Common Sense
I find this all concerning. It seems to be directed at the whale watching industry but also may put those who sport fish at legal risk. Since it does not cover boats in transit that exempts a great many boat and ships. For example; I have been on BC Ferries in the narrow part of Active Pass with the bridge crew directing the passengers over the PA to check out the Orca putting on a show just 30 feet off the side of the ship which was underway.
In my experience unlike Whale Watcher who’s whole reason for being on the water is to get close to Orca whales and other marine mammals, anglers do their best to avoid Orca like the plague, especially the resident fish eaters because of the belief that the Orca scare the salmon which hide (kelp beds) or go deep and cannot be caught.
So what is the definition of “approach” in “must not approach within 400 meters of an Orca” . When sport fishing we would never attempt to approach an Orca, as in deliberately move towards an Orca, but that does not mean we don’t on occasion have Orca approach us in circumstances where we don’t see them until they are close, not looking in that direction, they do travel under water for considerable distance when they want too and because of fog etc. The big whale species can be even more of a surprise because they can come up very close from the deep out of nowhere.
When we have on rare occasion found ourselves surprised and close to Orca, we turn away from them and often pull the gear and decide to either head to the marina or move off under the main motor a few kilometers because the fishing has just got worse in that location. A lot of anglers assume that even the transient Orca scare the salmon.
So where does common sense on enforcement fit in here when a sport boat with gear down, through no fault of their own end up close to an Orca. Last year we heard on the radio that some Orca were a couple of K’s away and moving west towards our location so we pulled the gear and moved before they got to us. On the other hand I have looked up and noticed another boat stopped and looking at us so I had a good look around and noticed some Orca coming right at us from 150 meters away that I had not previously seen. So what would be the outcome of an enforcement boat seeing you in that situation close to Orca?
To me there is a world of difference between that situation and what I observed a few years back where some guy in a small boat was up on plane racing close down along the side of a group of Orca till he was out in front of them and then turned to stop in their path to get out the camera. Perhaps he was a research boat taking pictures and exempt from the rules.
There also seems to be rules or perhaps rules under development/discussion for things like not approaching within a hundred meters of marine mammals like Seals, Dolphins and Harbor Porpoise etc. Only someone with no experience on the ocean in our area would think that is workable and would defy all common sense. The seals will seek out and follow your boat around waiting for a free salmon meal off your line and also hang out around the marina. The Dolphins like to come over and play with your boat by either riding on the bow wake or doing laps around the boat, it is a fun game to them. The harbour porpoise are a little more stand offish, but sometimes like last year at the mouth of Sooke Inlet they seem to bunch up in great numbers and lose their fear of boats and get very close. There were so many of them one day last year you could not have got back into Sooke Harbor if you tried to stay away from them.
A lot of this seems to be politically motivated appeasement of ENGO's which does not reflect the reality on the water or common sense.
