilometres) west of Seattle.

The animals were blindfolded, flight between Australia and the United States. In that instance, the biofuel replaced 10 per cent of the jet fuel.

Currently, the technical and regulatory rules limit to 50 per cent the amount of biofuel that can be used in commercial aircraft.

“Fifty per cent is the goal (for the company) and at 50 per cent, you’re making a significant impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Fabijanski.

As the number of air passengers has steadily grown, the aviation industry has set as a goal reducing CO2 emissions by 50 per cent compared to 2005 levels. The industry is responsible for two to three per cent of global emissions.

Steven Guilbeault, an environmental activist and co-founder of Equiterre, says Agrisoma’s biofuel paves the way for air carriers to take a significant step in reducing their carbon footprint.

“As an ecologist, what matters to me is that this type of technology is spreading and, as a Quebecer, I won’t hide the fact it makes me proud that it was developed in our backyard,” he said.

The head of Cycle Capital Management, one of Agrisoma’s principal investors, didn’t hesitate to promote the virtues of biofuel.

“If we put just 10 per cent of this fuel in all the planes around the world, we would accomplish great things,” said Andree-Lise Methot, the founder of the cleantech venture capital fund manager. put into specially made slings and airlifted to a staging area in the park. They were examined, collared with a tracking device, given fluids and then began a journey by truck and ferry to another area in the North Cascades.

From there, they were flown in crates and released into alpine habitat.

A plan approved by park officials in June calls for about 375 goats to be moved to habitat in the North Cascades, where the animals are native.

Park officials estimate between 275 and 325 goats that can’t be caught will eventually be shot and killed.