Comments by Dr. Gerald Graham, Marine Environmental Consultant, Victoria,
Regarding the Proposed Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation
Area Reserve
I am in favour of any initiative which would grapple with what I see as the number one environmental challenge extant in the southern Strait of Georgia, namely the survival of the J. K and L pods of southern resident orcas.
Currently numbering only 87 individuals, this local species is listed as endangered under the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA). They face a number of threats, including noise disturbance from passing ships and occasional sonar, contaminants such as PCBs, decreases in their food supply as a result of falling numbers of salmon, and harassment by whale watching vessels. In other words, there is no single cause for their declining numbers. However, there is one looming threat which I would like to zero in on in my brief, and that is the threat of extinction from a catastrophic oil spill in or near the southern Strait of Georgia.
I am very concerned that an oil spill from a passing cargo vessel or tanker could exterminate the remaining southern resident orcas, which are an icon on the west coast of North America. Every day during the summer, the fleet of whale watching zodiacs can be seen „chasing‟ the orcas in Haro Strait, following them on their typical route around San Juan Island. At the same time, a steady stream of cargo vessels, and the regular transits of fully-laden super tanker containing Alaskan oil ( not to mention our own outbound crude oil tankers from Vancouver ), can be seen in close proximity to the whales. For, as we all know, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound and southern Strait of Georgia constitute one of the world‟s busiest shipping lanes.
Although regulations and procedures are in place to minimise the possibility of oil spills occurring, they cannot be completely ruled out. Even with VTS, radar, double hulls, tug escorts and massive supplies of response equipment nearby, a sudden, catastrophic spill could easily happen. Fog, darkness, strong currents, choppy seas and choke points can all result in human error, equipment failure and sudden disaster. One need look no further than Prince William Sound in Alaska to see a parallel situation; there, the local orca population was decimated following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS), and seems doomed to extinction.
We do not want the same thing happening here. The problem is, we cannot rule it out so long as the whales and the shipping traffic occur side by side for much of the year. The whale watching industry is very aware of the problem, and has been working with the shipping industry and Transport Canada in an attempt to establish special rules for this part of the world. The support of the IMO is needed to address this matter effectively. In other words, there are issues, and this is one of them, where the solution has to be found beyond our borders, involving our American neighbours, for example, but also the international community.
Thus, to the extent that the proposed Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area Reserve initiative addresses this issue of the survival of the southern orcas, I support it wholeheartedly. Anything that can be done to heighten awareness, promote scientific research and best practices should be encouraged. But let us not be unaware of the challenges ahead, and let one not suffer from undue expectations. An NMCA cannot in and of itself prohibit commercial shipping activity, and even if it could, there would still be all the other threats mentioned above. An NMCA, could, however, perhaps recommend preferred shipping channels, or designate certain zones to be avoided at certain times of the year.
As the Winter 2005 Newsletter #1 for the local NMCA correctly points out on Page 10, an NMCA aims “…to balance protection, conservation and ecologically sustainable use”. Of course, this begs the question as to what would qualify as “ecologically sustainable use”. Does the passage of a fully-laden Alaskan supertanker through the general region every thirty-six hours for over twenty-five years without a catastrophic spill occurring constitute “ecologically sustainable use”, or have we just been lucky so far? Is this not a case of an accident waiting to happen?
In closing, allow me to say that I don‟t pretend to have all the answers; I don‟t think anyone does. But, I do have a number of questions about the initiative at hand, and I think one should take a long, hard look at them to ensure that this exercise does not become merely a public relations campaign, with no real teeth. Obviously, economic considerations will come to the forefront, and here again one must balance sometimes competing economic interests, such as those involving the shipping community on the one hand and the marine tourism sector on the other.
The challenge of achieving balance between protection, conservation and ecological sustainability in a highly-developed marine region is, in short, daunting. Nevertheless, I congratulate you on taking up the task, and I look forward to reading and commenting on the draft feasibility study you are in the process of putting together.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gerald Graham, Victoria
March 11, 2005