Wake Up Call: The Return of Vessel Traffic Following a Global Pandemic
By Grace Baer, BC Whales and SWAG Project
Originally written January 2023, updated June 2023.
It is difficult to describe the feeling that takes over my entire being when I am around whales, the fullness that my soul experiences, or the moment my shoulders relax and my mind releases its worries and anxieties from everyday life. It is in these moments that I feel myself slow down and truly connect to my surroundings. I felt myself being lulled into this connected state as we slowly drifted by a sleeping humpback whale at the mouth of Lewis Passage, just beside where our research station sits on the southwestern shore of Fin Island in the summer of 2022.
In my role with the North Coast Cetacean Society (BC Whales), I co-lead the research and monitoring efforts conducted from the Fin Island station that supports the collaborative efforts of BC Whales, WWF-Canada, and the Gitga’at First Nation through The Ships, Whales, and Acoustics in Gitga’at Territory (SWAG) project. The SWAG project seeks to advance leading-edge research to develop real time tracking tools for whales and ships, and collaboratively develop mitigation measures to reduce the impact of commercial shipping on four populations of at-risk whales in one of the BC coasts most important whale areas.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic years (2020-22), We experienced a drastic reduction in the number of vessels that routinely traffic our remote research area (figure). Cruise ships, fishing lodges, ecotourism ships, and many commercial fishing operations were all at once stopped and did not return to these waters for most of these two years. I found myself breathing easier during this unprecedented period and worrying less about the vulnerability of the whales who spend their time resting at the surface.
If not for the subtle and occasional movements of this resting whale to raise its blowhole out of the water to breathe out and breathe in, it would be easy to miss its presence altogether, or to misinterpret it as a log bobbing up and down at the surface. This surface resting behaviour is something that we frequently observe on the north coast of British Columbia, though it is curiously not something that has been documented as frequently in the southern reaches of the province. In recognizing the uniqueness of this behaviour and how it may increase the vulnerability of the whales in this region, we leap at the opportunity to thoroughly document occurrences such as these.
As I lowered the camera from my eyes and prepared to leave this peaceful whale behind, the first cruise ship to return to this region appeared on the horizon. My heart sank into my stomach at the realization that this whale was fast asleep directly in the middle of a major shipping lane. Anxiety built in my chest as the “Disney Wonder” continued its course and speed. The whale dove just in time. I held my breath as the cruise ship passed and we waited for the whale to re-surface. After what felt like an eternity the whale appeared and went right back to sleep in the same place, seemingly unaware of the danger it narrowly avoided.
As we left this encounter, I couldn’t help but to think ahead to the future. In just a few years’ time we will experience another influx of shipping traffic in this area as liquefied natural gas (LNG) begins being exported daily on tankers. With at least one tanker set to come in and one to go out every day, I worry about the safety of the whales that rely on this productive feeding habitat annually to regain strength and energy. Recently, a major effort from the SWAG team has provided modeled insight into the severity of ship-strike risk, and how this will be heightened with the onset of LNG vessel traffic in 2025. We may not have much time, but we must find a way to protect these incredible beings from the consequences of continuous human development.