Humpback Whale Struck and Killed by Whale Watching Vessel
- Thread starter Salmon Seeker
- Start date
Salmon Seeker
Crew Member
The whale watching industry is really trying to sweep this under the rug. "we had 3 trained crew members watching out for whales" and only made "minimal contact". Meanwhile in the facebook post, people who live in or frequent the area say this is an area known for feeding humpbacks and the presence of other whale watching boats in the vicinity should have been an obvious indication there were whales present and more caution should have been taken. Can you imagine what they would be saying if it were a rec fishing boat involved in this?
trophywife
Crew Member
all the ironies...
maybe the counter-proposal to DFO against the complete closures on fishing to help "save" the SRKW would now be to cancel all special permits that the whale watching fleet has. There're the only ones actually killing whales besides BC ferries - not the sportsfishing fleet.
Squire
Well-Known Member
I criticized the whale-watching industry in my letter to the DFO. I pointed out that the whole industry is predicated on the dubious premise that clients are willing to pay good money to observe whales from over 400 m away. I reported that my own observations indicate a desire by clients for closer proximity and a willingness by operators to accommodate. I also suggested that more oversight of the industry would go a long way to allowing whales to forage unmolested.
I plagiarized some of SeaRun’s suggestions around fishermen cooperating with requirements to cease fishing and move off when whales move in, backed up by some serious, enforceable penalties. As much as it is likely to fall on deaf ears at least all of our input has been documented; there is no plausible deniability if DFO ignores science and common sense to implement draconian and ineffective measures purported to protect the SRKW population.
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