WHALE WATCHING HARASSMENT

[terrin]

Do you have any idea how much whale watching companies give to the Pacific Salmon Foundation every year? You better do your homework before you start shooting blindly around in anger!

Who cares how much they donate to PSF they are harassing the SRKW into extinction and therefore should be restricted to at least 400 metres distance. Can't just be about the money.

 

[profisher]

And you don't think it was a political move to allow the whale watchers to continue working the the refuge areas to make sure that resentment between us and the whale watchers drives us apart so we don't work together and pool resources in this battle? Keeps us singled out and WEAK!!!!

 

[Rockfish]

Not willing to throw the Whale Watching Industry under the bus just yet. Had a good talk on this with our leadership and apparently the leadership in the Whale Watching industry has been expressing lots of support for sport fishing re: the massive closure to fishing in JDF and the Gulf Islands. The bottom line is that they have money and we have the numbers (votes) and their own PR people are reportedly advising them that we are a natural alliance.

There are several hundred thousand salt water licenses holders on this coast and between the whale closures and the other massive restrictions over a million people will be harmed financially by the Liberals fishery policies including all the First Nations who have businesses that are dependent on sport fishing and many other businesses like all the car dealerships who sell a lot of high profit pickup trucks which are used to tow boats. If the Whale Watching industry does not go to bat for us with their substantial resources, if they let us down, we can make it a crusade to kill their industry later. After all if we can't fish we will have nothing but time, which is something the Federal liberals would also do well to remember.

I expect to see some published written support against these sport fishing closures from the Whale Watching industry. That would be a good indicator of their sincerity, as would expanded financial support from them for our sector and Sport Fishing Sector projects, like our "Feed the Whales" Sooke Chinook Project. If it turns out they are just playing politics with us to keep us from going negative on them, we will know soon enough. If they help us, if they want to fight a common enemy, I am willing to help them. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

 

[trophywife]

Well, if the whale watching companies go under I will feel for the many salmon restoration projects that were funded by their donations. Not good at all. We had better found a solution that included them as viable businesses able to continue to donate to our common goals.

sure we all donate a few bucks more to the psf and say good bye to the whale chasers.

 

[calmsea]

sure we all donate a few bucks more to the psf and say good bye to the whale chasers.

Oh yeah? Do you want to find out how cheap fishermen typically are, go and ask people who tried to fundraise within the sportfishing community. It's always the same few who are generous, the rest can't even be convinced to buy a $20 or $50 annual membership. You go and try to make up several $100k donations per year!

 

[profisher]

We have sold 25 tickets to the JDF derby so far which is supposed to be the major fund raiser from the sport fishing community for the Sooke net pen. 500 for sale to raise $40,000 and half of this years costs. Hope they step up and prove you wrong calmseas!

 

[littlechucky]

We have sold 25 tickets to the JDF derby so far which is supposed to be the major fund raiser from the sport fishing community for the Sooke net pen. 500 for sale to raise $40,000 and half of this years costs. Hope they step up and prove you wrong calmseas!

I will buy 4 tickets.

And I won’t even be there.

Happy to help.

 

[profisher]

thanks littlechucky...maybe we can find a generous sponsor who will donate a nice lodge trip and we can give it away by straight draw for those who buy tickets but don't win anything or don't fish. Just a nice prize for those who support the event and the cause.

 

[trophywife]

thanks littlechucky...maybe we can find a generous sponsor who will donate a nice lodge trip and we can give it away by straight draw for those who buy tickets but don't win anything or don't fish. Just a nice prize for those who support the event and the cause.

i will put an ask in with management!

 

[profisher]

Thanks Trophywife. Who do you work for?

 

[trophywife]

Thanks Trophywife. Who do you work for?

Barkley Sound Lodge

 

[searun]

Not willing to throw the Whale Watching Industry under the bus just yet. Had a good talk on this with our leadership and apparently the leadership in the Whale Watching industry has been expressing lots of support for sport fishing re: the massive closure to fishing in JDF and the Gulf Islands. The bottom line is that they have money and we have the numbers (votes) and their own PR people are reportedly advising them that we are a natural alliance.

There are several hundred thousand salt water licenses holders on this coast and between the whale closures and the other massive restrictions over a million people will be harmed financially by the Liberals fishery policies including all the First Nations who have businesses that are dependent on sport fishing and many other businesses like all the car dealerships who sell a lot of high profit pickup trucks which are used to tow boats. If the Whale Watching industry does not go to bat for us with their substantial resources, if they let us down, we can make it a crusade to kill their industry later. After all if we can't fish we will have nothing but time, which is something the Federal liberals would also do well to remember.

I expect to see some published written support against these sport fishing closures from the Whale Watching industry. That would be a good indicator of their sincerity, as would expanded financial support from them for our sector and Sport Fishing Sector projects, like our "Feed the Whales" Sooke Chinook Project. If it turns out they are just playing politics with us to keep us from going negative on them, we will know soon enough. If they help us, if they want to fight a common enemy, I am willing to help them. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

I would say this...It would go a long way in my mind if the whale watching community self-imposed a closure in the same refuge areas the Rec sector is expected to respect. That would send a strong message to the public that they too are serious about doing the right thing to reduce physical and acoustic disturbances. I honestly believe that the area refuge areas are no more effective than a 400m spatial exclusion zone, strictly enforced with tough legislation and escalating fines...low first offence that rapidly escalates in $$.

Let's not be too enamoured with financial donations - those only serve to fund short term programs that are aimed at addressing some of the symptoms, not the disease. The real problems are a bit more complicated than raising some potential prey. Its about reducing the threat pillars and indeed as others pointed out in earlier posts... the genetic damage may have already been set in motion back in the 1960's to 1980's when key members of the pod were removed. That probably sealed the fate of SRKW, which are now severely inbred. Their future success may already be limited by the collapsing gene pool. There's really no solution to the inbreeding problem created by DFO allowing these removals.

 

[SpringVelocity]

I started a new page on this to collect info specifically in the areas that have just closed.

 

[SpringVelocity]

And you don't think it was a political move to allow the whale watchers to continue working the the refuge areas to make sure that resentment between us and the whale watchers drives us apart so we don't work together and pool resources in this battle? Keeps us singled out and WEAK!!!!

They need to be out of the forage area Rollie I am not only angler that thinks that in area 20.

 

[SpringVelocity]

If the whale watching industry were to go under (which they wont) the benefit to the whales would more than compensate for the PR donations they make to a few net pen projects. Irrespective of the SRKW issues and the disruption to their feeding activities, we have a large group of Biggs whales that eat pinipeds, and are also harassed by these companies as soon as they enter the inside waters. They rely on stealth and surprise to successfully hunt. With flotillas of boats following them (and jumping ahead of them) what do you think happens to hunt success? Seals and Sea ions are intelligent, do you think they don't notice the commotion and haven't learned what a killer whale escort looks and sounds like? They probably know individual whale watching boats. The Biggs whales are also intelligent animals, they probably figure out there is enough prey on the outside without the harassment and feed there. For all of you wanting an east coast style seal kill here, maybe you should speak up about the natural kill the whale watching industry may be preventing.

My opinion is the whale industry is not the whales nor the sportfishing industries friend, they would throw sport fishing under the bus in a heartbeat (probably privately already have) , and their PR donations are not a reason to support their activities in any way.

Agreed 100%

 

[calmsea]

I would say this...It would go a long way in my mind if the whale watching community self-imposed a closure in the same refuge areas the Rec sector is expected to respect. That would send a strong message to the public that they too are serious about doing the right thing to reduce physical and acoustic disturbances. I honestly believe that the area refuge areas are no more effective than a 400m spatial exclusion zone, strictly enforced with tough legislation and escalating fines...low first offence that rapidly escalates in $$.

Let's not be too enamoured with financial donations - those only serve to fund short term programs that are aimed at addressing some of the symptoms, not the disease. The real problems are a bit more complicated than raising some potential prey. Its about reducing the threat pillars and indeed as others pointed out in earlier posts... the genetic damage may have already been set in motion back in the 1960's to 1980's when key members of the pod were removed. That probably sealed the fate of SRKW, which are now severely inbred. Their future success may already be limited by the collapsing gene pool. There's really no solution to the inbreeding problem created by DFO allowing these removals.

I think we all agree that these fishing closures will have no impact on the whale recovery. For once because these whales won't be in that closed area until many more Chinook will be there to feed on. That could be many years from now or never again. So if the SRKW are not in that closed area the whale watchers won't harrass them when they go after the humpbacks or transients. So why would they volunteer to avoid that area? That would be just as useless as the fin fish closure. You are just looking for a sympathy victim because you're bitter about the closures for us. Throwing the ww under the bus too will do us no better other than satifying your weird desire to see more blood.

 

[SalishSlayer]

Why can the DFO King air fly around and issue tickets and warnings to sporty's fishing any where near a RCA all around the Island. But yet they cant keep tabs on whale harassers breaking the boundaries NON stop???

 

[SpringVelocity]

I think we all agree that these fishing closures will have no impact on the whale recovery. For once because these whales won't be in that closed area until many more Chinook will be there to feed on. That could be many years from now or never again. So if the SRKW are not in that closed area the whale watchers won't harrass them when they go after the humpbacks or transients. So why would they volunteer to avoid that area? That would be just as useless as the fin fish closure. You are just looking for a sympathy victim because you're bitter about the closures for us. Throwing the ww under the bus too will do us no better other than satifying your weird desire to see more blood.

I disagree. If there is a forage zone then let it be a forage zone. That means ww groups should remain out and also other user groups.

 

[calmsea]

Well that's your own opinion. At the meeting in Sooke today it became clear to everyone that we will only succeed with allies on our side and that will include ww.

 

[fogged in]

Well that's your own opinion. At the meeting in Sooke today it became clear to everyone that we will only succeed with allies on our side and that will include ww.

Here is another point of view.
IF both Whale Watchers and Sport Fishermen were both banned from the Forage Zones their would be tremendous pressure on DFO and the Federal Government to end this ridiculous policy which will do absolutely nothing to restore the overall health of the Southern Resident Orca's.
The way it presently stands there is little hope of a change in policy, with Whale Watcher's happy and a few Sport Fishermen furious.
The way to make Whale Watchers and the tourism industry true allies is to put them in the same position as Sport Fishermen.