Totally agree, this isn't a rec vs whale watching issue. Its really about addressing the very poor science used to justify what the Green ENGO's lobbied hard via social media to accomplish a rec closure!!! We must wake up and face the enemy at the gate. Its about to happen again at Swiftsure and LaPerouse. They are lobbying hard using purely emotional arguments to close rec fishing to the greatest extent possible. Now they are also taking aim on Whale Watching and Commercial Fishing.
The point behind getting DFO to conduct a proper study of the efficacy of these "Refuge Area" strategies is to attack the absurdity of a completely unproven tactic.
Having said all of the above, let's not forget that there are some very legitimate concerns with the current whale watching practices and their impacts on SRKW prey acquisition - the science is clear on that point. Change has to happen in the Whale Watching community as well. A 400m spatial exclusion zone or "bubble" around all whales is better for both the rec fishery and whale watchers than a complete Refuge Closure!