News
August-September 2003
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD
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Tireless teacher, Brian Henry, assists a paddler at the Vancouver Island Paddlefest in a simulated roll. Brian was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award at the event. Alan Wilson photo. |
Spring saw several successful kayak gatherings throughout our region, including the Port Angeles Sea Kayak Symposium, the Coast Kayak Symposium on Thetis Island, the Okanagan Paddlefest in Summerland and the Vancouver Island Paddlefest in Ladysmith. At the Ladysmith event, Brian Henry, founder of Current Designs and owner/operator of Ocean River Sports in Victoria BC, was awarded the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations, Brian! (Ocean River Sports is an endorser of Orca Pass.)
Now we await the world’s largest kayak event, the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium in Port Townsend WA, September 19-21 (800-755-5228, www.wcsks.org, info@gopaddle.org).We hope to see you there!
And don’t forget the 5th annual Bamfield Sea Kayak Symposium, September 26-28 in Bamfield BC, with more than $5,000 in cash and merchandise to be awarded to competitive and recreational paddlers. Bamfield is in the heart of the Pacific Rim National Park located in Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island. (250-728-3500, bamfieldkayakfestival@bamfield.ca).
The same weekend, the Vancouver Island Whitewater Paddling Society will hold the 2nd annual Canada West Kayak Surf Festival at Long Beach, near Tofino. Preregistration is required at www.surfkayak.org, 250-754-6296, info@surfkayak.org.
Also on Sep. 28th, BC Rivers Day will have a series of events taking place across the province, from stream clean-ups and paddle trips to community festivals. Last year, approximately 50,000 people came out to events on BC Rivers Day. For information: Jennifer Grenz, 604-737-3058, orc@intergate.ca.
KAYAK RAFFLE
Tickets are still available for the Georgia Strait Alliance’s Summer Kayak Raffle (only 2,000 printed). First prize is a beautiful, fiberglass Solstice GT from Current Designs (www.cdkayak.com). Second prize is a trip with SeaLegs Kayaking, (www.sealegs kayaking.com) and third prize a beautiful handcrafted glass bowl with marine motif by Tammy Hudgeon. Tickets are just $5 or 3 for $10. Contact gsa@georgiastrait.org or 250-753-3459. All funds go to support the marine environment.
MUSICIAN ON A MISSION
In late August and early September, Steve Karajanis, a Gibsons - based singer/songwriter, will be on tour—by kayak—to communities around Georgia Strait, giving concerts and raising awareness and funds for GSA, Sierra Club and other environmental groups. More info and samples can be found at www.stevekmusic.com.
Pacific Kayaks (www.pacifickayaks.com) is sponsoring a double for the trip; AquaBound (www.aquabound.com) is sponsoring paddles; and Alpha Adventures (www.robertscreek.com/kayak) has supplied a Guitar Dry Bag and other accessories. Way to go, team!
WHALE WATCHERS HELP SOUNDWATCH
The Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest recently donated $10,000 to the Whale Museum’s Soundwatch Boater Education Program. Soundwatch monitors and contacts boaters who engage in marine wildlife viewing. The Whale Watch OperatorsAssociation Northwest is made up of 30 US and Canadian commercial whale-watch companies. Soundwatch, in partnership with the Canadian Marine Mammal Monitoring Program (M3), keeps records and sends monthly feedback reports to commercial whale watching companies. For more info: see www.nwwhalewatchers.org and www.whalemuseum.org.
NEW J CALVES
In April, the Center for Whale Research reported that a 31 year old resident female killer whale identified as J11 was seen with a new baby, her fourth known offspring. The new calf was designated J39, sex unknown.
Earlier this year, in January an eighteen year old resident female killer whale, J22, was also seen with a new baby, her second known offspring. The calf was designated J38, sex unknown. It appeared healthy and vigorous in April.
The birth of two calves in J pod is extremely good news for the southern resident killer whale population. With these additions, the pod now numbers 22 individuals.
DEPLETED? ENDANGERED?
Puget Sound’s orcas were officially designated as ‘depleted’ this May, requiring the US government to find ways to rebuild their population. The depleted status—a legal definition under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act—requires NOAA to develop a conservation plan ‘as soon as possible’ to deal with factors that may be causing the population decline.
The conservation plan will identify measures to restore the population, estimate the costs of the effort and define goals for population recovery.
But the designation and regulations stop short of addressing the wider range of threats, such as toxic chemicals that would have been addressed if the whales had been designated ‘endangered’ under the US Endangered Species Act.
US conservation groups began court action late last year seeking to overturn the controversial decision against classifying the whales as ‘endangered’. The federal government concluded that, while the mammals were at risk of extinction, the population were not distinct enough to warrant special status.
The Georgia Strait Alliance and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee joined the lawsuit, respresented by the Sierra Legal Defence Fund. The groups are pointing to the decision two years ago by Canadian scientists to classify the same population of whales as endangered under Canadian law. The case is being heard in the US federal court this summer.
For info: Margot Venton, Sierra Legal Defence Fund: 604-685-5618, mventon@sierralegal.org.
LUNA TO STAY
A scientific panel of Canadian and US experts has decided not to reunite a lonely killer whale with his pod.
The young male, L98, nicknamed Luna, has been surviving alone in Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, for almost two years. He’s been at the center of controversy due to his antics with boaters and the inappropriate behaviour of humans who have been jostling to get near this overly friendly whale.
It’s unusual for killer whales to be alone because they normally travel in cohesive family groups. Experts aren’t sure why Luna separated from his southern whale pod.
Leading the orca to open waters where he might naturally reunite with his pod has also been ruled out because it would further condition him to humans.
A woman already has been fined for petting Luna, something scientists say could foster abnormal behavior patterns in the animal and hurt its chances of ever reuniting with its pod. The Fisheries Department will patrol the area to provide information and to remind boaters to stay away from Luna.
IMMINENT DANGER TO WHALES
The Orca Network is warning about a massive US/Canada/Japan seismological research project planned for late August and early September this year off the south coast of Vancouver Island. This project will use an extremely large air cannon, firing at a volume of 243dB. This level is higher than the seismic tests in Baja that killed beaked whales.
Severe trauma to marine mammals will almost certainly result from this project if it is allowed to continue as planned, including the southern resident orca community.
The website for this Seismological project, called the CASSIS project is:
http:/ /www.geosun1.seos.uvic.ca/cassis/intro.html
NOAA Fisheries started getting information about this project only about two or three weeks ago. Canadian DFO had received a permit application containing inaccurate information and issued a permit. DFO has since realized their error and have rescinded the earlier ‘recommended mitigations’ they had submitted. Presumably they are now working on a more stringent set of mitigations. Contact Orca Network 866-ORCANET, 360-678-3451, info@orcanetwork.org or see www.orcanetwork.org.
WHALE STRANDINGS FROM SONAR
A new Spanish report on the effect of sonic military equipment on marine mammals concludes that most whale deaths recorded in the Canary Islands since 1985 have coincided with military navy manoeuvres.
Post-mortems carried out by veterinarians from University of Las Palmas after the last whale strandings in the Canaries found internal bleeding which may have been caused by acoustic trauma.
LESS THAN ONE
SeaWeb and the Ocean Wilderness Network have announced the launch of “Less Than One”, a public awareness campaign calling for the establishment of a network of fully protected marine reserves along the US Pacific Coast. Currently, less than 1% of the ocean is protected. As a result, overfishing, pollution and increased human use continue to devastate ocean resources. See www.seaweb.org and www.oceanwildernessnetwork.org.
PEW REPORT
This spring the Pew Oceans Commission issued a historic report, the first analysis in 30 years, concluding that America’s marine systems—oceans, coasts, and the web of life they support—are on the verge of collapse. Marine management has slipped through the cracks of the dozens of agencies charged with caring for the sea’s health.The result is that overfishing, harmful coastal development, pollution, and other wasteful practices are threatening fish and fisherman alike.
The report, titled America’s Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change, concludes that healthy oceans are vitally important to the nation’s economy and environment and recommends a major shift in US ocean policy to reverse the current crisis. Authored by scientists and other experts, the report presents practical solutions that would untangle federal agencies, protect important fish breeding and feeding areas, restrain coastal development, and prevent ocean pollution.
In the Northwest, scientists, conservation leaders, and people who rely on the sea for their livelihoods are calling on national, state and local policymakers to safeguard the region’s marine economy, quality of life and public health by:
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Establishing a system of fully protected marine reserves to help restore important ecosystems and fisheries by giving fish and wildlife safe places to feed, breed, and rest;
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Protecting coastal habitat that supports the marine food chain, from orcas to the salmon they depend on, by better controlling development and its impacts including water quality problems; and,
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Revising, strengthening and expanding pollution laws that protect shellfish beds, fish, wildlife, and people from harmful pollution. Copies of the report: www.pewoceans.org
PROTECTION FOR HENRY ISLAND
A public-private partnership between the San Juan County Land Bank and the San Juan Preservation Trust will provide permanent protection for the extensive tidal salt marsh isthmus on Henry Island, adjacent to San Juan Island in Orca Pass. The $950,000 cooperative land conservation purchase protects an area that is home to an abundance of wildlife and native plants.
The project includes the purchase of a 21-acre meadow, marine shoreline and forested upland, and a conservation easement on the adjoining 21-acre salt marsh isthmus. By combining these land conservation methods, 42 acres of exceptional open-space and wildlife habitat will be permanently protected.
SALMON FARM-FREE
If you wish to find restaurants and stores that are not selling farmed salmon, check out the Georgia Strait Alliance’s Diners’ Guide at www.GeorgiaStrait.org or go to www.farmedanddangerous.org/solutions.htm#retailers. For maps of BC fish farms, see www.livingoceans.org/fishfarm_maps.htm.
ATLANTIC SALMON SOUGHT
The Atlantic Salmon in Pacific Waters Research Group at the University of Alberta, headed by Dr. John Volpe, is asking commercial and sport fishermen to donate any Atlantic salmon they catch to their researchefforts. This will further research on the extent of sea lice outbreaks, numbers of escaped Atlantics, if they’re breeding in the wild, where and how. All information will be made public.
Toll Free: 1-866-329-7369.
See www. escapedatlantics.com.
MARINE DISTRESS
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre is discontinuing the *311 cell number which was advertised for air and marine distress. *16 is now the only number that Canadian Coast Guard will use for marine distress.
CORRECTION
If you ever want to know who reads a publication, just make a silly mistake like calling Harlequin ducks, ‘Wood ducks’, as we did last time in Alexandra Morton’s column photo. Thanks to all you faithful, sharpeyed readers who let us know.
CAMPFIRE SAFETY REMINDER
Over half of wildfires are caused by human carelessness so use caution when building a fire (campstoves are really a better alternative). Make sure to carefully clear a 3- meter area of all debris, dig down to mineral soil and put a ring of rocks around the fire. Have water nearby and do not build a fire during windy conditions. Never leave your campfire unattended and be sure to extinguish until cool to the touch. To report a wildfire in BC: 1-800-663-5555.
Steve Crowe Is busy getting married but he’ll be back next time with whitewater!
UPDATE ON SPRINGER
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© Rolph Hicker photo |
Sitting at my desk looking through a microscope at sea lice, I received a radio call from whale-watch skipper and friend Bill MacKay. “We have A73 here!” he said with a strong accent of amazement. From the bridge of his boat Naiad, Bill described a fat and happy little whale snuggled near her great Aunt A11 (Yakat). When the ID photos arrived on my computer, there she was with a strand of kelp billowing off her lovely little fin and distinctive open saddle patch. I had felt Springer’s chance of surviving the winter was very small. While appearing physically healthy, she had so many social obstacles to navigate, I didn’t dare hope. With the loss of her mother, the social glue, so vital to whale survival, had been broken. The little female had wandered through several clans, and several foster mothers, including a ferry boat! That she survived the winter in the company of whales, without becoming stranded again in a lonesome bay, raises the probability of her survival much higher.
Miracles do happen... I pressed my face against the microscope lens again and sighed hopefully. —Alexandra Morton
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