Canada C3 expedition visits Saturna Island, site of historic 1964 capture of killer whale
ABOARD THE MV POLAR PRINCE — More than half a century after the capture of the first killer whale in B.C. waters helped to change public perceptions forever, the Canada C3 expedition returned to Saturna Island on Wednesday to see how citizen science is trying to improve conditions for the species.
“This is where everything shifted,” said C3 participant Mark Leiren-Young, the award-winning author of The Killer Whale Who Changed the World. “This is where we went from viewing them as monsters to loving them.”
The Vancouver Aquarium had sought to kill and mount for public display a killer whale in 1964, but the male captured at East Point off Saturna Island survived for almost three months. During that brief time, the public got to see a different side of killer whales, which, at the time, were regularly shot because they were competitors for salmon.
The captured whale became known as Moby Doll and helped to kickstart an era in which killer whales were captured for exhibit in aquariums. More recently, public sentiments have shifted again, this time against keeping killer whales in captivity at all.
Leiren-Young noted that Moby Doll also proved to be an inspiration for individuals who became leading killer whale scientists, including John Ford and the late Michael Bigg of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “All the people who made these key breakthroughs in figuring out killer whales, their first encounter was with Moby Doll.”
Today, at East Point and Monarch Head, residents of Saturna Island are trying to make a difference through the installation of three hydrophones aimed at studying the effect of vessel noise on the whales’ ability to hunt and communicate.
Larry Peck, founder of Saturna Island Marine Research and Education Society, incorporated in 2013, said the society recently received a $10,000 federal grant to create an online educational tool — configuring data from the hydrophones into graphics and visuals to show how noise interferes with whales’ echolocation abilities.
“It’s unique, you’ll be able to actually see the noise ... the ship coming by and the whales’ calls being obliterated,” said Peck, who has frequented these waters for years as a sailing charter operator. “If the general public doesn’t know about the issues, then they can’t push the politicians for regulations.”
East Point is also on the so-called Whale Trail, a series of land-based sites where you can view whales from a safe distance. The society also leases office space from Parks Canada, which oversees the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, and works closely with researchers with Victoria-based Oceans Networks Canada.
The Saturna hydrophones are part of a growing network all along the coast aimed at gathering baseline information on shipping noise and to better understand the impact on killer whales. In the Salish Sea, the southern resident killer whales are critically endangered at just 76 animals.
In addition to vessel-related noise and harassment, threats to the whales include lack of chinook salmon — their favourite prey — and toxins that bioaccumulate in their bodies.
More than 100 people, including all seven students enrolled in Saturna Elementary, gathered at the B.C. Ferries dock to great C3 participants as they came ashore on inflatable boats. There are 60 persons aboard the Polar Prince, including crew, expedition staff, and participants — musicians, chiefs, artists, politicians, journalists, aboriginals, youth ambassadors, and explorers.
Look for Larry Pynn’s stories from the C3 expedition every day this week.
For more information on Canada C3, visit: canadac3.ca/en/homepage.