Orcas under threat

Endangered whales still don't have the protection they need

Six years after being listed as an endangered species in Canada, the Southern Resident Killer Whale (orca) and the habitat critical to its survival, is still not getting the protection it needs.

In the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin region, there are more that 60 marine species that are at risk of extinction. In Canada, we have a Species at Risk Act which is suppose to offer protection, however, if the last few years are any indication, species at risk are in big trouble in our local waters.

The Act requires that government identify "critical habitat" (defined as habitat that is critical to a listed species for its survival or recovery), based on the best available knowledge, when it is developing recovery strategies and plans. Once critical habitat is identified for a species, the Act says that government must ensure that it is legally protected.

In the case of aquatic species, GSA has seen a disturbing pattern over the past few years, evident in the government's handling of the orca file.

In its recovery planning, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans or (DFO) has stubbornly refused to identify species' critical habitat-even when this habitat is clearly known-until they are either threatened with legal action or taken to court by citizen's groups such as GSA

In the case of the orca, this legal pressure resulted in the whales' critical habitat finally being identified but instead of taking action, DFO held that existing laws, regulations and guidelines are adequate to protect this species in the future.  That is the same laws, regulations and guidelines that have failed to protect the orca up to now!

So we continued with our legal pressure.  The result was a dramatic policy reversal.  DFO released an order offering legal protecting for orca habitat - the first such order issued un the Species at Risk Act. 

However, even with that good news, all is not well for the orca as the order only protects geophysical features and ignores threats to salmon populations as well as the impacts of pollution, vessel traffic and acoustic disturbance.

As our orcas return to the Strait of Georgia in 2009 , we are still before the courts working to get a judgment that will highlight the deficiencies of DFO's current actions.  We must continue to fight so that in the end, the orca can get real protection for its habitat from the agency that is suppose to have its best interests at heart.

More information on the orca

More information on our legal case