Offshore killer whale (Orcinus orca) management plan: chapter 3
Fisheries and Oceans Canada encourages other agencies and organizations to participate in the conservation of the population through the implementation of this management plan. The agencies in Table 3 have been identified as partners for implementing the recommended actions.
Table 4 summarizes those actions that are recommended to support the management goals and objectives. The activities implemented by Fisheries and Oceans Canada will be subject to the availability of funding and other required resources. Where appropriate, partnerships with specific organizations and sectors will provide the necessary expertise and capacity to carry out the listed action. However, this identification is intended to be advice to other agencies, and carrying out these actions will be subject to each agency’s priorities and budgetary constraints. Organizations currently collecting data on Offshore Killer Whales are listed in Appendix II.
Table 3. The management actions outlined in this plan are to be carried out, where and when appropriate, in partnership with the following organizations.
Organization | Acronym |
---|---|
Fisheries and Oceans Canada | DFO |
BC Marine Mammal Response Network | BCMMRN |
Department of National Defence | DND |
Environment Canada | EC |
Transport Canada | TC |
Natural Resources Canada | NRCan |
Canadian Coast Guard | CCG |
National Energy Board | NEB |
First Nations | FN |
B.C. Province | B.C. Prov |
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries | MAFF |
Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre | VAMSC |
B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network | B.C.CSN |
Straitwatch | Straitwatch |
Post-secondary institutions carrying out relevant research activities | Universities |
U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Mammal Lab |
NOAA |
Environmental non-governmental organizations | ENGOs |
To be determined | TBD |
Action | Objectives | Priority | Threats or Concerns Addressed | Participating Agencies* | Timeline |
Protection | |||||
1. Protect Offshore Killer Whales from acute acoustic disturbance, and mitigate negative effects | |||||
a) Apply the DFO Statement of Canadian Practice with respect to Mitigation of Seismic Sound in the Marine Environment and regional protocols | D1; M3; M4 | H | Displacement from habitat due to seismic noise disturbance; increase protocol effectiveness with respect to mitigation for Killer Whales | DFO, EC, NRCan, NEB | Ongoing |
b) Review protocol, request update on revisions to ensure effectiveness | D1; M3; M4 | M | Injury to animals due to tactical sonar use; increase protocol effectiveness with respect to mitigation for Killer Whales | DFO, DND | 3 years |
2. Protect Offshore Killer Whales from disturbance (physical and acoustic) | |||||
a) Complete amendments to the MMR | M3; M4 | LM | Increase protection from physical and acoustic disturbance; vessel strikes | DFO | Ongoing, completion pending |
b) Continue enforcement of MMR and promotion of regional guidelines | M3; M4 | LM | Continued protection from physical and acoustic disturbance; vessel strikes; development | DFO, CCG | Ongoing |
Management | |||||
3. Review project proposals, provide advice for mitigation or avoidance | D1; M3; M4 | H | Seismic and acute noise disturbance | DFO | Ongoing, enhance involvement where necessary |
4. Manage and reduce input of chemicals into habitat to reduce toxic loading in Offshore Killer Whales, their prey and their habitat | |||||
a) Develop marine mammal-specific measures for inclusion into catastrophic spill response programs | |||||
i) Develop emergency response plan to include marine mammal expertise into spill response initiatives | M1; M2; M4; M5 | H | Effective, coordinated response for toxic spills affecting marine mammals | DFO, EC, CCG, B.C. Prov, NOAA | 1 year |
ii ) Develop a marine mammal-specific operational manual | M1; M2; M4; M5 | H | Effective, coordinated step-wise response to toxic spills and standardized data collection | DFO, EC, CCG | 1 year |
b) Review and routinely monitor point-source contamination in known Offshore Killer Whale habitat in B.C. | |||||
i) Review management of point-sources of chemicals to assess relevancy of federal, provincial, regional thresholds for contamination (chemicals listed in Appendix I) | P1; R3; M2; M4 | M | Relevance of guidelines and thresholds in terms of contaminant loading in Offshore Killer Whales, habitat and prey | EC, B.C. Prov, Municipalities | 3 years |
ii) Routinely monitor these point-sources to assess compliance with federal, provincial, regional guidelines for thresholds (for chemicals listed in Appendix I) | P1; R3; M2; M4 | M | Compliance with guidelines and thresholds for environmental contamination; contaminant loading in Offshore Killer Whales, habitat and prey | EC, B.C. Prov, Municipalities | 3 years |
5. Permitting of non-DFO research programs, monitoring and assessments | R1; R2; R3; R4 ; M5 | H | Fostering independent research programs to determine prey species. | DFO, FN, ENGOs, Universities, NOAA, TBD | Immediate. Supports actions 9, 10, 11, 12 |
6. Support the BCMMRN program | R2; R3; M1 | MH | Standardized sample collection; incident reporting; necropsy analysis; clarify threats; share data | DFO, CCG, MAFF | Ongoing, will support and provide capacity for 12a |
7. Continued development of fisheries observer reporting standards | R3 | L | Clarify extent of fisheries interactions; species identification; gather samples | DFO | 5 years Will support actions 6 and 12b |
8. Update integrated fisheries management plans | M | Reduction in Prey | DFO | Contingent on results from actions 9d, 9e, 11a, 11c | |
Research on Offshore Killer Whale Biology | |||||
9. Research actions: opportunistic and targeted research | |||||
a) Conduct annual ship-based, multi-species marine mammal surveys. Conduct aerial surveys, when feasible. | P1; D1; R1; R2; R3; R4; M5 | H | Distribution; range; seasonal occurrence in B.C. | DFO, NOAA, TBD | Ongoing Will provide capacity to carry out 9b to 9e |
b) Continue the photo-identification program for Killer Whales | P1; D1; R1; R2; R3; R4; M5 | H | Population census; monitoring of abundance, trends, demographics | DFO, NOAA, TBD | Ongoing |
c) Deploy remote acoustic monitoring packages | R2 | H | Seasonal occurrence in key areas | DFO, TBD | Ongoing |
d ) Field sampling research | P1; R2; R4; M4 | H | Identify foraging ecology, diet; potential impacts of prey limitation | DFO, ENGOs, Universities, NOAA, TBD | 1 year |
e) Collect tissue samples from Offshore Killer Whales and potential prey species | P1; D1; R2; R3; R4; M2; M4; M5 | M | Pathogen and pollutant profiles; potential prey species | DFO, NOAA, ENGOs, TBD | Opportunistic collections Will complement 9d |
Monitoring and Assessment | |||||
10. Support efforts to monitor the distribution and occurrence of Killer Whales in B.C. to support research efforts | D1; R2; M5 | H | Distribution; occurrence; support for research; outreach and education | DFO, B.C.CSN, VAMSC, Straitwatch, WWOANW | Ongoing |
11. Conduct ongoing assessments of vulnerability to identified threats | |||||
a) Evaluate need for risk assessment models | P1; D1; R3; M1; M2; M3; M4 | LM | Determine risk factors for spills, vessel strikes, entanglement, pollutants, prey limitation; potential impacts to habitat and individuals | DFO, EC, DND, TC, Industry, TBD | 4 years |
b) Investigate increased risk associated with lifting of moratorium on offshore fossil fuel extraction | D1; R3; M1; M2; M3; M4 | M | Determine associated risk of oil spills; seismic and vessel noise; displacement from habitat | DFO, B.C. Prov | 3 years |
c) Assess likelihood of prey limitation impacts | P1; D1; R2; M4 | H | Population level impacts resulting from changes to ecosystem dynamics | DFO, Fisheries industry | 3 years, this action is contingent upon results from 9d and 9e |
12. Clarify extent of threats to the population | |||||
a) Perform necropsy analysis of carcasses, when feasible | R2; R3 | H | Determination of pathogen and chemical loads; general biology, physiology | DFO, MAFF, TBD | Opportunistic. May assist efforts in 9e |
b) Assess potential for fisheries interactions | P1;D1; R3; M4 | M | Depredation; entanglement; competition for resources | TBD | 3 years, may be contingent on results from 9d and 9e |
c) Evaluate the feasibility of conducting assessments of biological pollution sources | R3; M2; M4 | L | Exposure to biological pollutants; contamination of habitat | EC, B.C. Prov | 5 years, may be carried out with 4b |
Outreach and Communication | |||||
13. Foster communication networks | |||||
a) Pro-actively build intra- and inter-agency communication networks | M1; M2; M4; M5 | H | Effective communication; catastrophic spill response | DFO, EC, CCG, B.C. Prov, Municipalities, ENGOs, NOAA, TBD | Immediate Will support 4a |
b) Promotion of BWW guidelines | M3; M4; M5 | M | Mitigate physical and chronic acoustic disturbance; outreach; communication | DFO, VAMSC, B.C.CSN, WWOANW, Straitwatch, ENGOs | 3 years |
c) Trans-boundary, inter- jurisdictional collaboration | All | H | Data sharing; foster collaborative programs | DFO NOAA, FN, ENGOs, WWOANW, TBD |
Immediate Will assist and support all actions |
* Identification of government agencies and non-governmental organizations is intended to be advice and does not commit the agency or organization to implementing the listed action. Implementing actions will be contingent upon each organizations or agency’s priorities and budgetary constraints.
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