THE Port of Vancouver The authority says that it takes more measures to help protect South resident killers who live off the coast of British Columbia.
As part of their habitat improvement program and the observation of cetaceans (ECHO), the port claims that more than 70 marine transport organizations will slow or move away from the key areas identified important for risky whales.
The program indicates that these measures will be in place from June to around November this year.
This year, the program has expanded its voluntary slowdown in ships to Swiftsure Bank, off the west coast of the island of Vancouver, to overlap more effectively with a “hot spot” of the activity of the southern residents identified by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the port said in a press release.
This slowdown zone is added to the annual slowdown of the program of the program at the Strait and the Boundary Pass and its alteration of the route in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
This addition to Swiftsure Bank means that the program will now cover a distance of approximately 86 sea miles from the Pacific Ocean and more than 50% of the essential housing of the killer whale that rides the commercial shipping tracks.
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“The Swiftsure bank is an important area where the whales of the resident killers of the South chase, play and feed together as a very social mammals of the navy, which is why keeping the noise at least in this field is of crucial importance to support the restoration of whales,” said Barett-Leonard in a declaration, a senior scientist Adviser of the Echo Program.
The Echo program says that it has already managed to reduce the underwater noise of commercial ships, which is a key threat to whales and that research shows that slowdowns can reduce the risk of whale strikes, which can kill or badly harm whales.
“Over the past ten years, the Echo program has continuously adapted its initiatives to reflect the latest research on the place where resident southern killers are present and how shipping threats can be reduced,” said Jennifer Natland, vice-president of properties and the environment.
“We hope to continue to demonstrate how collaborative and scientific efforts like these can create quieter oceans for endangered whales.”
According to Canada ParksSouthern resident killers are threatened, with only 74 whales remaining in the population (in December 2023).
The main threats facing species are contaminants, the drop in Chinese salmon stocks and physical and acoustic disturbances, such as those caused by marine traffic.
“The Southern resident whale is an emblematic species, and its recovery depends on solid and supported partnerships – with indigenous communities, industry and local stakeholders. Trade, in a press release.
The Echo program was launched in 2014.
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