Residents of East Sooke are posting comments on their community Facebook page about incidents of whale harassment they've witnessed -- this, despite new restrictions introduced this summer.
Residents report a whale watching vessel allegedly rushed up on a pod of whales Tuesday and chased them in the water off Seagirt Road. Others say a whale watching vessel and 4 zodiacs got within 50 yards of humpback whales east of Race Rocks, harassing them for about 15 minutes.
New regulations introduced in July require all boaters to maintain a 100-metre buffer zone from most whales, dolphins and porpoises, and to stay 200-metres away from killer whales, especially the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Department of Fisheries Detachment Supervisor Mandy Ludlow says no one reported the incidents to them -- and that's what needs to happen:
"They should call our 24 hour reporting line at 1-800-465-4336. This number is monitored 24/7 -- 365 days a year. And when violations are reported to that line they go to all of my officers. I have 7 in my detachment."
Ludlow says DFO is doing what it can by increasing aerial surveillance by 30%, and they are awaiting the arrival of 4 more officers:
" They will primarily work on whale harrassment and fish activities in the Southern Resident Killer Whale closures. We're hopeful that we will get these officers sometime in the next year. We are also getting a new vessel which will be here before the end of March to assist in this program."
Boaters can face up to $100-thousand fines for getting too close to whales.
Ludlow says while the community chatter is concerning, she notes it's also difficult to estimate distance between objects in the water from shore, but adds DFO needs to know about incidents to investigate them.