B.C. vows to do more to protect killer whales
Plight of orcas has risen in public’s perception since death of J-35
VANCOUVER— Canada’s fisheries minister says he is committed to implementing as many protective measures as possible for the critically endangered southern resident killer whales before they make their annual return to B.C.’s coast to feed. He has about five months. “We (will) try to put as many of the measures as possible by May of next year when the bulk of the whales return to Canadian waters,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
In a year-end interview with StarMetro, Wilkinson acknowledged that the southern resident orcas’ ongoing struggle to fend off extinction is an “urgent problem” — but he also disagreed with environmental organizations that have been calling for a complete shutdown of Chinook salmon fisheries in order to help the whales recover. Chinook salmon are the orcas’ main food source.
“At this stage, our view is we are working toward a situation where the whales will have enough to eat,” said Wilkinson, who is also MP for North Vancouver.
“If we don’t have to tell everyone else who is actually involved in the Chinook fisheries that they can’t fish at all, we won’t do that. We are not convinced that it’s required.”
But the idea of closing all Chinook fisheries may appeal to people who have been following the orcas’ plight since the dramatic events of this past summer.
The profound display of grief by an orca named J-35, who carried her dead newborn around for weeks, and the intense rescue effort to save young J-50 shone an international spotlight on the southern resident orcas’ fight for survival.
Three southern resident orcas died in 2018, leaving only 74 whales in the population, which is unique to the waters off the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds of orcas live in that area, including northern residents, transients and offshore orcas, but the southern residents have their own distinct culture. They are one of the most heavily studied whale populations in the world.
Wilkinson pointed out that the government had already been working on a recovery plan for the orcas for years. The government reduced Chinook quotas by about a third in June 2018, before J-pod made international headlines.
But it appears the ministry is now speeding up the implementation of measures like increasing the amount of protected territory, expanding the nogo zone around orcas to 200 metres and moving shipping lanes away from waters frequented by the animals.
Currently the only way to enforce rules governing fish farms is to take companies to court.
Six conservation organizations are suing Ottawa for not doing enough to protect the southern resident killer whales. Environmentalists want the federal government to enact an emergency order to save the animals from extinction.