Orca Protection – Banning boats from W side of San Juan Island?
From the WWTA forum:
The Southern Resident Orcas of Puget Sound are endangered. The problem is complex – contaminated water and severely reduced salmon runs, among other factors, are compounded by the boating paparazzi that crowd the charming cetaceans.
NOAA is proposing new rules on vessel traffic aimed at protecting Puget Sound’s iconic marine mammals. The proposed rules would prohibit vessels from approaching any Ocra closer than 200 yards (current regulations are 100 yards) and forbid vessels from intercepting or parking in the path of a whale. In addition, the proposed regulations would set up a half-mile-wide no-go zone along the west side of San Juan Island from May 1 through the end of September where generally no vessels would be allowed, including non-motorized boats.
The proposed regulations, posted at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/, site studies that imply kayakers have the potential to disturb whales by startling them, acting as obstacles on the waters surface, and by underestimating distances or assuming they do not cause a significant impact.
