Protest launched against whale-watching boats

Last Saturday morning, July 11, 2009, for the first time in history, a protest action was launched by San Juan Island residents against commercial whale watch boats following resident orca whales. The action began a few miles off San Juan Island's west side.The protesters were echoing a message first brought to San Juan Island by the biological and legal staff of the National Marine Fisheries Service during a recent federal hearing in Friday Harbor: according to the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to pursue the Southern Resident Orca. And that, the group claims, is exactly what the commercial fleet is doing, all day, every day of the tourist season, with airplane spotters, land scouts, radio and Internet communications, and high-speed boats assuring the success of the chase.The whales were declared endangered over a year ago, without any change in enforcement by the U.S. government. "It is illegal to pursue an endangered species,"ORCA Chair Mark Anderson commented. "These companies advertise guaranteed whale sightings, and that means they are pursuing them in order to make their money. This is against federal law, and it is time for this law to be enforced, before we lose what is left of these pods."Imagine the idea of creating a business to pursue an endangered species! It sounds as crazy as it is."The protest group included Adrian Kilpatrick, Isla Cropper, Rowan North, Peter Kilpatrick (CEO of RavenHill), Suzanne Franklin and boat skipper (and past CEO of SmithKlineBeacham) Henry Wendt. The protesters approached a number of whale watch boats and broadcast this message over a megaphone: "Attention whale watchers: We are a group of islanders who are concerned that our resident population of orcas is moving toward extinction. They need to be left alone! They need the freedom to hunt without the impact of being pursued all day by the whale watch fleet."The pursuit of these whales is a violation of the Endangered Species Act, Section 9, and of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Of 1973. You and your customers are violating federal law. You need to stop immediately, and know that by doing so, you are helping to save this group from extinction. If you do not stop immediately, the evidence of your violation will be turned into the National Marine Fisheries Service for prosecution."North, a young local filmmaker who grew up on San Juan, took video of the interactions, which the group will turn into NMFS with a legal complaint. He is also making a longer film on the subject.Kilpatrick described the scene on the water: "While broadcasting this message, we witnessed a typical summer day with the fleet. It was chaos out there. Numerous boats full of whale watchers and operators moved along the edges of a whale pod, while other boats were moving off at high speed to pick up the next shift of paying customers from Victoria. And on the way back in we met the American side of the 1:00 shift out of Friday Harbor, consisting of a seemingly endless line of tour boats on their way out." Anderson, also CEO of the Strategic News Service, commended the team in its efforts. "These whale watch operators won't quit until the last dollar is made, and the last whale is gone – at which time they'll blame pesticides," he said. "Virtually all scientists now agree that the whales are dying of starvation, and other studies show us that everything about these whale watch boats accelerates that starvation."It is illegal to pursue these whales. They are endangered, and they deserve the protection of the law. We are documenting the violations, and asking NMFS to bring this illegal practice to an end. People who care about whales should watch them from the land, at the Whale Watch Park."The group suggested there would be continued protest actions throughout the summer.Orca Relief Citizens' Alliance is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit Washington Corporation. It is the only non-profit in the world dedicated exclusively to reducing orca mortality. The Southern Resident Orca Population has been declared an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act by the National Marine Fisheries Service.