More than six weeks into the ECHO Program’s 2022 season, see continued strong participation rates in the program’s voluntary underwater noise reduction measures. Port of Vancouver released

Over the last week, more than 50 southern resident killer whales from the J, K, and L pods have been seen throughout the Haro Strait and Boundary Pass slowdown area by our trusted marine mammal observers – highlighting the ongoing importance of our participants’ efforts to voluntarily slow down or stay distanced from the whales, particularly as both J and K Pod calves travel among them.

Each table lists the percentage of participating ship transits, as well as the number of participating ship transits out of all ship transits, in brackets.

Swiftsure Bank inbound and outbound slowdown trial

The combined participation rate in the new ​inbound and outbound ship slowdown trial at Swiftsure Bank is 78%. We thank the ship operators who have made the effort to slow down while transiting through this key foraging area for southern resident killer whales, and we encourage all commercial and government vessels to slow down to the target speeds for their vessel class.

Haro Strait and Boundary Pass slowdown

Participation in the Haro Strait and Boundary Pass slowdown has remained strong at 92%.

Lateral displacement in the Strait of Juan de Fuca