Presentation Abstract

The Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population is listed as Endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. As part of its Ocean Protection Plan, Canada is taking action to protect SRKW and their defined Critical Habitat in the Salish Sea. Identified threats to SRKW include noise from vessels, availability of prey, and contaminants. Through the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) assesses and permits the disposal of waste at sea, including disposal at a designated site in SRKW habitat. As well, ECCC conducts regular, required monitoring at disposal sites. The monitoring program holds several years of scientific data and reports on contaminant levels in sediment, as well as data on sediment physico-chemistry, benthic invertebrate populations, sediment stratigraphy, hydrology and other parameters for its disposal sites. This talk will discuss research findings from ECCC disposal site monitoring, and ECCC activities to protect SRKW habitat from contamination, with a particular focus on findings and management actions with respect to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Emerging Contaminants, managing noise from Disposal at Sea activities, and engagement with indigenous peoples will also be discussed.

Session Title

Transboundary Actions to Address Threats to Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW)

Keywords

Salish Sea, Killer Whales, Disposal at sea

Conference Track

SSE9: Transboundary Management and Policy

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

SSEC Identifier

SSE9-574

Start Date

4-4-2018 4:15 PM

End Date

4-4-2018 4:30 PM

Type of Presentation

Oral

Genre/Form

presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Waste disposal in the ocean--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Killer whale--Effect of contaminated sediments on--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Polychlorinated biphenyls--Environmental aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

COinS
 
Apr 4th, 4:15 PM Apr 4th, 4:30 PM

Managing disposal at sea in the Salish Sea to protect Southern Resident killer whale habitat

The Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population is listed as Endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. As part of its Ocean Protection Plan, Canada is taking action to protect SRKW and their defined Critical Habitat in the Salish Sea. Identified threats to SRKW include noise from vessels, availability of prey, and contaminants. Through the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) assesses and permits the disposal of waste at sea, including disposal at a designated site in SRKW habitat. As well, ECCC conducts regular, required monitoring at disposal sites. The monitoring program holds several years of scientific data and reports on contaminant levels in sediment, as well as data on sediment physico-chemistry, benthic invertebrate populations, sediment stratigraphy, hydrology and other parameters for its disposal sites. This talk will discuss research findings from ECCC disposal site monitoring, and ECCC activities to protect SRKW habitat from contamination, with a particular focus on findings and management actions with respect to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Emerging Contaminants, managing noise from Disposal at Sea activities, and engagement with indigenous peoples will also be discussed.