Whale watching Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC
wmv movie of Orcas with audio .89 MB mpeg Orca breaching amongst kayakers 1.95 MB a good reason why to book one of our boats :-)

Each summer Victoria becomes a Mecca for orca whale-watchers from around the world. Unfortunately, the whale-watching services are not regulated and each year numerous operators set up shop without regard for the whales nor your experience. You won't enjoy your whale watching experience when a patrol boat comes along and admonishes your boat for not adhering to the voluntary common-sense guidelines.

At Birds of a Feather Oceanfront B&B we want your entire visit to Victoria to be a pleasant one. Please allow us - at no extra charge to you - to book you on an ethical and responsible zodiac or full size boat - even if you are not staying with us. Doing our little part to promote responsible whale watching for today and for our future.

to book online for a whale watching tour
on either the covered boat, or the large Zodiac

Reservations On-Line or call 1-800-730-4790

Whale Watching & other Marine Wildlife Tours April 01 - October 31 from downtown Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

For more information about the Orca Killer Whale, Grey Whales, Sea Lions and other Marine Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest please visit: www.whalesBC.com

• Orca Spirit Adventures Ltd. offers year round whale watching and marine wildlife tours aboard our 45' vessel, the "Orca Spirit", out of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; one of the best locations in the world for viewing whales and marine life in the wild. Full washroom facilities and heated indoor seating area. Complimentary coffee & tea (snacks available.)

• Coastguard certified passenger vessel and crew. Large outdoor viewing decks. Certified Naturalist on board.

• Early morning departure of our scout vessel, and an extensive land spotting network is used to assist in locating whales

• The best time of year for Orca (killer whale) watching is April through October. The Juan de Fuca and Haro Straits are home to three Resident Orca pods, called J, K and L pods, which total nearly 100 Orcas. In addition to the Orcas, we often see Minke, Gray and Humpback whales, porpoise, Stellar and California sea lions, harbour seals, elephant seals, river & sea otters and a large variety of sea birds such as cormorants, bald eagles and puffins, to name only a few. Sighting success rates during this peak season can range up to 99 % !!

• The Orca Spirit is one of the fastest whale watching vessels in Victoria (speeds up to 80 km/hr), which provides less travel time and more time to enjoy the surrounding wildlife. The Orca Spirit was built in 1996 to C.S.I. (Canadian Steamship Inspection) and undergoes annual safety inspections regulated by the Department of Transport Canada. The vessel is fully insured and is equipped with all safety requirements, has full washroom facilities, a large, first-class, heated indoor seating area, and outdoor viewing decks for an exhilarating ride. The Orca Spirit is also equipped with a stereo system, television, video machine, P.A. system, hydrophone and much more. Groups up to 40 can be accommodated on this vessel. Our crew consists of certified Captains, and experienced certified Naturalist guides.

• We offer three tours daily (9 a.m., 1 p.m. & 5 p.m.) and each tour is three hours long. Tours depart from the marina behind the Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel @ 146 Kingston Street (downtown Victoria). Tours are suitable for persons of all ages, from infants to seniors, and we also have a designated wheelchair accessible area. On our tours we provide complimentary coffee, tea, & hot chocolate. The vessel is liquor licensed and we offer a variety of snacks and cold beverages. For added viewing enjoyment for our passengers, we have a library of informative nature books on board and we show a marine wildlife video.

CLICK MAP TO ENLARGE
We're in Downtown Victoria, British Columbia Canada
Victoria's Inner Harbour dockside Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel, 146 Kingston St
FREE PARKING

April 01 - October 31: Three-hour tours leave daily: 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m.
Adults: $89.00 | Youth 12 to 17: $69.00 | Child Under 12: $59.00
all rates subject to 7% GST (tax)

• Ask about group rates.

• Year round custom charters available.

• Reservations are recommended.

RESERVATIONS
Toll Free: 1-800-730-4790
Local Calls: 391-8889

to book online for a whale watching tour
on either the covered boat, or the large Zodiac

or e-mail: whales@VictoriaLodging.com

all rates subject to 7% GST (tax)
All major credit cards are accepted at time of departure

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On guard for orca

Who watches the watchers? The Marine Mammal Monitoring patrol

BY LOUISE DICKSON
Times Colonist staff


IT LOOKS LIKE Tommy the Tugboat, but the M3 has a whale of a job. On a late-summer sunny afternoon, the black-and-yellow Marine Mammal Monitoring patrol boat is bouncing through American waters off Washington state’s San Juan Island. Michelle Kehler scans the rolling water with her binoculars, making sure the commercial whale-watching boats, the Bayliners and the sailboats are adhering to Canadian and American whale-watching guidelines. “It’s a zoo out here,” she says.

Members of J and K pods, the endangered southern resident killer whale population, are feeding close to shore. About 40 boats jostle for position, manoeuvring backward and forward as tourists and pleasure-boaters strain for a glimpse of black fins slicing through the water.

Five days a week from May to October, volunteers with the Marine Mammal Monitoring program, a non-profit Victoria-based stewardship society, patrol the boundary waters of southern Vancouver Island and north western Washington. Like teachers in the schoolyard, they censor bad behaviour and praise good behaviour around whales.

The program is a partnership between Veins of Life Marine in Victoria, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and, on San Juan Island, the Friday Harbor Whale Museum’s Soundwatch Boater Education Program.

The M3 boat may look comical — like a Zodiac with a yellow phone booth on top — but its role in protecting the whales is immense, says Fisheries officer Stephan Beckmann.
“It works very well for the whales,” says Beckmann. “They know all the commercial boats and have worked very effectively to establish that relationship.”

It’s a better day for the whales when M3 is on the water, says Marc Pakenham, founder of the M3 program.

M3 warns unsuspecting boaters of the presence of whales and tries to intercept those people who don’t care. Two weeks ago, Pakenham followed a million-dollar yacht into Victoria harbour after the captain drove at full speed through a pod of orcas off Trial Island.

“This boat drove right up the middle with 40 whales, including nine juveniles less than a year old, in its path,” says Pakenham. “The captain said he was on a crew change.”

Volunteers hand out brochures with whalewatching guidelines and talk to boaters about what’s expected on the water. When boats position themselves in the path of whales or go inshore of whales, they write up incident reports for DFO. When there are repeat offences, DFO considers charges, says Beckmann.

“People say, ‘The whales came to us,’” says Pakenham. “But that’s not really happening. People thought that if you were entirely shut down and the whales approached your boat, you were not really causing any kind of disturbance. But that approach has been called into question by DFO scientists.

“One boat in the path of whales probably doesn’t have any measurable effect. But when you take the cumulative effects of hundreds of boats a day, repeatedly parking in the paths of the whales, then the whales are exerting more energy. It probably disturbs their prey.”

Pakenham has counted 120 boats around the whales at one time. “Sometimes you could almost walk from vessel to vessel, and that’s where it’s really a cause for concern.” M3 is “much needed” because of the dramatic increase in the number of whale-watching boats, says Ron King, owner of Sea King Adventures. “Most of the industry respects what they do. I try to help them any time I can. They really need our support,” says King.

On this day, Kehler and crew mates Dennett Woodland and Madelin Emery are keeping an eye on the north end of “the scene” as they call it. Their American counterpart, Soundwatch, takes the south. Kehler watches a sailboat creeping closer to the whales. M3 moves in and hails the mariners. “I just want to give you guys some information on whale watching guidelines ...”

Most people are receptive to Kehler’s advice. “Thanks for the job you’re doing,” says the skipper of Side Kick. “We’ll do a vessel count, then just wait and watch for incidents,” says Kehler later. It doesn’t take long. Within a few minutes, a whale-watching boat from Steveston parks in the path of the whales. The orcas surface very close to the boat. “Madelin. Parked in the path,” barks Kehler.

Emery writes up an incident report. Later, as orcas are breaching off Pender Island, Kehler sees a Vancouver whale-watching boat inshore of the whales. “He looks really tight to the shore and he knows better,” says Kehler.

Beckmann, aboard a high-powered Fisheries vessel, has also spotted the boat. He races over and talks to the operator. Emery has seen it all before. When people are on the water they think they can do whatever they want, she says.
“They’re not concerned about the whales. They’re concerned about themselves. We’re really lucky to live in a place where the whales come every year. This is their home, but they’re definitely under stress.”

WHALE - WATCHING  G U I D E L I N E S
The Marine Mammal Monitoring program was created five years ago by Marc Pakenham, executive director of the Veins of Life Watershed Society. It has grown into a partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Friday Harbour Whale Museum’s Soundwatch Boater Education Program. The program receives $57,000 a year from Environment Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. The program publishes a Be Whale Wise brochure that volunteers hand out to educate boaters. It has developed the following set of whale-watching guidelines that have been adopted by Canadian and U.S. authorities:

• Be cautious and courteous. Approach areas of known or suspected marine mammal activity with extreme caution. Look in all directions before planning your approach or departure.

• Slow down. Reduce speed to less than seven knots when within 400 metres of the nearest whale. Avoid abrupt course changes.

• Avoid approaching closer than 100 metres to any whale.

• If your vessel is unexpectedly within 100 metres of a whale, stop immediately and allow the whales to pass.

• Avoid approaching whales from the front or from behind. Always approach and depart whales from the side, moving in a direction parallel to the direction of the whales.

• Keep clear of the whales’ path. Avoid positioning your vessel within 400 metres in the path of the whales.

• Stay on the offshore side of the whales when they are travelling close to shore. Remain at least 200 metres offshore at all times.

• Limit your viewing time to a recommended maximum of 30 minutes. This will minimize the cumulative impact of many vessels and give consideration to other viewers.

• Do not swim with or feed whales.

Orca Killer Whale| Gray & Minke Whales