Re: [Paddlewise] whales and kayaks

> From: Richard Culpeper <culpeper_at_tbaytel.net>


> Another interesting case is Tepley v. United States -- following whales
> with a
> power boat and then hopping into the water and extensively touching was
> originally
> deemed harassment, but was overturned on appeal -- what is interesting
> is the
> original trial court's non-binding obiter in recommending a distance
> between
> whales and watchers.  The higher court shot down the lower court judge's
> strong
> stand by finding that the behavioural pattern was not disturbed (thus my
> position
> that bobbing and incidental touching is not a violation of the MMPA). 

Thanks for posting your finding.  Bob found this page about the case:
http://www.whalenet.org/archives/whalenet96/0194.html
Folks might be interested in reading this interpretation of the finding
and the judge's comments.

I must admit, before this debate began, I really didn't have a strong
opinion about swimming with or petting marine mammals in the wild as
I assumed it was probably harmless.  I've done a lot of reading over the
last few days regarding this exact issue and have come away with the
opinion that this can't be good for the wildlife as there appears to be
too much evidence that seems to say that the more we interact with 
the wildlife, the less afraid they are of us and the outcome has not
been positive.  From mothers leaving babies behind or seeking shelter
away from humans in more trecherous waters (predators and less food
available), to marine mammals becoming conditioned to handouts and 
turning aggressive when they do not get what they are after and to
marine mammals losing their fear of humans only to be shot or injured
by propellers.  I also found Matt's post very compelling (long, but 
compelling :-).  The concern doesn't stop at the well-being of the 
wildlife but also the safety of the public.   

The last URL I gave on my preveious post addressed your request to forget 
about discussing whether it was legal or not and discuss whether or not 
it was actually harmful.  Since I am not an expert on whale behavior, I 
let the statues or laws be my guide.  But from what I've learned, I don't 
think they are enough.  I agree with your statement that "the law should 
not be taken as the be all and end all."  There is a mountain of 
information available on the web provided by research scientists on human 
interaction with marine wildlife, so folks that want to learn about it, 
have many places to go for information from experts other than trying to
find it here on PaddleWise.  They can be much better informed at places 
like http://www.websites.noaa.gov/guide/sciences/ocean/ocean.html
or http://whale.wheelock.edu/

Jackie



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