e-20 (Protection of the environment)

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled

• the survival of endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) in the Salish Sea is threatened by pollution, physical and acoustic disturbance primarily from vessel traffic and the availability of Chinook salmon stocks;
• recent peer reviewed studies by DFO conducted on a population of about 85 SRKWs indicates a 50% chance of extinction within 100 years under "status quo" conditions;
• the population of SRKWs has been below 100 animals for the past four decades and below 85 animals since 2011, despite its purported protection under Canada's Species at Risk Act;
• calf survival is a critical component of population rebuilding and calf mortality rates are high, the birth of new calves in 2015 carries responsibility to facilitate survival;
• it is documented that boat presence and engine noise can disrupt communication, behavior patterns and feeding of killer whales;
• despite their endangered status and the known impact of vessel disturbance, approach distances for SRKWs are no different from any other Canadian marine mammal; and
• existing Canadian guidelines regarding whale watching and approach distances (100m) for SRKWs are not consistent with US regulations (200 yards).