Spot a whale in B.C.'s waters? Here are the dos and don'ts

VANCOUVER -- Whale-spotting season has officially begun in B.C., and whale researchers are reminding cetacean enthusiasts about how to enjoy the majestic marine mammals without putting themselves or the whales at risk

Aaron Purdy, the director of Ocean Wise’s southern Vancouver Island whale research initiative, said the most important thing about whale watching is to know the rules before heading out to spot whales, whether it be by land or sea.

“I just want to encourage people, make sure that you know what the rules are before you leave.”

“The worst thing to do is be scrambling to learn what you're supposed to be doing once you're in this situation,” he said.

B.C. and Canada have many marine rules that dictate how people are allowed to interact with whales and other marine mammals. The short version is that you’re not really allowed to interact, but rather observe from a distance. Even then, the distances are regulated.

“You have to make sure that you are keeping your distance from these animals at all times,” Purdy said.

The May long weekend ushers in the beginning of whale-spotting season, Purdy said, and whales such as humpbacks, orcas, minke whales, fin whales, harbour porpoises, and the pacific white-sided dolphin are now out and about and sharing the coastal waters of B.C.

“We are coming into it one of the best times of the year to see whales in our waters – the humpbacks are coming back in full force, their populations had declined quite drastically, but have sprung back, which is fantastic to see.”

Photograph and report whale sightings

Use your phone or another camera to take pictures of the whales, but don’t use a drone. Then report the event on the whale spotting app called WhaleReport.

The app then sends your sighting report in real-time to large boat operators who are nearby, allowing them to slow down and reroute if needed.

“It is estimated that the threat from ships – ship strikes (which can kill or injure whales) – is under-reported and therefore underestimated, so we want to encourage these vessels to be aware of where these animals are,” Purdy said.

The app also provides up-to-date information on whale spotting regulations and tips on how to identify various whales in B.C. Several scientific research and conservation projects also make use of the whale sighting data collected through the app, including Ocean Wise’s whale sightings database which inlcudes more than 130,000 whale sightings, spanning about 50 years.

Don’t use a drone

Drones are known to distress whales, said fishery officer Dustin DeGagne of the whale protection unit for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

“The use of drones near marine mammals is in fact a regulated and largely prohibited activity,” he said in an email.

Although not specified on Transport Canada’s rules and regulations for flying drones, it’s regulated under the country’s Marine Mammal Regulations, which specifies that aircraft, including drones, must stay half a nautical mile radius away from an animal, and must fly at least 1,000 feet above.

The rule, in place to protect whales from recreational and commercial drone photographers, can be waived for scientists with a permit.

“These permits are generally issued only when there is a bona-fide marine mammal research or animal health activity being conducted,” DeGagne said.

Spotting a whale from land

Spotting a whale while standing on the shore is the least-invasive way to go about whale watching, but things such as your own safety and excitement need to be accounted for.

“Make sure you’re in a safe position to view the animal yourself,” Purdy said.

“If you're on a cliffside or something like that, you don't want to get distracted, fall into the water and hurt yourself in any way,” he said.

Spotting a whale from a boat

On the water, people tend to see whales either from private boats or special whale watching vessels, although if they're lucky they might see one from a ferry. Properly licensed whale watching guides know how to differentiate between different types of whales, and are allowed to get a little bit closer to some types of whales than those who are private citizens. As Authorized Vessels, these boats are supposed to fly a purple flag ‘AV’ flag.

For everyone else, the following rules apply. If you’re out in a boat, the first thing to know is that you’re not allowed to follow or chase the whales.

“We actually encourage people not to follow any animals, the best thing to do is approach from the side, but before even doing that, I encourage you to slow down the approach,” Purdy said.

Once you’re near them (see approach distances below), Purdy recommends staying no longer than 30 minutes.

“You want to make sure that you are minimizing your impact on these animals by not spending too long in their presence,” he said.

Within a 1,000-metre distance of a whale, boaters should slow down to speeds of seven knots or less. This decreases the chances of accidentally hitting the whales and also decreases the amount of engine noise in the water, Purdy said.

“They're highly sensitive to acoustic disturbances from the sounds of boats, that includes even sailboats and kayaks.”

Another thing that isn’t allowed is a practice called “leap frogging,” where a boat driver positions their boat so that the whale is coming towards them and then swims underneath their boat, Purdy explained.

“We always recommend people approach animals from the side as opposed to from behind or in front ... to make sure the animals don't feel like they're being closed in, and that they feel like they are having enough space to go about their daily lives,” Purdy said.

Distance to keep by boat

There are several different rules for how close you can approach whales, dolphins and porpoises. The following rules are valid as of publishing this article, but for the most up-to-date distances, check out bewhalewise.org and the DFO's management measures to protect southern whales.

• Boats must stay 400 metres away from killer whales in all southern B.C. coastal waters. This includes the area between Campbell River and down to the tip of Vancouver Island and then up north to Ucluelet, as well as in Howe Sound, the Sunshine Coast, all Gulf Islands and all areas around Metro Vancouver
• Boats must stay 200 metres away from all killer whales in other Canadian Pacific waters and from all whales, dolphins or porpoises if they are resting or with a calf.
• Boats must stay 100 metres away from all other whales, dolphins and porpoises in Canadian Pacific waters.
• Boats must stay out of Interim Sanctuary Zones, which, as of May 2021, include certain areas around Saturna Island, Pender Island, and Swiftsure Bank near Port Renfrew.

Correction:

May 31: This story has been updated to correct the name and link of the whale reporting app.