Question re orcas in the PNW

[Buccaneer]

Try a web search. I know I stumbled on someone's web site who was from the Seattle area. They were returning from a dive (on a boat) when they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a pod swimming by. One of the divers hopped in w/out scuba and shot some video just above and a little below the surface.

 

[Delta_P]

Do you know what the distance requirement is?

There's no legally defined no-go zone. Canada's Marine Mammals Regulations are being overhauled, so maybe next year. Right now they are quite general and more concerned that anyone wanting to kill and cook a whale be properly licensed and dispatch it humanely.

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/F-14/SOR-93-56/122423.html#rid-122452

If I remember correctly the operator in Active Pass was charged under the provision prohibiting "disturbing" a marine mammal. According to this paper even having a vessel in the area will cause the animals to swim faster and nap less, so I expect on any given day one could bust the entire tourist fleet.

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/259973.pdf

The restrictions observed by the tour operators now are voluntary. I doubt though that there's enough bud in B.C. to persuade a judge that dumping a diver on top of a whale didn't distract it.

The Marine Mammals Protection Act referenced above doesn't apply north of the border (yet.)

Surface photography may be the only feasibility.

I know the feeling. I'd love the opportunity to be in the water with a camera when a pod swam by. The worst that could happen is I'd go down in history as the first documented case of a person being killed and eaten by an orca. The weight pouches might give the poor beast colic though, and I wouldn't want that on my kharma.

When I was in the Queen Charlotte Islands this spring a fisherman reported an orca munching a deer as it was swimming across one of the inlets north of us. That sort of thing does give one pause for thought....

 

[archman]

I keep forgetting that Canada is a separate country. This binational forum is quite confusing to post in. Ack.

 

[Delta_P]

I keep forgetting that Canada is a separate country. This binational forum is quite confusing to post in. Ack.

Just wait until a Kiwi or Brit wanders in.

 

[IndigoBlue]

...I know the feeling. I'd love the opportunity to be in the water with a camera when a pod swam by. The worst that could happen is I'd go down in history as the first documented case of a person being killed and eaten by an orca. The weight pouches might give the poor beast colic though, and I wouldn't want that on my kharma.

When I was in the Queen Charlotte Islands this spring a fisherman reported an orca munching a deer as it was swimming across one of the inlets north of us. That sort of thing does give one pause for thought....

If the orcas are feeding on salmon, then I would not hesitate to slip into the water in scuba to observe them.

If they were chasing seals, that would be another story, and I would certainly stay in the boat.

They are beautiful animals. The closest I have been to one so far was about 150 ft, at the surface, while I was in a small RIB. Not counting Sea World of course.

 

[Windwalker]

The closest I have been to one so far was about 150 ft, at the surface, while I was in a small RIB. Not counting Sea World of course.

Drats, You blew my comeback.. I was going to say, I was just INCHES away from an Orca.. But.. I was behind plexiglass.. Sigh Shucks.. Guess that doesn't count.