To:  Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada), Bernadette Jordan (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans), Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Environment and Climate Change) and Marc Garneau (Minister of Transport)

From: Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce Foundation

Re: Canadian Government Survey on potential 2020 management measures to address key threats to Southern Resident Killer Whales (Due March 23/20)

Immediate Actions Needed:

1. Improving Sewage Treatment, Recycling and Other Pollution Threats

The announced Canadian Government funding to improve salmon habitats must include stopping ocean pollution.

2. Implementing Humane, Modern Technologies to Reduce Research Boat Traffic

Reducing boat traffic must include Research Vessel Traffic. Sentient, endangered orca families must not continue to be treated as research tools. It has not stopped the decline of the SRKWs and others!

3. Emergency Whale Harassment Prevention Programs

Emergency procedures, when DFO is not immediately available, should be permitted by authorized organizations, such as Lifeforce, to stop close approaches and other violations.

4. Net, Line and Trap Entrapment/Injury Prevention

Implementing programs to expedite modern technologies to reduce net, line and trap entanglement and injuries have taken too long.

5. Banning Removal of Orcas from Their Families into Aquarium Captivity

It was proposed in 2018 to capture ailing J50 for captive experiments. There should be no excuses to imprisoned so called “rescues” and/or keep them as “non releasable”.

6. Protecting All Ecotypes

Other orca ecotypes are threatened by the similar threats as the SRKWs.

7. Eco Friendly Whale Watch Companies?

A licensing system and moratoriums must limit the number of whale watching vessels and operation times. Training must also include wildlife ethic sand animal rights.

8. Stopping Orca Starvation!

In order to get food for the starving orcas there must be minimum 5 year fishing moratoriums on salmon, herring and other species. There must also be a ban on any West Coast Seal and Sea Lion Cull!

9. Increase Boater Awareness Education!

Marine related businesses, aquariums/zoos and others must include education materials such as the Marine Mammal Regulations!

10. Call Them! Don’t Bomb Them!

The use of passive orca playbacks must be a priority for oil spill responses NOT seal bombs and other possible harmful methods presently listed as priority government response methods.

11. Harmful Disturbances from Other Noise Sources

There should be joint discussions between the US and Canadian governments for matters that impact the SRKWs and other transboundary marine life in each country.  This would include the Navy/Armed Forces tests that include detonation of bombs, seismic testing, marine related constuction projects and other potentially harmful activities.

12. Joint Canadian and US Environmental Impact Studies/Legislation/Treaties to Protect Transboundary Species in Shared Waters!

In order to “Save the Orcas” and other transboundary species emergency actions must be implemented immediately under the Species at Risk Acts in Canada and the US.

Lifeforce is a non-profit ecology organization that has tried to protect the J, K and L pods since 1993. Full Report “Improving Chances for Orca Recovery!” is available from Lifeforce: lifeforcesociety@gmail.com