Keep your distance from belugas, experts urge
HALIFAX— Ottawa will impose new regulations Wednesday that will require boats to keep a healthy distance from marine mammals, just as two inquisitive beluga whales have been drawing onlookers into waters off a Cape Breton beach, in encounters experts say could jeopardize the highly social animals.
Corey Webster, a federal Fisheries conservation and protection official, said the new rules will require vessels to stay 100 metres from most whales, dolphins and porpoises, with variations in distance for certain species such as killer whales.
“The amendments aren’t intended to control whether or not whales approach vessels closely,” he said in an interview in Halifax.
“It’s just that we don’t want vessels going out and harassing the whales in terms of chasing them down or separating a mother and calf.”
He wouldn’t reveal possible penalties for infractions, saying only that they would be determined on a case-by-case basis. The announcement comes — coincidentally, Webster said — as people continued to flock to an area off Ingonish Beach to see two playful belugas that have been cruising the waters near the shoreline for about a week.
Videos and photos on social media sites show boats and kayaks surrounding the splotchy white whales as they bob to the surface, coming within reach of the various vessels.
“They’re quite curious and they stare right at you; it’s like they’re looking right into your soul,” said Bernie Lamey. “They’re very interactive. I think they want to know more about us than we want to know about them.”
But he also said it may be time “to leave nature alone.” Marine mammal experts agree, saying the close encounters could be harmful to the gregarious whales.
Catherine Kinsman of the Whale Stewardship Project, which has studied belugas since 1998, said the whales could become too familiar with people and boats, increasing their risk of injury.
“They can be severely injured or in some cases have been killed,” she said.