British Columbia


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The Manatee Zone
by Chuck Gould

     Northwest boaters dodged a bullet in late June, but we should be aware that our antagonists have vowed to reload and take aim again.

     Imagine starting every cruise by listening to the VHF radio to determine which particular waters might be "open" to boating on a specific day: "Boaters are advised that killer whales have been sighted in President Channel. Recreational boating is forbidden in all waters northwest of Orcas Island within a two-mile radius of Stuart, Waldron and Sucia islands for a period of not less than ten hours, beginning at 0800 today. This closure may be extended indefinitely. Additional areas may be closed with ninety-minute notice. Boaters are reminded that navigating in an Orca Zone is punishable by up to 90 days imprisonment, confiscation of the offending vessel and up to a $50,000 fine. Boaters are required to monitor this channel at all times."

     Sound far-fetched? Such a scenario wouldn't be completely inconceivable if the environmental extremists should succeed in pressuring the government to grant Endangered Species status to Northwest killer whales. The orcas are currently protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and reasonable rules have been created to assure that commercial and recreational boaters have a minimal impact on the animals.

     Endangered Species designation allows ridiculously drastic actions to prevent the extermination of a species. Most of us will remember the recent debates about breaching the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers when various salmon runs were declared endangered. There was serious discussion about tearing out the dams that generate most of the electricity used in the area and enable irrigated agricultural productivity on tens of thousands of acres of former desert. Nobody could be certain, of course, that breaching the dams would actually benefit migrating fish. If the Endangered Species Act could be used to blow up our regional dams, politicians could surely be quick to enforce Draconian restrictions on boating in a misguided effort to "save" the Orcas.

     Most boaters treasure the natural environment and the resident wildlife. We should all be concerned for the long-term health of orcas, salmon, seabirds, shellfish and other life forms that we encounter while enjoying nature's bounty. Common sense dictates that we should avoid destroying the glorious conditions we are so fortunate to enjoy.

     Scientists have reported a recent decrease in the killer whale population. Unfortunately, we haven't intensively studied the orcas for enough decades to know whether the population decrease is a normal, cyclical or biological phenomenon. We do not know just what portion of the decrease is attributable to the overharvesting of salmon, industrial and municipal pollution, and other human factors. There isn't any way to know how many killer whales lived in our regional waters 100, 200, or 300 years ago or whether the current number is greater or lesser than the long-term statistical average.

     One thing of which we can be certain is that our regional and national politicians will use boaters as a scapegoat for far more than whatever our fair share of the problem might actually be. There are certainly more votes at stake from impassioned environmentalists than from recreational boaters. Clamping down on boaters allows the politicians to appear to be responding to a situation. It's much easier to put egregious restrictions on summer cruising than to try to force local industries to reduce water pollution or to ban the use of lawn fertilizers and household garden insecticides.

     Those of us in the upper left corner of the country can learn from the experiences of the lower right. Down Florida way, the endangered marine mammal is the manatee, sometimes known as the "sea cow." A manatee looks a bit like a miniature walrus or an extremely obese harbor seal. The public probably considers them "cute." The manatee population has been in steady decline, and every time one of the creatures turns up dead with evident propeller damage, a clamor arises against propeller driven boats. The official response has been predictable, with serious restrictions on boating in "manatee zones" created in areas where manatees are, have ever been, or just might migrate to in the future. Manatees are territorial and aren't required to range far afield in fertile, tropical waters to find adequate food.

     With a roaming, foraging, carnivorous species like the orcas, it becomes incredibly complex to create a "no-boating" zone. Unpredictable local closures are but one possible consequence, and while totally unacceptable, such closures are still far from the worst imaginable restrictions that could be forced upon us. The Marine Mammal Protection Act stipulates that boats should not approach, chase or otherwise harass orcas and other marine mammals. The act would provide more than adequate protection if it were precisely observed.

     The environmental extremists have announced an intention to appeal the ruling denying Endangered Species protection for orcas. Boaters need to be aware that our behavior, as well as the level of the orca population, is the subject of intense scrutiny. Each time some clueless dweeb charges into the middle of a pod at 20 knots (leaving beer cans and banana peels in the wake and hollering, "Get out that there Instamatic, Mama! There's a bunch of whales or something out here!"), we edge a little closer to a NW version of a manatee zone for killer whales. We can be certain that the behavior of the ignorant few will be spun as "typical" by the environmental extremists, while the actions of that majority of boaters proceeding in a normal manner and maintaining a respectful distance will be ignored. By voluntarily minimizing our environmental impact, we can help assure that boaters won't become an "endangered species."  
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