A Whale of a Time - Finding the Right Action

This cartoon, by Adrian Raeside, showed up in the local North Vancouver newspaper last week. It's message touches many of the issues that we have covered in this blog's pages over recent months: Seismic testing, net entanglement, and shipping accidents in protected whale reserves. We asked Adrian for his permission to share the comic strip here.

Iconic species such as whales are often used to deliver messages on ocean health, because we have a soft spot in our heart for these mammalian cousins in the sea. But how do we get folks to rally around the squid that will die off due to seismic testing, or the sea birds that drown, tangled in nets, or even the ratfish that get slaughtered by the thousands as bycatch, only to get thrown back to the sea? It is harder to drive legislative reform for the sake of these more ordinary species. I think that if we start by remembering that everything in the ocean is connected - even more than on land due to the water that flows in between, we will remember that the changes we make at the lowest levels in the food web, starting with clean water, will have impacts all the way to the top.

Don't get me wrong - I will fight for the whales side by side with the rest of them - but I find, increasingly, that the actions needed to address all sorts of environmental woes begin with the basics, and they impact the bottom of the food web. Don't put stuff in the water that you wouldn't put in your mouth. Don't shout, out of respect for others using this shared space. Share, and leave enough for all. Put things back where you found them, and leave everywhere clean and tidy.

Do you think, if we stuck to such kindergarten basics, that our oceans would thrive again, saving all manner of marine life, including whales and ourselves at the same time?

Kim Wright is the Marine Planning and Protected Areas Program Manager for the Living Oceans Society.

Humpback Freed... Again.

Humpback Whale Jumping (NOAA)

This morning on the ferry on my way to work, I heard talk that the same humpback that became entangled in prawn gear last month, had gotten tangled in almost the same spot again.

I decided to investigate the rumors, and sure enough, the folks at Stubbs Island Whale Watching confirm that on Wednesday, June 10, 'Twister' was entangled in a whole line of 42 prawn traps. Apparently this time, the whale was pretty much anchored in place and couldn't move until (once again) DFO, Straitwatch, and others came to the rescue.

Congratulations to all those involved in the rescues, and hopefully, 'Twister' will steer clear of those traps from now on.

Robson Bight Salvage - Mission Accomplished!

The term "Mission Accomplished" has achieved such a tawdry reputation in recent times that one has to be hesitant about using it. However, occasionally it is appropriate, and well deserved. We are happy to report that such is the case for the Robson Bight salvage operation. By 3pm today, the tanker truck laden with 10,000 litres of toxic diesel fuel had been lifted from the murky depths below Robson Bight and safely deposited on the attendant operations barge. The threat is no more. finis. mission accomplished!

The previous two days had been spent waiting, at times with great hope, and at times with frustration and real worry. Sunday morning was spent deploying and testing the great yellow metal box within which the tanker truck was to be housed during its journey to the surface. Everything went well, and both crew and officials were reportedly very pleased with the progress that had been made. The scene was set for the final lift, but the weather forecast was poor, and a decision was made to postpone it to the following day.

Almost coincidental with the decision to postpone the final lift, a maneuver to adjust the orientation of the fuel tanker and lift its wheels out of the muck was announced. Over the radio being used for communications between the operations team, the exchange went something like "we're not going to lift the truck today, but we're going to move it". To listeners worried about the possibly fragile state of the tanker after being unseen for nearly 2 years, the laconic remark came as a shock, provoking immediate recall of the "we're going to stir the tanks" comment that headed the Apollo 13 moon mission into disaster and heroism.


As things turned out, the currents 350m below Robson Bight were too strong to allow the maneuver on Sunday, so it was accomplished on Monday morning. The reports at first were that everything had gone well, and the tanker truck was now sitting in perfect position for the lift. Then, in the space of a moment, everything changed. The calm scene on the operations barge became suddenly energetic as numerous people rushed around tossing pieces and then bales of absorbent cloth into the water, and the little oil spill cleanup contingency operation swung into high gear, with booms being dragged between pairs of vessels that moved back & forth through the area around the operations barge. It was obvious that something unexpected had happened, and that an oil spill cleanup operation was underway. A couple of hours later, after an ROV inspection of the tanker truck, and no visible sign of a spreading oil spill, it was concluded that what had happened was a "burp" from the tanker as it was moved, and not a breach of its shell. As darkness fell, the prospect of disaster had diminished, and (most of) the crew slept well.

Tuesday morning dawned perfectly, with a flat ocean and a hint of sunshine to come. The crew went to work immediately, and by 9am the great yellow metal box intended to house the tanker and contain a spill of diesel if this happened on the way to the surface, was already below water. Several hours followed during which the ROV positioned the box around the tanker and secured it inside. A little before 1pm, the lift began, accompanied by radio borne expressions like "up easy", "stop" "all stop" "easy" "a little faster", until around 1:40pm the lift was stopped and divers entered the water for a close inspection of the box and tanker. The inspection completed,
apparently without any sign of trouble, the lift continued; a few minutes later the yellow roof of the box at last came into view. It took a full half hour of additional inspection and maneuvering before the decision was made to lift the box onto the deck of the attendant barge. By 3pm the great yellow box and its deadly cargo was secure on the barge. Not a drop of diesel had entered the water. danger averted, mission complete.

Everyone involved in this saga deserves sincere thanks, congratulations, and applause. It's a long list. We especially wish to acknowledge the tireless energy of the NGOs, led by Soinula's
Living Oceans Society and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, who convinced governments to act. The Namgis First Nation, Village of Alert Bay and Mount Waddington Regional District added persuasive voices. Once the decision had been made, the practical focus of British Columbia's Ministry of Environment, led by Randy Alexander, got the salvage effort underway. The Dutch company Mammoet Salvage, along with its Seattle partner Global Diving, performed their roles splendidly.

A couple of final whale notes: On Sunday, a group of transient orcas headed west in Johnstone Strait, passing just outside the salvage scene. They turned out to be the T18s, the same group of orcas that had been sighted nearby on August 20th 2007, the exact date of the barge accident in Robson Bight. And yesterday, amidst the anxiety of the salvage operation, a report came in of an entangled humpback whale in a nearby inlet. Crews from DFO and Straitwatch immediately headed to the scene, and found a young humpback, perhaps 2 years old, seriously entangled in more than a dozen trap lines. Eventually, and very carefully, the lines were cut and the whale swam free. What a day that was, and what a week this has been!

Dr. Paul Spong is the founder of Orcalab, a small land based whale research station nestled against the evergreen forest of Hanson Island in the waters of the "Inside Passage" of northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. He was present as an observer at the Robson Bight clean up this weekend.

Photo Credit: Ministry of Environment

Clean Up Starts in Robson Bight

Footage of the wreckage in Robson Bight

The Robson Bight clean up effort to recover a fully laden fuel truck and a container of hydraulic oil barrels starts this month, almost two years after a barge tipped 11 pieces of equipment in this important ecological reserve. The equipment that spilled into the water contained an estimated 19,000 litres of petroleum.

It is unfortunate that only select pieces of equipment will be recovered: "the provincial and federal governments have decided, mainly because of cost, that the rest of the equipment, including vehicles, log loaders, a grappleyarder, bulldozer and ambulance, will be left on the bottom of the ocean."1

The federal and provincial government are sharing the costs of the clean up operation, which is estimated at about $2.5 million.

Giant Blue Whales are Back on the West Coast!

The first known migration of giant blue whales from the coast of California to areas off British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska since commercial whaling ended in 1965 has been documented by marine mammal scientists.

A blue whale spouts off Moresby Island, British Columbia. Photo by: John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective.

In all the years that I have been, “messing about in boats,” from the Gulf Islands to Alaska, I have seen most of the marine mammals that frequent our coast, including close encounters(not intentionally!) with grey whales, humpbacks and orcas, but I've never seen a blue whale.

Researchers from Cascadia Research Collective in Washington, NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in California, and Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans used the blue whale’s distinctive pigmentation patterns of their skin color and the shape of the dorsal fin to positively match individuals seen in the north Pacific with those off of California.

Researchers identified individual blue whales by the shapes of their small dorsal fins. (Photo by John Calambokidis courtesy Cascadia Research Collective)

Reaching lengths of nearly 100 feet, the blue whale is the largest animal on Earth today and the largest known to have ever existed.

They were nearly hunted to extinction throughout the world and are currently listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the Canadian Species at Risk Act, and on the authoritative IUCN Red List.

During the early 1900s in the North Pacific and along the West Coast as far south as Baja California, blue whales were nearly wiped out during commercial whaling activities. Because they were the largest whales, blue whales were a prime target for whalers.

John Calambokidis of the Cascadia Research Collective, who has a long history of blue whale research, said of this study, "We document 15 blue whale sightings off British Columbia and in the Gulf of Alaska made since 1997, and use identification photographs to show that whales in these areas are currently part of the California feeding population."

The scientists are still not certain why blue whales are now beginning to migrate from southern California to the North Pacific Ocean, although changing ocean conditions may have shifted their primary food source of krill further north.

Living between 70 and 80 years, blue whales reproduce every two or three years. There are an estimated 5,000 to 12,000 animals surviving today, with the largest population of approximately 2,000 off the U.S. West Coast.

Click here to view the research paper, "Insights into the population structure of blue whales in the Eastern North Pacific from recent sightings and photographic identification."

On a similar note click here to see one of the first underwater videos of a blue whale calf in the waters off Puerto Rico.

Whale Interpretive Centre to House T044

Transient Killer Whales Jumping (Photo Credit: NOAA)

In this week's North Island Gazette, Mary Borrowman of Stubbs Island Whale Watching gives us more information about what has happened to the carcass of the male transient orca found near Telegraph Cove late last month.

Bill and Donna Mackay of Mackay Whale Watching found the whale floating in the water near Bull Harbour and, once news got out, members of the community came together to help bring the whale to Telegraph Cove for the necropsy that took place last week. The dead whale was identified as 32-year-old T044 because of a notch in the dorsal fin and distinctive scratches on the saddle patch; but the cause of T044's death is still unknown.

Once the whale has been cleaned and articulated, it will be housed in the Johnstone Strait Killer Whale Interpretive Centre in Telegraph Cove.

Justice for BC's Orca Population

Photo: NOAA Public Archives

Last week, the federal government issued an Order that will provide legal protection for endangered killer whales' habitat. This is an exciting victory for Ecojustice and all of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit that precipitated this Order.

Here is the full press release:


Stunning policy reversal could mark turning point for 85 remaining whales
Ecojustice lawsuit forces government to legally protect BC killer whale habitat
Vancouver, BC Feb 25, 2009

After British Columbians celebrated the unexpected arrival of two newborn killer whales last week, there is another new cause for hope for BC's imperilled killer whale populations. This week, the federal government issued an Order that will provide legal protection for the endangered species' habitat - a stunning policy reversal after a lawsuit was launched by environmentalists last year.

The lawsuit was filed by Ecojustice, formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund, on behalf of nine of Canada and BC’s leading environmental organizations. It alleged that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had failed to require much-needed legal protection for the killer whales’ critical habitat. DFO had claimed instead that existing laws and unenforceable guidelines were sufficient to protect the orcas’ habitat from serious threats like toxic contamination, acoustic degradation and declining salmon stocks.

“To recover, killer whales need more than the status quo from the federal government and so we’re thrilled our lawsuit forced it to issue this habitat protection Order,” said Ecojustice lawyer Lara Tessaro. “Now we’ll be pushing to ensure this Order leads to action.”

The federal government’s complete turnaround marks a victory for BC’s most iconic species and for the environmental groups behind the lawsuit: Dogwood Initiative, Environmental Defence, David Suzuki Foundation, Raincoast Conservation Society, Sierra Club of BC, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Greenpeace, Georgia Strait Alliance and Wilderness Committee. It also marks the first time that Canada has ever issued an Order under its Species at Risk Act to protect critical habitat. However, the Order does not reference threats to critical habitat documented by scientists in the government’s Resident Killer Whale Recovery Strategy.

“We know we need to change the way we care for our marine environment to protect killer whales and their habitat,” said Kathy Heise, Marine Scientist with Raincoast Conservation. “We hope to work with DFO to incorporate the needs of killer whales’ into the management of our salmon fisheries.”

“To give this Order teeth, DFO must keep killer whales’ critical habitat free of tanker traffic and the risk of catastrophic oil spills,” said Will Horter of Dogwood Initiative.

Killer whales face many serious threats throughout their habitat on the west coast such as declining salmon stocks, increased boat traffic, toxic contamination, and acoustic impacts from dredging, seismic testing and military sonar. DFO is scheduled to release an action plan within the next four years, but still has not created an action planning team with independent killer whale scientists.

“Each time we think the government has finally given these ailing populations greater legal protection, they find a way to avoid meaningful change. Is this another hollow promise or will the federal government do the right thing and prohibit harmful activities in the orcas’ critical habitat?” asked Sarah King of Greenpeace.

Kim Elmslie of the International Fund for Animal Welfare stated, “We will continue to monitor DFO to ensure that every effort is made to protect this critically endangered species for future generations.”

“This is one landmark victory on the long road to killer whale recovery. We’re relieved to see the government using the Species At Risk Act and we look forward to seeing similar habitat protection Orders for other endangered species,” said Aaron Freeman of Environmental Defence.

For more information, please visit http://www.ecojustice.ca/ or contact:
Lara Tessaro, Staff Lawyer, Ecojustice Canada, cell (604) 313-3132
Aaron Freeman, Policy Director, Environmental Defence, (613) 564-0007, cell (613) 697-7281
Chris Genovali, Executive Director, Raincoast Conservation Society, (250) 655-1229, cell (250) 888-3579
Christianne Wilhelmson, Georgia Strait Alliance, (250) 539-2424
Colin R. Campbell, Sierra Club BC, cell (250) 361-6476, office 250 386-5255 ext. 236
Gwen Barlee, Policy Director, Wilderness Committee, (604)683-8220, cell (604) 202-0322
Matt Takuch, Dogwood Initiative, (250) 370 9930 ext. 21
Rob Rosenfeld, Communications Manager, IFAW Canada, (613) 241-3982 ext. 221
Sarah King, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada, (778) 227-6458
Sutton Eaves, Marine Communications Specialist, David Suzuki Foundation, (416) 854-3265
For further scientific information about Resident Killer Whales, please contact:
Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, Co-Chair of the Killer Whale Recovery Team, Vancouver Aquarium at (604) 659-3752
To obtain video footage or audio of the BC’s killer whales, please contact Laura Hendrick, Ecojustice Communications Coordinator at (604) 685-5618 ext. 242.

Once in a Lifetime!

It was just passed 7am this morning when I started to hear calls from pacific white-sided dolphins on our hydrophone right here in Taylor Bight. It sounded like a lot of dolphins and they seemed to be getting closer and closer. The sun was not about to rise for another hour but because of the clear sky there was already enough daylight to perhaps see them.

It is rather unusual for the dolphins to come close into our bay especially in large numbers, so I was pretty excited to go and see them. Just as I was about to open the door to go outside I heard what I thought were faint transient Orca calls among the now close dolphin chatter. Intuitive I grabbed the video camera instead of binoculars not knowing that I was about to witness something extremely extraordinary.

As I walked towards our viewing platform I saw a group of dolphins deep in the east corner of Taylor Bight. They were swimming very fast either hunting fish or running away from potential danger. A few moments later I reached the platform and immediately heard an Orca blow to the west. There were the transients, four of them, two females and two juveniles traveling very slowly and staying close to shore. They were not following the big group of dolphins instead they stayed in the same area going in big circles remaining so very close to the rocky shoreline. It took me a few minutes to understand what was going on as the whales disappeared behind exposed rocks due to the low tide. They were pacing, waiting. But what was it that they were waiting for?

In order to find out I had to go back towards the house as the whales were right close to the beach on the west side. Of course Neekas, our dog, was with me, and in anticipation on what I was to see I locked her in the house. Then I slowly walked to the beach on the west side. The four transients were swimming right close to edge of the rocky beach in only about 10feet of water and just a few meters away from them barely above the tideline on the rocks was the reason why they were there. A young juvenile dolphin. The poor thing most likely beached itself while it was chased by the whales. It was still alive, its tail still touching the waters edge. I did not go close instead I stayed in the forest and filmed the event from a distance. The last thing I wanted to do is interfere.



My emotions were divided, on the one hand there were these beautiful transient Orcas close to my house and on the hand there was this small dolphin scared to the bone and facing death. The tide was still ebbing so it would be at least another two hours before the water would be high enough for the whales to perhaps grab the dolphin. They continued to stay close to the beach, taking turns on who would patrol close by the dolphin. They were clearly excited, especially the juveniles as they spy-hopped and rolled over each other numerous times. I did not get the feeling that my presence disturbed them, after all they continued to patrol the beach for another hour. At least one of the whales was always in eye contact with the beached dolphin and sometimes they would create waves with their tail flukes hoping the waves would pull the dolphin off the beach. To witness their strategic patrol was just amazing! But then, just after the tide turned towards a flood the whales suddenly disappeared. I thought they just a took long dive and would continue their patrol but minutes later I saw the whole group heading out of Taylor Bight. To be sure I waited another 10minutes but they never came back. I saw them one more time as they surfaced close to the east end of Taylor Bight, following the big group of dolphins perhaps.

Now I was left with a young dolphin on the beach that so urgently needed to be back in its element in order to have a second chance. I put on my drysuit and slowly approached the dolphin. I could see a few deep scratches it was bleeding from, most likely from barnacles on the rocks. The water was rising fast now, the rear end of the dolphin already submerged. So I gently lifted its body to get it back in the water. I turned its head towards the open water and held it. I waited for the dolphin to start swimming out of my hands and after a its breathing calmed down from the stress it did just that. A few shallow dives and then a long one and off it went. I heard myself screaming “You go girl!” I saw it a few more times surfacing before it was out of my sight. Of course it is hard to say what its survival chances are, the sooner it finds its pod again the higher the chances will be... This was truly an experience of a lifetime and one that I (Hermann) will never forget in my life! I later figured out that the transients where the T59s.

About the Author: Hermann Meuter is one of the founders of the North Coast Cetacean Society, a charitable organization dedicated to the research and protection of whales in BC coastal waters. Click to visit the Cetacealab and Hermann's blog.

Whale Wonder - Tubercles

photo credit: J.G. Brouwer

Whale encounters are always awe inspiring. Folks from afar flock here for such opportunities provided by local whale watching companies. Fishermen often have whale encounters that provide a pleasant pause to a long days work. Unfortunately, some encounters are less rewarding.
I have had many pleasurable encounters but will never forget the morning when I ran offshore from Langara Island in the pre-dawn night to be on the spot for some prime time chinook fishing. I sat steering while sipping coffee and tying hoochies. With one red eye on the sounder and the other on the radar screen during the hour + run out from the harbour, there didn't appear to be much of interest in the darkness. As dawn began to break I slowed the boat to trolling speed, woke up the crew and headed outside to the cockpit to set my gear. Behind my boat the flat calm ocean looked like a pot of oatmeal boiling in honey as the spouts of more sleeping humpback whales that I could count spread back to a horizon being set afire by the rising sun. That encounter was enhanced by the knowledge that not many people would ever be fortunate enough to have a whale watching experience like that. By the time my sleepy crew hit the deck, the sun was up and the whales were spreading out and beginning to sound for their breakfast. The magic of the moment had passed.
Part of my astonishment comes from wondering about these creatures; their anatomy and biology. I was reminded of my encounter and am now even more astonished by these leviathans after coming across this interesting bit of information from Dr. Frank Fish about why a humpback's flipper is shaped the way it is. Check for yourself at; http://www.rexresearch.com/whalewing/whalewing.htm

Saving Luna

Luna, the orca that was separated from its pod and became unusually friendly with humans in 2001, captured hearts and headlines in the Nootka Sound area and around the world. Seen as a blessing to some and a curse to others, much debate surrounded the treatment of this whale until he was run over by a tugboat and killed in 2006.

Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm have received high acclaim for their documentary about this lovable orca, called "Saving Luna". Saving Luna premiered in Vancouver on December 5th at Ridge Theatre.

Click here to read a review of this film in the Epoch Times.

"Action Needed to Save Orcas"

An article in the Times Colonist this weekend reminded me again of the importance of marine planning to ensure the sustainability of all the species that share our oceans - as well as the industries that profit from them.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=bfdc9aa1-e0e7-4df6-8f5d-5274d022d002

Growing up on Vancouver Island, some of my best memories involved scouring the ocean from a helicopter, looking for porpoise and orca with my dad. Whenever we had guests visiting us, we would take them out on the whale watching boat. In fact, some of my family members in Ontario still mention those whale watching trips of years past when I speak with them!

I hope that future generations will be able to share my fond childhood memories of the ocean - of which orcas played a large part. Unfortunately, as this weekend's Times Colonist article reminds us, unless we address the threats to orcas in the area now, resident killer whale sightings on Vancouver Island will likely be harder to come by in the future.

A little good news

After all the recent bad news about last summers salmon harvests, the poor returns to rivers and streams this fall and the effects to fishing families, orcas and bears, it's time to spread a little good news about our oceans for a change.

According to the latest reports from NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Service Center, the trend towards cooler ocean conditions continues and oceanic ecosystem indicators are shaping up to almost certainly make 2008 the most outstanding in eleven years. you can check out their report at; http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/fed/oeip/b-latest-updates.cfm.

All these indicators add up to a healthier ocean. The trend began in the summer of 2007 and they are a big improvement over 2005 and 2006. This bodes well for young salmon heading out to sea in the spring of 2007 and 2008 and also for other marine fish and many bird species. The NOAA update covers the northeastern Pacific from California to Juan de Fuca Strait, but Canadian oceanic research west of Vancouver Island found similar conditions.

Most fishermen I heard from this fall reported poor catches but they also mentioned that there seems to be better "sign" on the grounds than has been seen for a long time. By that I mean they are reporting more and larger schools of bait fish like herring, needlefish and sandlance. These small forage fish depend on phytoplankton and zooplankton for their food. Better conditions for these tiny critters means good news for everything higher up the food chain including the salmon, orcas, bears and fishing families.

As we say at Living Oceans, "Healthy Communities depend on Healthy Oceans."

First night on the road a success

Our first night on the road tonight and our first screening...in Campbell River. We had a good turnout and a great mix of people. Our guest speaker, Victoria, showed us the most amazing underwater footage. We could actually hear the clicks of the sperm whale as it checked out the sablefish on the line. They intensified and then the jaws of the whale filled most of the frame. What was so amazing was to see how the whale got the fish off the line. He put tension on the line and then it was almost like he was running his teeth along it to get the fish to snap off. I've never seen anything like. Actually, I don't think too many people have had the pleasure of seeing footage like this. We are really lucky on the North Island to have the chance to meet Victoria O'Connell. I of course highly recommend coming to a screening near you!

Tomorrow we are driving back up island to Port Hardy, hopefully with a stop at the Whale Interpretive Centre on the way to be reminded just how massive sperm whales are. See you in Port Hardy!

Last of this year's coastal speakers series

I will be touring around North Island communities again in the last of this year's coastal speakers series. This time we are holding a coastal film night and will be featuring a film called "SEASWAP". This film was produced in Alaska and is about sperm whales in Southeast Alaska taking black cod off of longline gear. The film is an interesting look at what a collaborative project between fishermen and scientists can look like, and is also appealing because of what I learned about sperm whales, creatures that inhabit the coastal waters of BC, but which we don't have the privilege of seeing very often.

The film will be followed by a discussion with Victoria O'Connell, one of the principle investigators on the SEASWAP project. In her previous job as Groundfish Manager with Alaska's Department of Fish and Game, she brings a wealth of knowledge to the coastal film night and I hope that we will get to learn more, not just about sperm whales, but about the various commercial groundfisheries in Alaska.

We will be on tour from October 8th to 11st, and will be in the following communities:

Wednesday, October 8th: Campbell River Campbell River Museum
Thursday, October 9th: Port Hardy Cafe Guido
Friday, October 10th: Alert Bay Inner Coast Natural Resources Centre
Saturday, October 11th: Sointula (2pm) Old Fire Hall and Port McNeill Black Bear Resort

All screenings will be at 7pm apart from the Sointula "matinee".