Whale Watchers Asked to Support Studies

Monday, August 4, 2003
SAN JUAN ISLANDS -- Boats, including those occupied by whale watchers, are being asked to clear out of an area along the western shore of San Juan Island to aid in orca research.

Researcher Jodi Smith, who studied 19 killer whales visiting Dyes Inlet in 1997, is continuing her work on whether orcas change their normal behaviors when whale-watching boats are around.

Smith uses survey equipment stationed on shoreline bluffs to precisely measure the movement of whales in the presence of boats and when boats are absent.

Despite several summers of study, Smith has found it difficult to find enough times when boats are not around the whales -- even when she goes out before sunrise.

Last week, NOAA Fisheries announced an expanded no-vessel zone along the west side of San Juan Island, one of the orcas' favorite areas at this time of year.

The voluntary zone, expanded from a quarter-mile to a half-mile near Edwards Point and in front of Lime Kiln State Park, will be in effect until Sept. 30.

Smith said her studies suggest that the whales expend more energy when boats are present, but she has not measured enough no-boat trackings to prove the point.

Previous studies by researcher Rob Williams, who is involved in the current study, concluded that another group of whales in British Columbia expended up to 13 percent more energy when boats were nearby.

David Bain, a University of Washington animal psychologist, is working with Smith and Williams to characterize the behavior of killer whales during 15-minute intervals.

The extra effort could help determine whether the whales are changing their social behavior and feeding more or less when boats are around.

The research is being conducted with a $94,000 grant from NOAA Fisheries, which received $750,000 from Congress to study Puget Sound's whales.

Puget Sound's killer whales are designated depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which means the population is at risk of extinction.

Other studies involve whale behaviors observed from a boat, sound levels that the whales must endure, and where the whales travel in winter when they are gone from inland waters.