Whale of Plan Would Reunite Luna with Pod

Sunday, October 5, 2003
VICTORIA, BC - The newly released plan to move a killer whale from Nootka Sound south to Pedder Bay offers the young orca the best chance to reunite with his family, says a senior federal marine mammal scientist.

"I'm hopeful. I still have some optimism that it can happen," said John Ford, from Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. "I think it's the best we can do."

On Friday, the Fisheries Department released details of the plan to relocate Luna, also called L-98 for his pod and birth order. Oct. 13 is the deadline for groups interested in applying for a scientific licence to stage and fund the move, as well as provide ongoing monitoring and research.

The plan calls for Luna to be enticed into a pen in Nootka Sound for medical tests. If deemed healthy, the one-tonne orca would be moved by boat or truck, or a combination of both, to another pen in Pedder Bay, close to Race Rocks, where Luna's L-pod often swims by.

The four-year-old southern resident would be released to swim free when whales pass by and the situation seems right. The Fisheries Department makes the final choice when to release him.

From there, it's up to Luna and the other whales.

Ford is reluctant to try to predict the chance of success, saying, "I've been stewing on this and I don't feel like I can come up with any kind of odds."

The plan was created by the Fisheries Department, a Canada-U.S. scientific panel, and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. Proposals will be scrutinized based on whether they have the necessary expertise, resources and infrastructure, Marilyn Joyce, the fisheries department's marine mammal co-ordinator for the Pacific region, said Friday.

"The issue here is time and we want to make sure we move as quickly as possible because we want Luna down here while the L pod is still around."

That pod typically stays in this area into December and in the past couple of years has been seen locally as late as February, she said.

Pedder Bay was chosen because it is out of the range of busy boat traffic while still being near waters frequented by other southern residents, she said.

The aim is to carry out the plan as quickly as possible and the limit set on holding Luna in a pen is April 30, 2004.

One of the most important aspects after the release is the stewardship program, Joyce said. VHF and satellite tracking devices will be attached to Luna's dorsal fin and regular reports are required by the Fisheries Department.

An on-the-water monitoring program to keep Luna and boats apart in both Canada and the U.S. is also in the plan.

If Luna becomes a threat to human safety then the possibility is there that he could be put in captivity. The plan also allows for Luna to be killed if someone's life is in danger.

Starved for company, the social whale has turned into a danger to boaters since arriving in Nootka Sound in mid-July, 2001. He has had run-ins with boats and despite efforts of enforcement officials and a special stewardship program, people will not leave the whale alone.

On Sunday, more than 200 people visited the Gold River dock for a sighting. RCMP Const. Chris Swain said they are "slapping the water, calling his name."

A similar operation worked for another whale last year. Springer, or A-73, was a sickly, orphaned lost whale that turned up in Puget Sound. She too became attached to boats for company.

Concern over her future prompted Canada and the U.S. to work together, along with whale advocacy groups and the Vancouver Aquarium, to capture the whale. She was nursed back to health and moved by catamaran to Johnstone Strait to rejoin her threatened northern resident group. The move cost several hundred thousand dollars.

With a population of just 83, the southern resident killer whales are designated as endangered in Canada. These trans-boundary whales live in tightly knit social groups and are found in waters off B.C. and Washington state, fuelling whale-watching businesses on each side of the border.

Luna's mother is still alive and it is not known why he is alone. He may have become lost or Ford said there may be social reasons he is not with other whales.

Michael Harris, of Washington state's Orca Conservancy, said that although some specifics of the plan need to be worked out, "It is a course of action that we have pushed for some time."

He welcomes the tracking tags. They may finally solve the long-standing mystery of where these whales go in the winter.

This research component may be what is needed to free up money from the U.S. government, which has a fund dedicated to research on these orcas, he said.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Aquarium has already started soliciting donations for the move. If it does not take part in the relocation, all funds will go to other organizations approved by the fisheries department, said aquarium spokeswoman Angela Neilsen. And if the move doesn't happen, then the money would go to the aquarium's marine mammal rehabilitation program.

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