BC Ferries and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have launched an online tutorial to help protect local whales.
"Whales in our Waters” will educate mariners on how to identify the animals and reduce interactions with them.
The tutorial is targeted at people who work on large vessels such as cargo ships, ferries and tug boats but is available to everyone. Anyone interested can register for it here.
"Our hope is that mariners find value in this tutorial, and make good use of what they learn to support the marine ecosystem, which is so important to us all," said Captain Jan Brockhausen, BC Ferries Marine Superintendent.
The groups behind the tutorial say more encounters between whales and ships are likely because local marine traffic is increasing, due to expansion in population and trade.
“Whales in our Waters” will work in conjunction with other established programs to help protect whales including the 74 remaining endangered southern resident killer whales.
The whales' dwindling numbers have been of significant concern to researchers for some time, and in January, biolgoists said they feared two more endangered orcas could starve to death by summer.
It has prompted fierce debate about what measures should be taken to save them, with one group urging the government to cancel a planned herring fishery to conserve the food source for orcas.
The tutorial was developed by BC Ferries and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority-led Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program, in partnership with Ocean Wise.
