Anacortes hearing on proposed NOAA whale regs

D

Doryman

New member
The info below is from a CCA mailing I received. I am planning to attend the meeting tonight -- any other Brats gonna be there?

Warren

On July 28, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced proposed regulations intended to protect ESA-listed killer whales in Washington State from the effects of marine vessel activities. Of particular interest to CCA members in the Puget Sound area, the proposed regulations would set up, beginning in spring of 2010, a half-mile-wide “No-Go Zone” along the west side of San Juan Island from May 1 through the end of September where many types of vessels, including recreational anglers, would be prohibited from entering.

The first public meeting will be held on September 24 at 7PM, 100 Commercial Drive, Pier 1 Main Warehouse in Anacortes.

You are highly encouraged to attend to better understand the proposal and have the opportunity to have your questions and concerns addressed. The public meeting is an ideal opportunity to underscore how the “No-Go Zone” would personally impact you and to educate agency staff about the light impact of recreational angling (trolling motors, low speeds, etc) on killer whales based on your own experiences.

Additional public meetings will be held in Seattle (September 30, 7PM - Seattle Aquarium) and Friday Harbor (October 5, 7PM - Friday Harbor Grange Hall).

CCA Washington recognizes and supports the need to preserve and protect ESA listed killer whales in Puget Sound. However, there remain many unresolved questions that we hope are addressed at the Anacortes meeting. CCA Washington will be raising several issues at the public meeting, including some of the following points (which you are free to raise):

-- Clarification on which types of vessels would be specifically excluded and which would be permitted, within the Exclusionary Zone. Other user groups have been exempted from the proposal.

-- Is there science or data relied upon to conclude that vessels operated by recreational anglers are having a negative impact on killer whales?

-- What scientific data is there to support the Exclusionary Zone rather than the distance requirements adopted outside of the closed area?

CCA Washington will continue to review the proposal and prepare sample comments for CCA members to submit to NOAA before the end of the comment period on October 27. Stay tuned. In the meantime, you can review the proposed regulations by clicking here.
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So what type of regulations and controls are they going to put on the Killer Whale Viewing Expedition boats that swarm around the whales like water-borne wasps?

Joe. :amgry
 
Sea Wolf":1u27v3ig said:
So what type of regulations and controls are they going to put on the Killer Whale Viewing Expedition boats that swarm around the whales like water-borne wasps?

Joe. :amgry
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I saw this in Hawai'i yrs ago as regards humpbacks. The Feds attempted to implement a very restrictive, very radical plan in the Mau'i channel; the waters in between Mau'i, Moloka'i and Lana'i where the Pacific humpbacks winter, mate and give birth. The whale watching boats, dive companies, tour boats and even the inter-island tugs and passenger ship companies raised HOLY HELL. The plan would've killed off many of those types of businesses. I don't know what happened with the plan as I left and never looked at if it was implemented or not. :?

Personally, I'd love to see Orca whales, but I'd never alter course to intercept, harass [etc] them out there. The boats that do it on a daily basis are more of an issue IMO than if I run through there a handfull of times a yr and see orca in the process.
 
Warren, did you attend the meeting last night? I actually considered going up there to listen in but just wasn't able to make the trip. It will be interesting to "hear" if it was a productive meeting with well reasoned and thoughtful input.
 
I was not feeling well so at the last minute decided to give it a pass (still a bit off following surgery). From what I read in the local paper this morning, the warehouse was packed with people so they probably did not miss me. There was testimony both pro and con but IDK how much good these hearings do -- seems to me that if things get to the point where the feds have hearings their minds are already made up.

My suspicion is that any problems with the Orcas are due to declines in salmon populations, which negatively impacts the Orcas. I think the proposed sportfishing and whalewatching regs are a sideshow designed to divert attention from the real problem.

Warren
 
What I can't understand about the whole thing is that if it’s a restriction based on a lack of food then why did the commercial (both tribal and none) get a exemption? so they get to fish and a few sportsmen’s don’t?

I looked up the numbers and there are MORE whales now then in the 76. Over all the population is up 18% or so.
 
starcrafttom":2282aqjk said:
What I can't understand about the whole thing is that if it’s a restriction based on a lack of food then why did the commercial (both tribal and none) get a exemption? so they get to fish and a few sportsmen’s don’t?

I looked up the numbers and there are MORE whales now then in the 76. Over all the population is up 18% or so.
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...smoke screen. :?
 
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