Government announces $167.4M to help save whale species
Friday, June 22, 2018, 1:55 PM - Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced $167.4 million to support the recovery of three key whale species in Canada, particularly B.C.'s southern resident killer whale population.
"The whales need our help," Garneau said. "We must act now because the whales can't wait."
For the orca population in the Salish Sea, in particular, the federal government is focusing on improving prey availability, reducing underwater vessel noise and better monitoring of pollution.
"It is a fragile species and doesn't have a high reproduction rate … Our long-term objective is to see those [numbers] grow," he said.
Some key recommendations include:
- Reducing the total fishery removal of Chinook salmon by 25 to 35 per cent.
- Closing fisheries where whales forage for food.
- Introducing a new mandatory requirement for all marine vessels — including recreational boats — to stay 200 metres away from killer whales starting July 11, 2018.
- Adding to the underwater hydrophone network to measure and track noise impacts of individual vessels.
Southern Resident male killer whale K35 in Juan de Fuca strait as J's & K's make their way back into the waters of the Salish Sea -- Getty Images
The other two whale populations that will benefit from the initiative include the North Atlantic right whale and the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga.
Previous announcements
Parts of today's funding announcement have been previously highlighted as priorities.
Last fall, Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc promised that regulations to ensure no boat comes within 200 metres of southern resident killer whales in Canadian waters would be in place by spring.
In March, the Canadian government announced more than $12 million in new funding for research aimed at protecting B.C.'s endangered southern resident killer whales.
In May, LeBlanc announced plans to cut the allowable catch of Chinook salmon by 25 to 35 per cent.
Kinder Morgan project
The future of B.C.'s southern resident killer whale population has taken particular significance in light of the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion project.
The pipeline expansion, which will pump oil from Alberta to B.C. and offer access to global markets, is expected to potentially increase coastal tanker traffic sevenfold.
Oil vs orcas: Trans Mountain opponents tell federal court tanker traffic endangers whales
Conservation groups argue the increased traffic could push southern resident orcas — now estimated at 75 remaining — to the brink of extinction.
