750$ Fine for being in the orcas way

[Susan E]

So I wanted to bring to everyones attention, now that Ruth and Joe told me, that san juan county intends to hand out $750 tickets for being within 100 yards of the whales and actually forces you to get out of thier way if they are approaching you.

so that means if we are fishing and whales come we have to stop and leave teh area.

I am going to get a lot of flack for my opinion. but heck my hubby sturs up bees nest so i guess i will too.

This scares the shit out of me and makes me very angry. I can see all kinds of people getting tickets. and hell i see myself getting one as i went looking for the whales on my solo trip last summer. but i did stay out past the 100yards limit. they have already issued a ticket to a man from monroe. we have had the whales go under our boat many times because we just turned off the engine and drift there till teh whales went past us, thinking this was the best thing to do.. to be honest and it will sound dramatic. but if san juan county wants to be this aggressive then i don't want to spend my boating dollars there and i will just go to canada instead for weekends.

I have posted the actual ordinance.

Section 2. General Guidance and Objectives, and Definitions.

A. General Guidance and Objectives. The master and operator of every vessel in San Juan County has a duty to maintain a lookout for southern resident killer whales while operating in the marine waters of San Juan County and to determine the direction of travel of the whales and to safely operate the vessel to avoid violating this ordinance. Vessel operators should move out of the way of approaching whales to maintain an open way in front of and behind the killer whale and 100 yards to each side of the killer whale. The fundamental concept of these rules is that vessels should not approach within 100 yards of the killer whale and maintain an open way with a minimum of 100 yards on each side of the pod of whales. When the killer whales are close to shore, the master of the vessel should keep the vessel on the seaward side of the whales. All masters of vessels must reduce speed in proximity to whales to avoid interfering with other nearby vessels and to protect whales from unnecessary noise and interference


Section 3. Unlawful activity in proximity to the southern resident killer whale.

A. Except as provided in Section 3(B) of this ordinance, it is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the State of Washington to commit, attempt to commit or cause to be committed the following acts within the marine waters of San Juan County with respect to the southern resident killer whale (Orcinus orcas):

Knowingly approach, by any means, within 100 yards in any direction of any killer whale; or


Knowingly allow a vessel or other object to remain in the apparent path of an oncoming killer whale thereby resulting in a killer whale surfacing within 100 yards in any direction of the vessel or object; or


Knowingly place a vessel or other object within 100 yards in any direction of the killer whale; or


Fail to yield to a killer whale; or


Fail to disengage the transmission of a vessel that is within 100 yards in any direction of any killer whale; or


Operate a vessel in excess of a slow, safe speed when such vessel is within 400 yards of any killer whale. “Safe speed” has the same meaning as the term is defined in 33 USC 2006 and the international regulations for preventing collisions at sea 1972, See 33 USC Section 1602.


Feed a killer whale.
B. The following exceptions apply to the conduct described in Section 3(A) of this ordinance, but any person who claims the applicability of an exception has the burden of proving the exception applies:

The vessel is required to use the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) in the waters of or adjacent to San Juan County; or


The person is operating a vessel pursuant to and in a manner consistent with a permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service, or similar authorization; or


The master or operator reasonably determines that compliance with the distance requirement of this ordinance will threaten the safety of the vessel, the vessel’s crew or passengers, or is not feasible due to vessel design limitations, or because the vessel is restricted in its ability to maneuver due to wind, current, tide, or weather.


The person operating the vessel is lawfully engaged in actively setting, retrieving or closely tending commercial fishing gear. For purposes of this subsection, “commercial fishing” means taking or harvesting fish or fishery resources to sell, barter or trade. "Commercial fishing" does not include commercial sport fishing boats used for charter operations or sport fishing; or


The person was operating a public vessel in the course of official duty for local, state, or the federal government; or


The person was operating a vessel in a manner consistent with a treaty with Native Americans or foreign nations.
Section 4. Presumption.
In any infraction involving a violation of this ordinance in the presence of a law enforcement officer in a marked vessel, proof that the particular vessel described in the notice of infraction was in violation of Section 3, together with proof that the person named in the notice of infraction was at the time of the violation the registered owner of the vessel, constitutes in evidence a prima facie presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle was the person in control of the vehicle at the point where and for the time during which, the violation occurred. This presumption may be overcome only if the registered owner states under oath, in a written statement or testimony to the court that the vessel was, at the time, stolen, or in the care, custody, or control of some person other than the registered owner.

Section 5. Penalty.
A violation of Section 3(A) of this ordinance is a civil infraction enforceable as provided in Chapter 7.80 RCW. The maximum penalty is seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00).

[Hoop]

Susan E,

My wife and I have a summer home right near Cattle Point on San Juan Island. We are out often right there along South Beach where fishing, by people and by killer whales, is popular.

How this law gets enforced is key, of course. Your posting of the detailed text of the law is very helpful; thanks.

I number myself among the people who supported such a law based on stories, and personal observations I have had, regarding boaters who blatantly disregarded the heretofore only "Whale-Wise" guidelines about approaching within 100 yards and 400 yards. I have watched boaters, recreational and commercial, drive right through pods of Orcas when the Orcas were easily visible. To me, that is blatant disregard.

Those Orcas represent an extremely valuable economic resource for San Juan County and its neighbors in that they attract tourists. I think it makes sense to protect that resource. It is important to encourage Whale-Wise whale watching.

At the same time, I could see how enforcement could potentially go "over the top", writing "tickets" left and right for people that were not otherwise aware of approaching Orcas given all the clauses in that law.

Like you, we have been on the water when Orcas surfaced with 100 yards of our boat. In our case, and probably in yours too, we did not knowingly put our vessel in the path of approaching Orcas. We did not know they were approaching until we saw them and then, per the same Whale Wise guidelines, put our engine in neutral and allowed the whales to pass.

I can understand your concern and I share it to some degree. My fingers are crossed that the authorities will apply common sense in using this law to achieve better conformance of what previously were unenforceable guidelines. If the focus is on blatant disregard for being Whale Wise (and again I have seen blatant disregard in person), then the law is a good thing.

[Hunkydory]

These kind of regulations and the number of boats and people in this beautiful area is why we are willing to trailer our boat so far north to do our cruising.

Maybe with the number of people and boats in this area the regulations are necessary. Whether it is or not with regulations in place like this its not a place we will cruise.

Jay

[centerisland]

I know it sounds bad, but there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, it only applies to the "southern resident" orca pods J, K, and L. And it has to be 'knowing'. Really, this is about harassment...and I believe that there's only been 1 ticket handed out so far (and though it seemed contestible).

Also, this San Juan County action is just a short-term thing to cover the time until federal laws for protecting the whales emerge from National Marine Fisheries Service in at least another year.

A good summary of all of this can be found here:
http://sanjuanislander.com/county/prosecutor/whale-ordinance.shtml

[colobear]

Another thing to remember about this ordinance is that it only can be applied in San Juan County waters. Not federal waters, not state waters. A county ordinance has no sway outside of the county. (Note, for the record, I am not and never have been, a lawyer, barrister, solicitor, or other legal professional so this is just my opinion) Last summer, I was off Lime Kiln Point drifting at idle when a large pod of Orcas appeared and swam all around us, some coming within 25 yards. I was not moving except with the tide/current/wind, my propellers were not turning and I think anything else I might do, i.e. moving out of the area, would have been more "harassing" to the whales than my just floating along so I am quite comfortable with what I did and, were I in San Juan waters and the same thing occurred I think I would have a pretty defensible case in court were I to be cited.

I understand the motives for this regulation and have been really P.O.d at jerks who race around trying to cut off the Orcas or who race through their pods. I have been known to let them know on the VHF, so I am certainly not one who will tolerate such behavior but this ordinance strikes me as largely unenforceable except in very egregious cases. I think it is just activists huffing and puffing. I expect very few cases will be won but the threat of legal costs will certainly have an effect. Too bad. A well intentioned idea done poorly IMHO.

[DaveS]

I am all for "no harassment" of the Orcas. However, the way these regulations are written, it seems to me that this will effectively end the "tourist" whale watching boats that ply the San Juan County waters. I have observed such vessels guilty of the infractions listed in these regulations every time that I've been around when the Orcas were present. (These include times we've observed the whales from shore as well as from the water). It seems to me that if these regulations are enforced rigidly as is described, this will force commercial whale watching boats out and the only way to view the whales will be from the shore....(ie: Lime Kiln Lighthouse area).
It will be interesting to see if the enforcement of the commercial whale watching vessels is the same as the enforcement of the private recreational boating public.

(I agree with what Colobear stated in the above post...."a well intentioned idea done poorly").

[starcrafttom]

read agian dave the tour boats are exempt, as are all commerical traffic as well as all tribial boats. Quess they can run over a orca while shooting gray whales anad dragging drift net. This is a direct assault against us, the private boater. I have said it for 25 years and I will say it again, they want you and me off of THEIR water, forest, desert,river, etc... because only they KNOW how to use the resource and not us.

[DaveS]