What is B.C. Ferries doing to prevent whale strikes?

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Right there. Woo! That's a fin. It's a magical moment spotting a fin or a blow while on a BC ferry.

[00:00:07]>> at that.

[00:00:10]When a captain sees a whale, they can steer clear. The vessel will either alter course, it could slow down, or if we're actually alongside, we'll hold alongside of the birth until the whales are out of the area. This is one way BC Ferries tries to be good stewards with marine wildlife. It's really a labor of love for for our for our captains, for everybody. Last year, they documented 837 whales in BC. But there's a lot of work that's being done behind the scenes that people aren't aware of. One of the biggest threats to these majestic marine mammals is being struck by a vessel. The previous 5 years, there's been approximately five incidents that that were suspected. Last fall, a BC ferry fatally struck a humpback whale in Wright Sound. It's tragic when this incident when these incidents happen.

[00:01:00]Thankfully, they don't happen very often, but when they do, it's it's awful. Vessels on this very route will now slow down to 10 knots. The impact is going to be positive for the marine ecosystem. And it's not just BC Ferries.

[00:01:14]A humpback whale was struck and killed by a whale-watching vessel. Another whale was struck and injured by Helo Ferries. And just last week, a Sea-Doo struck and ran over a gray whale off Vancouver. A vessel strike risk for large whales is actually a surprisingly large problem, not only in Canada, but actually globally. Even at slow speeds, a strike can be deadly. These are hundreds to thousands of times heavier than a whale. So, even when they reduce their speed to 10 knots, the collision is often still lethal. Straitwatch is a nonprofit in BC that works to mitigate risks to these animals. There's a big lack of education, um a big lack of people not knowing the regulations, not knowing the best practices. She says there's no regulated speed limits in many areas. There's often boats speeding by very quickly, uh really close to whales, either just not aware that there's whales there. Other experts are calling for more research.

[00:02:12]To understand the impact of vessel strikes, the impact from region to region, and the impact on different species of whales, because all whales behave differently around vessels. She's been studying whales along the coast of BC for 25 years and says a big change is coming to the environment. So it's always been very quiet up there, there's not a lot of vessel traffic. We've had a huge increase in the number of fin whales and humpback whales, but now we also have LNG traffic, and that is very new to the area. As of June 1st, there will be a new minimum distance of 1,000 m that voters must stay away from southern resident killer whales. Enough is not being done, but it's not for a lack of trying. BC Ferries is bringing new technology on board this fall. We are just in the last stages of putting out an RFI specifically looking for whale detection technology that we can put on our vessels. The detection devices will be installed on the northern vessels. We need something that can function in low light, poor weather conditions, and that can sort of withstand our West Coast weather. Anyone can report whale sightings online, which will alert large vessel operators. It's just an easy form to fill out on the app. Um super easy, super quick to do.

[00:03:27]As we all play a part in making sure moments like this keep happening. Alanna Kelly, CBC News, Squamish.