Transport Canada issued a bulletin aiming to clarify vessel requirements under the Interim Order for the Protection of the Killer Whale in the Waters of Southern British Columbia, which came into force on 1st June 2021.
The Interim Order applies to all vessels that are navigating in, on or through specific waters in Southern British Columbia, regardless of the method of propulsion. Canada has put these measures in place to reduce the acoustic and physical disturbance of vessels on the endangered Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW).
What you need to know
The measures listed within this Interim Order are a 400m approach distance restriction and the establishment of interim sanctuary zones.
-400-metre approach distance
These prohibitions came into effect on June 1, 2021 and will be implemented until May 31, 2022.
As per the Interim Order, persons operating vessels or vessels are prohibited from approaching all killer whales within 400 metres of:
- in the Salish Sea south of Campbell River; and
- in the waters that have been identified as their critical habitat.
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These restrictions increase the already existing 200 metre minimum approach distance from SRKW, currently in place under the Marine Mammal Regulations, to a 400 metre minimum approach distance.
-Interim Sanctuary Zones
These prohibitions came into effect on 1 June 2021 and will be in place until 30 November 2021.
As per the Interim Order, persons operating vessels or vessels are prohibited from navigating in three interim sanctuary zones, which comprise of waters:
- off the southwest coast of North Pender Island
- off the eastern tip of Saturna Island, and
- at Swiftsure Bank.
A 20 metre transit corridor alongside the Pender and Saturna Island zones will be available to human-powered vessels navigating through these areas.
-Exemptions
The following vessels and/or people are exempt from the above approach distance prohibition:
- vessels in transit (e.g., a vessel travelling directly from one point to another);
- vessels in distress or providing help to a vessel or person in distress;
- vessels involved in pollution response operations;
- vessels avoiding immediate or unforeseen danger; An immediate or unforeseen danger includes any situation where immediate or unforeseen weather, mechanical issues or collision risks require a vessel to go through the interim sanctuary zone because it is the safest or quickest path to safety
- employees of the Government of Canada or peace officers performing work functions, people helping them, or someone who is assisting them or who is present because they were asked by the Government of Canada;
- people doing certain authorized activities under the Species at Risk Act, Marine Mammal Regulations, or Fishery (General) Regulations, and
- any vessel with people mentioned above onboard.
The following vessels and/or people are permitted to travel through the interim sanctuary zones:
- local traffic that is accessing a home, business or any other establishment providing a service, and is traveling directly between locations on Pender Island and Saturna Islands, between one of those islands and a location beyond the interim sanctuary zones or a mooring buoy within those zones, or between a mooring buoy in the zones and a location beyond those zones, if travelling within an interim sanctuary zone is the only practical option (for example, to access a home or business that cannot be reached by road);
- vessels in distress or providing help to a vessel or person in distress;
- vessels involved in pollution response operations;
- vessels avoiding immediate or unforeseen danger; An immediate or unforeseen danger includes any situation where immediate or unforeseen weather, mechanical issues or collision risks require a vessel to go through the interim sanctuary zone because it is the safest or quickest path to safety
- human-powered vessels in the 20 meter transit corridor alongside the Pender and Saturna Island zones;
- employees of the Government of Canada or peace officers performing work functions, people helping them, or someone who is present because they were asked by the Government of Canada;
- people doing certain authorized activities under the Species at Risk Act, Marine Mammal Regulations, or Fishery (General) Regulations;
- people fishing for food, or social, ceremonial or domestic use based on a treaty under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, or with a license issued under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations; and
- indigenous peoples exercising an existing right for non-commercial use, other than fishing, under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
- vessels carrying any of the above-mentioned people.
