Re: [Paddlewise] Whales (long)

Grant Glazer wrote:

>>Hi Melissa,

Although we don't get whales in the gulf where I live, we do 
encounter orca and dolphins.  What is the prodical for kayaking with 
marine mammals?  And when does looking become hasselling?

Cheers
Grant<<



Hi Grant,

That's a very good question you ask, as I've certainly seen a lot of 
terrible human behavior around whales.  I've also seen whales badly 
injured - and some even killed - by boat propellers.  It's not just 
motor boaters either, as I've had the unfortunate opportunity to see 
hundreds of paddlers surrounding and chasing whales as well.  And 
then there's my personal situation here, where I really do consider 
the local whales to be my friends - and so I do have some mixed 
feelings about this (more on this in a bit)...

The standard protocol is to not approach closer than 100-200 meters 
(I've heard both figures from various Marine Fisheries personnel).  
After that, if a marine mammal decides to approach you, then just 
enjoy the experience.  You are also not supposed to chase them, or 
"corner" them between boats.  Officially, there is also a time limit 
for how long you should be hanging around them - about half an hour I 
think.

Each spring, when the Gray Whales are migrating from Baja to Alaska, 
the large bay near here is filled with visiting whales for about a 
month.  It's the only time of year that the local whale watching 
motor boats come out to gawk, and it's horrible to see how so many of 
them actually chase the whales around.  Though the whales are 
naturally curious, and as I've mentioned before, even friendly, it is 
also obvious when they're being disturbed, and these "chasers" 
definitely do bother them.

There are some good whale watching operations that are more 
responsible, but here, where I've never even seen a Marine Fisheries 
boat on patrol during the short watching season, many (not all, but 
many) of the tours are given by the local charter fishing boats, and 
many of them (again - not all of them) don't seem to be at all 
concerned with anything but getting their clients the closest view - 
at any cost to the whales themselves.

The specific waters I'm most familiar with here are pretty shallow in 
places, and the whales do enjoy these areas.  I've seen so many 
people in power boats just fooling around at high speeds in these 
shallow areas, and not giving any thought to how they might be 
disturbing the creatures who live just below the surface.  Luckily, 
this really isn't such a popular place, so aside from a very short 
summer season, not many "pleasure boats" are around here at all.  I 
spend a lot of time in the summer chasing down very fast boats and 
asking people to perhaps consider the whales and other sea creatures 
that inhabit these waters.  Unfortunately, only a small percentage  
of these people will even care.  My body is very tired and sore after 
a day of chasing motor boats!

Now - on to my own situation for a moment...   Obviously, I do 
approach the locals at distances measured in inches rather than 
meters or yards.  Most of the time though, they approach me.  As I've 
said - I do consider these local whales to be "friends" of mine, and 
I generally don't keep 100-200 meters between myself and my friends.  
Most of the year, I'm the ONLY person, besides a few local crabbers, 
fishermen, etc. who are anywhere near these whales.  The truly local 
fishermen - not the ones who only come out during the "watching 
season" do love and respect the whales, and carefully avoid 
disturbing them.  When I have paddling friends here (usually only one 
to three at a time), we're very careful to not disturb the whales - 
and wait for them to approach us.  We also stay close together, so 
that we're always on one side of him/her, and never surround - or 
"corner" - the whale.  

Also - each year, the local whales find different areas in this large 
bay where they like to hang out and/or eat.  For instance, the summer 
just before this last one, my usual launching spot was right in the 
thick of their favorite spot.  This last summer (and now as well), 
I'll often have to paddle three or four (or more) miles offshore to 
see them.  This means that even when friends visit, I don't always 
take them to where the whales might be - depending on their 
experience level and the conditions, etc.

In general, aside from the apparent abundance of food here (for at 
least a small number of whales anyway), I'm guessing that the local 
whales like it here BECAUSE it's such an "unpopular" and quiet place 
most of the year.  

Perhaps I don't strictly follow the official protocols when dealing 
with the local whales (and when I'm by myself), but of course, they 
don't either.  They will approach me, and stay with me for hours, no 
matter where I decide to paddle.  This of course exceeds the "half 
hour limit" for whale watching (or "human watching" in this case).

It may seem hypocritical of me, since I don't always strictly follow 
the "rules", but I do think that the official protocols are a good 
idea, and I wish more people would follow them.  In my case, I've 
become as familiar to the local whales as the thousands of harbor 
seals that they also swim with every day.  I can also easily tell 
when they wish to be left alone (generally, this involves them 
swimming away), and I respect their space and never "chase" after 
them.

Melissa




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