Watch out while watching the whales

From the Summer 2010 issue of Coast&Kayak Magazine. Read the entire magazine online.

by Caitlin Birdsall

Sea kayaking can be a veritable marine safari. Twittering bald eagles perched on shoreline snags, rotund harbour seals lolling on sunny rocks and brilliantly colored sea stars splayed along the ocean floor all await the paddling naturalist. Increasingly, paddlers are targeting areas known for one specific type of wildlife: cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Whether it is the iconic killer whale, an enormous humpback whale or one of the smaller dolphins and porpoises, a kayaking experience with cetaceans can be the thrill of a lifetime.

Like any obstacle in the water, the presence of kayaks can affect the normal behavior of the animals, disrupting their travel patterns, hunting abilities, resting bouts and socialization. With marine wildlife-based kayak trips becoming more prevalent in the Pacific Northwest on top of the large amount of motorized vessels, the issue of disturbance has become increasingly important for all marine users.

So what is a concerned, conservation-minded paddler to do?

“Most paddlers are already interested in reducing their impact during a trip as much as possible; low-impact camping, using biodegradable products, packing-in/packing-out are already part of their ethic. We want them to know that their low-impact efforts can easily extend to their behavior on the water around whales, dolphins and porpoises, as well,” says Alana Phillips of the BC Cetacean Sightings Network at the Vancouver Aquarium. “It is as easy as following the Be Whale Wise guidelines adapted for kayaks while enjoying your wildlife experience.”

The Be Whale Wise program was initially created in 2007 to provide guidelines for motorized vessels around whales, dolphins and porpoises to help reduce the disturbance, noise and chance of collisions. The guidelines include:

• Give whales a wide berth: do not approach or position your kayak closer than 100m/yards to any whale.

• Keep clear of the whales’ path. If whales are approaching you, cautiously paddle out of the way.

• Group up! If you are paddling with others, stay in a close group to pose only one obstacle, instead of many, to the animals.

• Position yourself well offshore of the whales, or in a position tight inshore of the kelp line. Killer whales in particular frequently feed within 200 metres of shore. By moving well offshore of them or positioning tight to the shoreline, you present a minimal disturbance to their foraging.

• If you are onshore, do not launch kayaks into passing groups of whales, dolphins or porpoises. Enjoy your view of the animals from land as they pass by.

These guidelines are even more important when the cumulative effect of many vessels is considered. For example, in Johnstone Strait, a mecca for paddlers and boaters seeking experiences with the threatened northern resident killer whales, researchers have begun studying the number of vessels, including kayaks, using the area during the summer months in which the whales are also present. Cetus, a conservation and research organization that provides education on whale watching etiquette and collects data on whale-vessel interactions through their program Straitwatch, has found that up to 100 kayaks can be found regularly in the most popular 20 kilometre section of the Strait.

“An individual kayaker’s encounter may only last a minute, but for the whales, only a few tail strokes away they encounter someone else, making it an all-day issue for the whales,” says Doug Sandilands, coordinator of Cetus’ Straitwatch program. “One kayak may not have a profound effect on the animal, but it becomes significant when there are many kayaks, whale watching boats, sport fishermen and other boats all day, for many days.”

Caitlin Birdsall is with the BC Cetacean Sightings Network of the Vancouver Aquarium.

Learn more, do more:

• To learn more about BC’s cetaceans check out www.wildwhales.org

• For the full Be Whale Wise guidelines, go to www.cetussociety.org

• Paddlers who wish to go further in their stewardship of cetaceans in British Columbia can help researchers learn more about these animals by reporting their sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises to the BC Cetacean Sightings Network through the online reporting form at wildwhales.org, by email at sightings@vanaqua.org or by calling 1 866 I SAW ONE.

• If you witness marine mammals being disturbed by vessels or kayaks, please alert DFO by calling 1-800-465-4336.

• Support killer whale and other cetacean research by adopting a killer whale at www.killerwhale.org