Peninsula skipper likes new law keeping boats 100 feet from orcas
Puget Sound Express owner Pete Hanke said new state legislation won’t change anything for his customers when the tour service opens its whale-watching season on Saturday: The tour out of Port Townsend has for years voluntarily followed the guidelines to be spelled out in law. -- Peninsula Daily News photo
By Erik Hidle, Peninsula Daily News
Print This |
Email This
Recent Headlines
To our readers . . . about the Aspire! Quartet’s Singing Valentine program -- 2/10/12 -01:53 PM
Floating luxury home hits the water, now moored at Point Hudson [**Video**] -- 2/10/12 -01:03 PM
Mountain goat population up about 40 percent in Olympic Mountains -- 2/10/12 -12:07 PM
417.9 million bites later . . . (does this video warrant that much attention?) -- 2/10/12 -12:02 PM
Josh Powell had ‘incestuous’ sex images, investigators say -- 2/10/12 -09:32 AM
The legislature passed House Bill 2514 this month. The bill, which awaits Gov. Chris Gregoire's signature, requres all vessels to approach no closer than 100 yards from whales.
That includes orcas — the toothed whales that are the largest members of the dolphin family seen on the Puget Sound Express tours of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Port Townsend and Friday Harbor on the San Juan Islands.
Puget Sound Express owner Pete Hanke said the legislation won't change anything for his customers when the tour service opens its whale watching season on Saturday.
Hanke has been operating under the voluntary guidelines put forth by Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest for 14 years, and the law will make little difference to his business.
"I support this legislation," said Hanke, who is also a vice-president in the association.
"All the law is doing is confirming guidelines which we already followed."
Leapfrogging
One section of the new law that Hanke said was not addressed in the voluntary guidelines was the practice of "leapfrogging," where a boat predicts the path of a traveling pod of whales, turns off the engines and waits for the pod to travel close to the boat as it floats without power.
"The new law states that you can't be within 100 feet of the whales even if the boat is powered down," Hanke said.
"If a whale comes up to us now, we have to actively get away from it."
Four years ago, Hanke stopped the leapfrogging technique, to be more prepared for what he knew was going to be eventual legislation on the distance between boats and whales.
The new law means that now he must actively avoid orcas if they come within the 100-yard limit of his boat.
"You worry about that, because there are times where whales can change course and sneak up on you," Hanke said.
Hanke said that, although the regulations would change some of the practices of operators, he felt it was a good piece of legislation.
"The whale watching industry does good and bad things for the whales," he said.
"It's great we are out there with the public, spreading awareness about the whales so that legislation like this has the support.
"At the same time, we need this legislation, because there is a chance for abuse."
_________
Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: March 16. 2008 9:00PM