(J44 [Moby] and J53 [Kiki] – photo by Mark Sears, permit #21348)
Back in January, we reported on legislation to require that endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales be given more space. Now, a milestone on the journey to becoming law – here’s what Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail, who worked on the governor’s orca task force, reports a key bill is almost all the way through the Legislature:
Good news! The bill to establish a 1,000-yard buffer around the southern residents passed the House yesterday (read the House announcement here.) It won’t take effect until January 2025, which was a disappointment, but it will be mandatory for all boaters – a big win for the whales.
The bill also requires Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a working group focused on boater solutions, so recreational boaters have the tools they need to know when southern residents are in the area, and how to estimate 1,000 yards at sea.
SB 5371 implemented a recommendation from WDFW in a recent adaptive management report, and is based on best available science showing that vessel approaches closer than 1000 yards significantly reduce the whales’ ability to find and catch their prey. The harmful impacts of noise and disturbance are more pronounced on females: female southern resident orcas abandon hunts when vessels approach closer than 400 yards.
Even though the distance requirement won’t be mandatory until 2025, there’s no reason to wait to give the whales the space they need. Boaters can take the voluntary pledge at givethemspace.org, to 1,000 yards away. Download the free app Whale Alert and learn when southern residents are in the area, so you can watch them from shore, or avoid them at sea.
Special thanks to House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon and Senator Joe Nguyen, who supported this bill every step of the way. Also to other legislative champions, WDFW, our fellow organizers in the Give them Space campaign, and the many people and organizations who stepped up for the orcas this session. A sea change is underway, against great odds.
This bill is the outcome of public process that began on the Governor’s Task Force. On the long road to recover the orcas, this is a big next step. We can’t wait to tell J pod!
Donna adds that the bill isn’t final yet – there’s one more “step in the Legislative process before the bill achieves final passage. Because the House bill is different than the bill that passed the Senate, representatives from both bodies will meet to reconcile the difference, a process known as concurrence.”
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