‘2011-03-22′, ’11:50:03’, ‘Too Close: — 2 kayaks: Two gentlemen, one wearing orange in a black kayak the other wearing red in a yellow kayak entered the reserve to surf the strong ebb currents. Their course took them within 1m of the rocks, grazing submerged rocks on the E side of Great Race. Their recreational activities disturbed Harlequin ducks (6), Pigeon guillemots (21), and Black Oystercatchers (2) who were foraging in this area., ‘Ryan Murphy’, ’11:53:53.
Category Archives: Infractions
Harlequin Ducks put off by DND Blasting
14 Harlequin Ducks have arrived at Race Rocks and are making good use of the fine weather this past week. Unfortunately, these shy birds have been scared away today by bomb blasts on Bentinck Island. Blasting by CFAD Rocky Point has been continuous today with the exception of a lunch break at noon. It is very disappointing that the 5-minute interval designed to minimize DND impact on the ecological reserve has not been observed. Most blasts come in clusters with ~2-minute intervals. The blasting occurring around the time of this report ~13:54 had ~1-minute intervals.
Boats in the Ecological Reserve Data for 2010
These notes below are taken from the old log of marine vessel occurrence and behaviours while in the reserve in 2010. Only those occurrences observed by the Ecoguardian and recorded at the time are represented here. This does not preclude other boats being in the reserve at other times.
‘2010-01-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Company was called as the driver did not observe the Pacific Whale Watch Association guidelines of the go-slow zone that surrounds the rocks and islands of the reserve (i.e. the operator powered up to leave the reserve going East before passing the North-South meridian between North Race and Great Race Island).’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:16:55′),
‘2010-01-17’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘Large black zodiac came from Victoria, reduced speed and kept distance from all rocks. Went through the main channel E->W as far as the sea lions, turned around and left bound for Victoria.’, ‘Ryan’, ’12:35:43′),
‘2010-01-31’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’16:31:59′),
‘2010-02-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’14:55:48′),
‘2010-03-07’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 4, ‘POW, \\”BC Lung\\”, Eagle Wing, and 1 other’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:51:39′),
‘2010-03-28’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 12, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’16:02:27′),
‘2010-03-31’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 9, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’16:04:22′),
‘2010-03-31’, ‘Other’, 2, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’16:02:53′),
‘2010-04-07’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’16:15:08′),
, ‘2010-04-11’, ‘Pleasure’, 4, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’15:00:42′),
‘2010-04-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 10, ‘A lot of west-bound traffic in the afternoon, I’m guessing there are some whales out past Sooke.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:09:22′),
‘2010-04-17’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 12, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’22:06:29′),
‘2010-04-23’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 12, ‘a wet old day, but lots of traffic.’, ‘Ryan’, ’18:30:23′),
‘2010-04-24’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 7, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’18:32:55′),
‘2010-04-25’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 10, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’20:08:53′),
‘2010-04-25’, ‘Fishing’, 3, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’20:09:03′),
‘2010-05-02’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 8, ‘Traffic is really beginning to pick up. 3 eco tour zodiacs paraded past the jetty today in under 60 seconds.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:55:24′),
‘2010-05-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 25, ‘A busy day in the reserve today, however the tours have been regularly spaced so that the traffic congestion seen here in the fall has not materialized.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:26:02′),
‘2010-05-21’, ‘Pleasure’, 4, ‘safe/slow tours of the reserve conducted by all, with illegal fishing thrown in.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:52:31′),
‘2010-05-21’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 17, ‘traffic is definitely picking up.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:52:46′),
‘2010-05-22’, ‘Pleasure’, 5, ‘Had to call 2 boats who were speeding through the turbine area, but luckily they listen to their radios.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:53:18′),
‘2010-05-22’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 31, ‘A lot of traffic today, including a troubling increase in the < 50m viewing distance of marine mammals and increased maneuvering of boats to do so on the N side of Great Race.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:54:34′),
‘2010-05-29’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘First Swiftsure boat made it to Race Passage at 11:15’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:07:04′),
‘2010-06-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘adam’, ’21:07:37′),
‘2010-06-12’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 20, ”, ‘adam’, ’20:28:03′),
‘2010-06-12’, ‘Pleasure’, 5, ”, ‘adam’, ’20:28:17′),
‘2010-06-21’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘adam’, ’18:17:34′),
‘2010-06-21’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘adam’, ’18:17:41′),
‘2010-06-27’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ”, ‘adam’, ’18:18:09′),
‘2010-06-27’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ‘One pleasure vessel this afternoon approached far too close to Middle Rock and scared all the seals away. I tried to hail them on the radio but only had silence.’, ‘adam’, ’18:18:59′),
‘2010-07-02’, ‘Pleasure’, 12, ”, ‘adam’, ’19:14:31′),
‘2010-07-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 25, ”, ‘adam’, ’14:54:02′),
‘2010-07-03’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘adam’, ’14:54:08′),
‘2010-07-04’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘adam’, ’21:37:15′),
‘2010-07-06’, ‘Pleasure’, 15, ”, ‘adam’, ’20:08:09′),
‘2010-07-06’, ‘Fishing’, 3, ”, ‘adam’, ’20:08:15′),
‘2010-07-06’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 20, ”, ‘adam’, ’20:08:23′),
‘2010-07-16’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘adam’, ’09:17:17′),
‘2010-07-16’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 15, ”, ‘adam’, ’09:17:23′),
‘2010-07-17’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 35, ”, ‘adam’, ’22:03:19′),
‘2010-07-17’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘adam’, ’22:03:29′),
‘2010-07-17’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘adam’, ’22:03:35′),
‘2010-08-08’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 40, ”, ‘adam’, ’09:41:23′),
‘2010-08-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 40, ”, ‘adam’, ’07:09:11′),
‘2010-08-24’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘adam’, ’10:21:27′),
‘2010-08-24’, ‘Fishing’, 3, ”, ‘adam’, ’10:21:34′),
‘2010-08-24’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 25, ”, ‘adam’, ’10:21:47′),
‘2010-09-04’, ‘Kayak’, 7, ‘See disturbance report’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:32:23′),
‘2010-09-04’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’16:32:33′),
, ‘2010-09-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘I share here a typical example of the interaction of Eco Tour vessels and the wildlife at Race Rocks. This occurred from 10:50 to 11:05 this morning: A Seafun Safaris boat entered the reserve first and maintained a respectable distance from marine mammals while making a passive drift tour of the sea lions hauled out on Great Race Island. The driver obviously is aware of and believes in the importance of the PWWA’s stewardship protocols for viewing wildlife at Race Rocks.\r\nThe Eagle Wing Tours vessel Gold Wing entered the reserve and approached the Seafun Safaris vessel motoring against the current. Its noisy, active approach alerted the Steller sea lions on the NE corner of Great Race Island causing some individuals to take to the water. The Seafun Safaris vessel finished its drift tour and left the reserve after a respectful and sustainable tour. The Eagle Wing Tours vessel drifted and motored against the current several more times while viewing the sea lions on Great Race Island before motoring further against the current to view the sea lions on Middle Rocks. Sound and traffic congestion in the narrow channels are concerns for both Ecological Reserve management and community stakeholders. All vessels are reminded that passive drift tours are encouraged “whenever possible “, particularly in conditions of rippled seas as we are enjoying today.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:08:22′),
‘2010-09-21’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 26, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’19:02:12′),
‘2010-11-05’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ”, ‘VirginieLP’, ’09:09:41′),
‘2010-11-06’, ‘Diving’, 2, ‘Divers in two locations, arrived around 11:00 and departed around 14:00.’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’09:07:39′),
‘2010-11-06’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Eagle wing whale watching tour stopped by at 16:30.’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’09:08:33′),
‘2010-11-07’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘Prince of Whales at 2:50\r\nSprint tide at 11:30’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’08:14:53′),
‘2010-11-07’, ‘Other’, 0, ‘3 private vessels came through the reserve’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’08:16:35′),
‘2010-11-08’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘whale watching tours-orange boats (missed the name of company)’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’23:02:22′),
‘2010-11-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘Prince of Whales at 13:50\r\nUnidentified tour boat at 16:30’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’22:57:21′),
‘2010-11-12’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ‘Eagle Wing tours at 14:30, Prince of Whales at 15:30, Seaking Adventures at 16:00.’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’15:57:12′),
‘2010-11-16’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Eagle wing around 15:00’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’11:50:50′),
‘2010-11-18’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘prince of whales @ 16:00’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’18:54:35′),
‘2010-11-21’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘whale watching boat’, ‘VirginieLP’, ’20:26:19′),
‘2010-11-27’, ‘Diving’, 2, ‘in the morning, Ogden point diving boats’, ‘AlexF’, ’18:54:05′),
‘2010-11-27’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘around 15:00, orange zodiac.’, ‘AlexF’, ’19:02:15′),
‘2010-11-28’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Eagle Wing, caused some upset to the sea lions on west rock’, ‘AlexF’, ’09:18:11′),
‘2010-11-28’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘AlexF’, ’09:18:49′),
‘2010-12-06’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Zodia with a cabin, \\”BC Luna\\”, passed through reserve.’, ‘AlexF’, ’09:17:10′),
‘2010-12-19’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘princess of whales 14:30’, ‘AlexF’, ’19:59:44′),
Military Activities Near Race Rocks
DND BLASTING ACTIVITIES AT ROCKY POINT:
Bentinck island is used by the Department of National Defense as both a demolition range and a testing range for explosives. On the South end of Rocky Point there is a disposal pit where other demolition occurs, and in Whirl Bay, behind Christopher Point, there is an underwater test site. The size of the explosions is supposed to be monitored and controlled , however, we invariable get widely varying impacts. Our ecoguardians have made observations of the impact on sea
From the “burn pit” on Rocky Point
lions, seals and seabirds over the last few years. Invariably the blasting results in the sea lions being scared from the islands . Sometimes they do come back to haul out on the rocks but they often move on to another location. Unfortunately the location of Race Rocks next to these areas makes it very difficult to mitigate the impact of these explosions.
- See the “Before and After” from the sitezap camera 1- Nov 7,2002
- Link to Fisheries and Oceans Canada file on Guidelines for the Use of Explosives In or Near Canadian Fisheries Waters
- The Race Rocks logs have documented the activities of the military and the effects observed on the animals of Race Rocks
- Summary report: Responses of Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) to In-Air Blast Noise from Military Explosions DEMARCHI, MW AND MD BENTLEY. 2004.
- Effects of natural and human-caused disturbances on marine birds and pinnipeds at Race Rocks, British Columbia. LGL Report EA1569. Prepared for Department of National Defence, Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt and Public Works and Government Services Canada. 103 p.
- This video was made on October 7, 2002 in order to document the effect of the
Department of National Defence demolition exercises on Bentinck Island on the behaviour of birds and marine mammals at Race Rocks MPA. In previous years we have observed considerable disruption by military exercises involving blasting on nearby Bentinck Island in the fall just after the sea lions have returned to the island. We have requested that blasts be spread out over a longer period of time during an exercise. Traditionally blasts have come in a series of three. The first one would alert the sea lions, the second would send a few in the water and the third would clear the islands. This year on this one occasion, only two blasts were held at five minutes apart. The results are shown in the video. - On November 7, 2002, the DND were still doing their demolition blasting exercises at Bentinck Island. (not Oct 7 as stated in this draft version of the video) The students
from Lester Pearson College who were out for a project week were able to catch the images of the impact of these blasts on the first day from the science centre window and on the second day from the top of the light tower. In the tower, they interviewed Mike Demarchi of LGL who is currently doing a $50,000 contract for the Department of National Defence to monitor the impact of these blasts and to compare them with other disturbances at Race Rocks.
Update 2020: and its still going on —-https://www.racerocks.ca/tag/blasting/
and on January 27-2020: another set of blasts from Bentinck Island clears the docks of sealions:
https://www.racerocks.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Blasting.mp4“][/video]
| Recommendations:
1. Explosions should only be conducted at times of the year when there are no nesting birds or harbour and elephant seals having young . 2. During the months of August, September and October when the sea lions are returning to the islands, they are particularly sensitive to disturbances. 3. December, March and April are probably the times of least impact but only if explosion size is carefully controlled. 4. The sizes of explosions should be carefully monitored so as to limit the impact of disturbance. 5. Blasts should be spaced out to at least 10 minutes between detonation, and especially never three blasts in succession. This lessens the impacts on the animals. SAMPLE DAILY LOGS FROM RACE ROCKS WITH EFFECTS OF BLASTING ON ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR Thursday, November 22, 2001–MARINE LIFE: A typical November day weather wise however the Military detonation exercises on Bentinck Island were particularly disturbing for the Harbour Seals and Sea Lions. Once the blasting was done for the day the animals were still quite nervous and in fact when a Cuda Marine Whale Watching boat went by one rock (15:15-15:30) with approximately 120 sea lions hauled out over half of them stampeded into the water!” Thursday, January 17, 2002 Friday, January 18, 2002 Thursday, January 24, 2002 Addendum: |
| UPDATE: January, 2007: Recent blasting activities at Bentinck Island have flushed some of the birds and have scared some of the northern sea lions into the water. In general however we have observed that when they only do two blasts at more than a 1 minute interval, there is much less disturbance than three successive blasts. |
 DEMARCHI, MW AND MD BENTLEY. 2004. Effects of natural and human-caused disturbances on marine birds and pinnipeds at Race Rocks, British Columbia. LGL Report EA1569. Prepared for Department of National Defence, Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt and Public Works and Government Services Canada. 103 p.
Note in particular, the discussion of the results concerning the effects of blasting on the behaviour of sea lions.
|
Boats in the Ecological Reserve 2010
Note incomplete for all months. This was taken from the old version Race Rocks Logs GF
‘2010-01-03′, ’13:45:14’, ‘Other’, ‘Plane’, ‘C-GZMH’, ‘This plane arrived from the N and made three passes of the island. The first two appeared to be above the 1000\\” marine mammal viewing guideline, however the third pass was low enough that sea birds were disturbed.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:19:40′),
‘2010-01-03′, ’14:15:43’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘n/a’, ‘An eco-tour boat was in a hurry to leave the reserve and unfortunately did not accurately observe the Go-Slow guidelines found on the Pacific Whale Watch Association webpage and racerocks.com’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:20:49′),
‘2010-01-06′, ’14:46:32’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Other’, ”, ‘Sikorsky Sea King buzzed Great Race at 14:25, flying around 100\\” altitude. Sea birds and mammals disturbed.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:47:24′),
‘2010-02-07′, ’16:28:47’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘n/a’, ‘A recreational fisher was spotted by the CCGS Atlin Post inside the Rockfish Conservation Area boundary. The Atlin Post photographed the offender and informed him of the RCA boundary at which point he sped off to the N. Unfortunately, he was in such a hurry that he left some gear in the water and had to return to pull it out.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:30:24′),
‘2010-02-08′, ’16:15:53’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Boat’, ‘POW Queen of Hea’, ‘This boat approached from the SE to the Steller sea lion haul out. About 20 adult and juvenile Steller sea lions began growling and roaring alerting me to the visiting eco tour boat. Unfortunately, the boat disturbed the sea lions by changing direction near the haul out and then speeding out of the reserve. These actions cleared the haul out of all sea lions.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:35:18′),
‘2010-02-15′, ’14:45:05’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Plane’, ‘Harbour Air’, ‘Doing training came through the reserve below 1000 ft.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:55:40′),
‘2010-02-15′, ’14:59:51’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Boat’, ‘Eagle Wing Tours’, ‘This vessel chose to disregard PWWA standard procedures at Race Rocks in its close approach to the islands:\r\n\\”Vessels in the Go Slow Zone will remain as close to mid-channel as is practicable between the major rock outcroppings known as North Race Rock, West Race Rock and Helicopter Rock.\\”‘, ‘Ryan’, ’15:04:20′),
‘2010-03-06′, ’14:11:53’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Other’, ‘NC 9914 WR & UNH’, ‘A Red and Silver \\”Jet Ski\\” with registry NC 9914 WR and British Columbia plates UNH 188 did several fast loops around Great Race Island scaring 2 of 3 Steller sea lions in the reserve into the water, and causing all seals (~50) on Great Race Island and South Rocks to stampede/take to the water. This incident was reported to the Marine Mammal Disturbance hotline and images should be available in the Rogue\\”s Gallery.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:35:08′),
‘2010-03-07′, ’15:51:42’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘Gold Wing’, ‘The MV Gold Wing of Eagle Wing Tours made a short tour of the reserve but was in a rush to leave, accelerating in the waters between Great Race and North Rocks creating wake as it sped out of the reserve.\r\n\r\nQuoting from the PWWA\\”s section specific to Race Rocks:\r\n\\”Vessels will slow their approach to Race Rocks such that speed at 1/8th mile (220 yards) from any rock or landmass is reduced to minimal wake and wash, when practical. This Go Slow Zone extends 800 yds/m around every rock and landmass in the Race Rocks area.\\”\r\n’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:23:41′),
‘2010-03-13′, ’12:10:07’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Plane’, ‘?’, ‘Larger dark plane with bright yellow wings came W to E low over the SE Rock, flying below 1000 ft. altitude.’, ‘Ryan’, ’12:15:23′),
(56, ‘2010-03-15′, ’01:49:23’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘on file’, ‘Recreational boat with 4 people aboard fishing in the southern waters of the RCA. Left after my second radio warning that cited their boat make and serial #.’, ‘Ryan’, ’01:50:38′),
(57, ‘2010-03-19′, ’11:07:44’, ‘Other’, ‘Plane’, ‘??’, ‘Parks Canada plane did another low fly-by, this time E to W over the SE Rocks. I assume they are counting sea lions and seals.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:08:32′),
(58, ‘2010-03-28′, ’00:00:00’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘C13289BC’, ‘entered the reserve via Race Passage traveling W to E en route to fishing ground ~1 mile E of the reserve. Vessel named \\”Miller Time II\\” did not respond to repeated hails on 68 or on channel 16.’, ‘Ryan’, ’12:03:18′),
(59, ‘2010-04-11′, ’15:01:15’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘BC2276842’, ‘3 persons in floater suits fishing out of a LUND 1800 Sport Angler within 20m of Great Race Island. This violation was reported to the DFO report hotline: 1-800-465-4336’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:09:13′),
(60, ‘2010-04-25′, ’13:25:31’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘6K13121’, ‘Three men aboard a small white open hulled boat with a 200hp Johnson engine with fishing gear entered the reserve around 13:00, maneuvered too close to the three species of marine mammals hauled out on Middle Rock, alerting two of the pinniped species. The boat then cut through the kelp bed between Great Race and North Race Rock and maneuvered too close to the fourth species of marine mammal in the reserve at the time. When less than 200m away from these animals and the Pelagic Cormorants roosting there, the boat powered up to cruising past Prince of Whales\\” Ocean Magic II NW and out of the reserve.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:31:09′),
(61, ‘2010-05-01′, ’10:29:25’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Plane’, ‘C-FWHR’, ‘West Coast Air made a low-altitude pass over Middle Rocks and the N side of Great Race Island. The company has been told that this activity disrupts marine mammals and other wildlife in the reserve, including Species at Risk as identified by the Federal legislation. A message was left with their Victoria Base Manager with whom I have talked before.’, ‘Ryan’, ’10:31:57′),
(62, ‘2010-05-21′, ’09:49:59’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘OBMG #11’, ‘Pedder Bay Marina was contacted after the boat did not respond to hails on VHF 68.’, ‘Ryan’, ’09:50:35′),
(63, ‘2010-05-23′, ’09:15:55’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘BC233812’, ‘This boat was fishing in the reserve of West Race from about 8:30am onward, drifted out of the reserve for approximately 20 minutes and then fished the channel between Middle Rocks and Great Race Island where I was finally able to raise them personally. They did not respond to hails on VHF 16 or 68.’, ‘Ryan’, ’09:13:16′),
(64, ‘2010-05-23′, ’09:18:19’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘BC233812’, ‘This Trophy sport fisher snagged the bottom right in front of the jetty where I was able to communicate to them that Race Rocks is surrounded by a Rockfish Conservation Area and protected as a provincial Ecological Reserve. The gentleman I was talking with gave up on his snagged line and fired up his boat, speeding out of the reserve within 50m of marine mammals.’, ‘Ryan’, ’09:15:02′),
(65, ‘2010-05-23′, ’09:15:06’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Boat’, ‘BC2333812’, ‘In speeding past marine mammals hauled out on Great Race Island, this sports fisher turned recreational boater caused a marine mammal disturbance as 2-3 California sea lions took to the water.’, ‘Ryan’, ’09:16:26′),
(66, ‘2010-05-24′, ’16:33:46’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘Oak Bay Marine G’, ‘Young man and woman were fishing in the reserve as I returned from campus. They were ignorant of the fact that the location was indeed Race Rocks and of the RCA and Ecological Reserve status. They did not respond to hails on VHF 16 or 68 owing to the fact that they had no radio aboard. When questioned about the species they had caught so far, they did not admit to having Rockfish, though once I made them release the fish there were two species of Rockfish (Tiger and Copper I believe) left floating belly up. This offense, the worst recorded since September of 2009 was reported to DFO.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:07:07′),
(67, ‘2010-05-24′, ’19:04:16’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘n/a’, ‘A blue-trimmed white sport fisher inadvertently drifted into the reserve today while line fishing. They did not respond to hails on VHF16 or 68 so I launched the boat to inform them of their transgression. This event raised an interesting policy question that I am now investigating!’, ‘Ryan’, ’19:05:32′),
(68, ‘2010-05-30′, ’05:56:22’, ‘Other’, ‘Boat’, ‘55903’, ‘A Swiftsure yacht flying Danish colours anchored in the reserve at some point during the night. When approached early in the morning they reported dropping their anchor. They were informed that the Ecological Reserve does not permit anchoring because of the sensitive ecosystem below. \r\nIt is disappointing that this ignorance of important conservation measured was evident despite the efforts made on behalf of the Swiftsure event by racerocks.com’, ‘ryan’, ’10:02:28′),
(69, ‘2010-06-06′, ’15:17:51’, ‘Other’, ‘Plane’, ”, ‘At 1517hrs two military fighter jets approached below 1000ft from the SW and flying NE towards Victoria. The noise from the aircraft disturbed seagulls on the island.’, ‘adam’, ’15:20:10′),
(70, ‘2010-06-11′, ’12:49:41’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Plane’, ”, ‘At approximately 1215hrs, Friday, June 11, 2010 a large military plane (Hercules maybe?) flew over the south side of Great Race at less than 1000ft. No animals being disturbed were noticed.’, ‘adam’, ’12:51:37′),
(71, ‘2010-07-03′, ’14:54:11’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘Second City’, ‘The vessel Second City, a Smith 45 with three persons (two men, one woman) has been moving in and out of the Reserve for the last hour or so while fishing. They\\”re just off the kelp bed to the east side of the rocks south of Great Race. ‘, ‘adam’, ’15:01:55′),
(72, ‘2010-07-04′, ’11:45:09’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K68536 \\”The B’, ‘A white fibreglass pleasure vessel with a green canvas canopy and a black outboard motor and kicker was noticed fishing SW of Great Race in close proximity to the Island. Two persons on board. They were hailed on VHF 68 and VHF 16 and immediately departed the Reserve, heading NW. The incident was reported to the DFO Fisheries Violation Reporting Line.’, ‘adam’, ’13:53:36′),
(73, ‘2010-07-06′, ’13:56:17’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K21894′, ‘At approximately 1320hrs, a white fibreglass recreational runabout with a friendly elderly couple on board was spotted fishing in close proximity to the kelp beds east of Great Race and the south rocks. The station vessel was launched and the couple were informed of the area being closed to fishing. They claimed they were not aware of this, and departed immediately.’, ‘adam’, ’20:07:54′),
(74, ‘2010-07-06′, ’18:40:45’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K37827′, ‘At approximate 1700hrs a rental vessel from Pedder Bay Marina with 5 20-something males on board was spotted fishing within the boundaries of the Reserve south of Great Race. The station vessel was launched. The gentlemen claimed they were \\”not familiar with the area\\” and immediately departed the Reserve to begin fishing on the eastern boundaries.’, ‘adam’, ’18:44:16′),
(75, ‘2010-07-06′, ’20:04:17’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K23450′, ‘At 1930hrs a vessel with four young men on board was spotted fishing in the channel between Great Race and Middle Rock. The station vessel was launched and they were intercepted. The persons on board claimed to be unaware of the Reserve being an RCA and departed soon thereafter for the Church Island area.’, ‘adam’, ’20:07:28′),
(76, ‘2010-07-07′, ’12:44:26’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘unknown’, ‘At approximately 1130hrs a white RHIB with approximately 8 people onboard entered the Reserve at high speed from the East and proceeded to continue at high speed through the channel between Great Race and Middle Rock. The vessel then turned, still at full speed (I estimate 30 knots), to starboard and entered the channel between Middle Rock and West Race. They turned to port again and I lost visual contact as they passed around the west side of West Race. They must\\”ve slowed down at this point, for they were behind the rock for several minutes. However, a few minutes later they came shooting out from behind West Race and travelled southeast towards the south rocks. I was on top of the energy building and made hand signals to attempt to tell them to slow down. They interpreted this as a wave, so all persons on board started waving back. The vessel slowed to approximately 20 knots and travelled around the south rocks before heading east and out of the Reserve. ‘, ‘adam’, ’12:49:19′),
(77, ‘2010-08-13′, ’13:31:37’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘\\”On Ice\\”‘, ‘The vessel passed through the main channel between Great Race and Middle Rock at around 1300 then began fishing east of North Rock. They then continued to fish as the current pushed them around the north side of North Rock. This incident was reported to the DFO Fisheries Violation Reporting Line at 1330hrs 13 August 2010.’, ‘adam’, ’13:33:46′),
(78, ‘2010-08-13′, ’07:08:47’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘BC1149787’, ‘An aluminum vessel, BC1149787, with five persons on board was spotted fishing at approximately 2000hrs east of Great Race. Over the next half hour, the vessel drifted towards Rosedale Reef as it continued fishing. The vessel left the Reserve at approximately 2045hrs. This incident was report to the DFO Fisheries Violation Reporting Line.’, ‘adam’, ’07:12:28′),
(79, ‘2010-08-19′, ’11:11:46’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘Eagle Wing’, ‘This tour boat entered the reserve producing wake that washed ashore on North Race and exceeded 7 knots in speed in the NE corner of the reserve in close proximity to sea lions in the water.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:13:28′),
(80, ‘2010-08-21′, ’20:26:28’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘n/a’, ‘A boat was found anchored and fishing in the reserve this morning. The people aboard offered the excuse that it was foggy and they had not wanted to get lost so were sticking close to Race Rocks. Of course, this is not the first time that poachers have used the foggy conditions around Race Rocks to disguise their activities.’, ‘Ryan’, ’20:28:06′),
(81, ‘2010-08-23′, ’13:25:50’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘WN 7305 NP’, ‘This vessel arrived from the south midday and proceeded to drive through the reserve at speeds exceeding 7 knots making short stops to fish in the Rockfish Conservation Area. The single male aboard was wearing a camo hat and gray tanktop and loose-fitting track pants. Images of this man gaffing lingcod and throwing them to the sea lions have been recorded. This increasingly common trifecta of excessive speed, illegal fishing, and marine mammal disturbances has been reported to DFO.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:30:34′),
(82, ‘2010-08-24′, ’09:58:47’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘BC1622024’, ‘A white fibreglass vessel, one person on board, entered the Reserve at approximately 0950hrs 24 August 2010 and began fishing north of North Race, then began to drift westwards and is now fishing west and north of the kelp bed at North Race. The vessel is tied off to kelp and I have observed the person on board pulling fish out of the water onto the boat. ‘, ‘adam’, ’10:14:25′),
(83, ‘2010-08-24′, ’10:14:28’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘unknown’, ‘A black zodiac with two persons on board and two white outboard motors sped westwards through the main channel between Great Race and Middle Rock at approximately 1015 24 August 2010 at a speed between 20 and 30 knots. Attempts to tell the vessel to slow down were made with hand gestures but these were ignored.’, ‘adam’, ’10:18:46′),
(84, ‘2010-08-30′, ’17:33:00’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K37805′, ‘Pedder Bay Marina helped us with a group using one of their rental boats to illegally fish in the Rockfish Conservation Area.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:34:08′),
(85, ‘2010-09-04′, ’10:00:06’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Boat’, ‘Kayaks’, ‘Starting around 10 this morning groups of kayakers began to show up and inevitably disturbed many sea lions around the reserve throughout the day. Their silent approach often startles slumbering sea lions, causing stampedes in certain cases.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:32:01′),
(86, ‘2010-09-10′, ’12:00:05’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Plane’, ‘\\”Parks\\”‘, ‘The phantom \\”Parks\\” plane that Parks Canada has no knowledge of made another low-altitude overflight today. This green and yellow Cessna Citation-type plane always approaches from the NE and makes a low pass over the SE Rocks before heading West about 2 miles south of Vancouver Island.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:20:59′),
(87, ‘2010-09-21′, ’19:02:14’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ‘n/a’, ‘Two recreational vessels were noticed speeding through the N and S ends of the reserve.’, ‘Ryan’, ’19:02:34′),
(88, ‘2010-09-26′, ’12:00:40’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Boat’, ‘Fantasea’, ‘The Fantasea Charters boat came in from the West and into the reserve and approached a huge gathering of hundreds of cormorants, seagulls and sea lions. At least 100-150 sea lions were in the water due to an upwelling of fish and were jumping in and out of the water fishing. The boat went straight into the major group of feeding sea lions completely disrupting their activities and having to relocate. The boat went through the passage, turned around and came back again through the feeding sea lions and birds. They did this four times without any regard to disrupting feeding behavior in an environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. They left only when the feeding frenzy had died down a little, staying in the reserve for at least half an hour and repeatedly engaging their engines while motoring over groups of sea lions. About 15 minutes after Fantasea left, another feeding frenzy occurred. A Prince of Wales zodiac came from the East and when they saw that the sealions were feeding, they turned around and took another way around the reserve demonstrating a professional standard not maintained by the Fantasea Charter\\”s operator. ‘, ‘Ryan’, ’15:52:17′),
(89, ‘2010-10-03′, ’11:46:30’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Boat’, ‘Great Pacific Ad’, ‘This infraction was reported by Pearson College students staying at the Science Centre on a weekend study trip. The vessel approached marine mammals to within 30m on the W side of Great Race Rock where California sea lions are hauled out. Both professional and federal standards state that no vessel is to approach marine mammals (including those hauled out of the water) closer than 100m. The majority of eco tour traffic at Race Rocks will approach marine mammals closer than 100m, however these approaches do not always result in marine mammal disturbances.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:49:35′),
Personal Watercraft in the Reserve
The inevitable has happened. The personal watercraft was photographed on March 6, 2010
These vessels are sure to increase in the area unless Federal regulations are brought up to date.
This sea lion was alert after two others had just been disturbed by the vessel and had jumped in the water.
Airplane and helicopter flights under 305 metres ( 1000ft)
 A float plane, hired by a Fisheries and Oceans Creel Survey flight over the reserve on November 10, 2009. |
 Shortly after 11 AM, Oct. 18/2009, a float plane over the reserve at very low altitude (well under 305 metres, (1000 ft.): reported by a kayak tour group.
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 A low flight by a local airline company in 2004
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For a Creel survey, the fisheries observer on board knows which are the restricted fishing areas and if he sees a vessel that appears to be engaged in sport fishing in a restricted area he tries to get the vessel’s license number or name to pass along to enforcement. It has a defined route that includes going by Race Rocks, usually at 500′. UPDATE: The flight on Oct.18 2009 was also a DFO Creel survey flight which went to 300’ to check out a vessel which appeared to be involved with sports fishing.
The Problem with Airplanes and Helicopters.Sea lions and harbour seals are especially wary of low flights by helicopters and airplanes usually leading to stampeding into the water. 
A helicopter landing on the island at the wrong time of year can cause havoc among the seabird colony. This video shows the aftermath of a landing by a coastguard helicopter in August of 2003. At that time, the Glaucous winged Gull chicks are able to move around within the envelop of their nesting area but leaving that area means certain death by being pulled apart by other adults. This territorial behaviour has evolved as a mechanism to prevent overcrowding of nesting areas. The helicopter landing the tower resulted in an high mortality rate.
From the DFO Consultation Secretariat: Updated draft of the Marine Mammal Regulation Amendments (5) (a) No one shall operate an aircraft for purposes of aerial marine mammal observation at an altitude of less than 1000 feet.; (b) For purposes of subsection (a) “aerial marine mammal observation” means any alteration of course of an aircraft in flight which is designed to bring the aircraft closer to the marine mammals.Comment: Aircraft (fixed wing & helicopter) are handled separately because of the demonstrated disturbance of aircraft when flying over marine mammals and the risk associated for the marine mammals and the aircraft when landing on the water. This proposed regulation is currently being reviewed by Transport Canada to ensure consistency with existing aviation regulations.NOTE: As of November 12, 2009, the regulations of Transport Canada still do not reflect the 1000 ft distance. We understand they are working on this to harmonize the policy between departments. Further note: In the regulations for flying in Alaska a greater elevation distance is required.
From: “How to View Marine Mammals from an Airplane or Helicopter
• Maintain a 1500-foot (457.2 metres) minimum altitude when viewing marine mammals from the air.
• Buzzing, hovering, landing, taking off, and taxiing near marine mammals on land or in the water is likely to harass the animals.”It would be useful if the US and Canada could have some agreed upon figure.
Return to the Environmental Impact and Disturbances Index:
Airplane disruptions again
‘Disruption’, ‘Plane’, ‘PatBay Air’, ‘I am guessing the same plane made it’s third low pass over the island today around just before 11:00.’, ‘Ryan’, ’20:35:41′
-2009-11-10′, ’10:43:09′, ‘Disruption’, ‘Plane’, ‘C-GHZP’, ‘A PatBay Air craft made it’s 4th or 5th low altitude flight directly over Great Race Island today. The first such incident was reported to us by kayakers who were here enjoying the reserve. They noted that the overflight caused a marine mammal disturbance, and the 3 that I have documented have all involved marine mammal disturbances. Last Sunday was the last time there was such an incident and as such these incidents are occurring with an increasing frequency.’, ‘Ryan’, ’10:46:02′
Plane disruption
I managed to snap a picture of the plane as it headed W and then into Beecher Bay and it appears to be the same plane reported on Oct. 18. This time the plane dive bombed the island directly over the Main Keeper’s house and was only a couple hundred feet above sea level.Several California sea lions and the majority of the seabirds were disrupted and took flight or to the water.11:29:05
Boats in the Ecological Reserve data for 2009
Three Elephant seals today on the island.
This is a summary of the Boat Observations by the Ecoguardians for the year 2009. It has been transferred from the old logging system, and when time is available it will be placed in the new logs. GF
‘2009-02-07’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ’35ft cabin cruiser with 4 passengers at 1450hrs’, ‘Chris’, ’18:11:33′),
‘2009-02-07’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Prince of Whales rib\r\n10 passengers\r\nat 1550hrs\reenentered from West’, ‘Chris’, ’18:12:31′),
‘2009-02-08’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ’24ft sailboat with 2 passengers\r\n1450hrs’, ‘Chris’, ’06:51:54′),
‘2009-02-09’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ‘One boat sited off North rock in the afternoon was eventually taken under tow by what looks to be a coast guard vessel.. blue flashing lights. ‘, ‘Garry’, ’13:35:15′),
‘2009-02-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ”, ‘Garry’, ’10:35:20′),
‘2009-03-25’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ‘Orca Whale Adventures and Prince of Whales zodiacs completed similar tours of the reserve around 14:00 today. A third “Cetacean” aluminum boat and the PoW zodiac followed some stellars swimming in the front passage.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:25:14′),
‘2009-04-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘2 of the new Prince of Whales monster zodiacs were in the reserve at 11:00 today. The last to leave didn”t want until exiting the reserve before powering up and created significant wake here on Great Race.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:20:52′),
‘2009-04-14’, ‘Pleasure’, 3, ‘1 small yellow-hulled pleasure craft sped through the N side of the reserve E to W.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:02:36′),
‘2009-04-14’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 7, ‘3 infractions causing marine mammals to stampede into the water reported to Roy Osselton.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:03:06′),
‘2009-05-16’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 7, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’13:55:41′),
‘2009-05-23’, ‘Pleasure’, 0, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’09:44:01′),
‘2009-05-27’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 22, ‘Three orca spirit boats came closer than 100m throughout the day.’, ‘Adam’, ’08:11:06′),
‘2009-05-28’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’12:56:57′),
‘2009-05-28’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 15, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:13:50′),
‘2009-05-29’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 10, ‘as of 14:00’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:58:45′),
‘2009-05-30’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ‘Two pleasure boats entered the reserve today under high speed. Radio contact was made with the first and the driver replied saying he was unaware of the speed restriction. The second could not be distinguished accurately enough in order to contact on the radio.’, ‘Adam’, ’19:40:55′),
‘2009-05-30’, ‘Diving’, 2, ”, ‘Adam’, ’19:41:34′),
‘2009-05-30’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘Adam’, ’19:41:49′),
‘2009-05-31’, ‘Pleasure’, 7, ‘There were 3 speed/distance infractions: a rental boat from PB Marina and two other pleasure craft.’, ‘Adam’, ’18:26:33′),
‘2009-05-31’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:26:49′),
‘2009-05-31’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 17, ‘Distance infractions from: Eagle Wing Tours, unidentified company with registration # C01898BC (x2 today; many times before).’, ‘Adam’, ’18:28:23′),
‘2009-05-31’, ‘Diving’, 1, ‘Exited east through the reserve under high speed.’, ‘Adam’, ’18:29:01′),
‘2009-05-31’, ‘Kayak’, 2, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:29:08′),
‘2009-06-01’, ‘Fishing’, 3, ”, ‘Adam’, ’14:14:44′),
‘2009-06-01’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘Adam’, ’16:53:54′),
‘2009-06-02’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’21:06:38′),
‘2009-06-02’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 24, ”, ‘Adam’, ’21:27:29′),
‘2009-06-03’, ‘Fishing’, 3, ”, ‘Adam’, ’22:39:17′),
‘2009-06-03’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’22:39:24′),
‘2009-06-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 10, ”, ‘Adam’, ’22:39:33′),
‘2009-06-04’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 8, ”, ‘Adam’, ’22:02:08′),
‘2009-06-05’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 14, ”, ‘Adam’, ’19:51:13′),
‘2009-06-07’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:38:09′),
‘2009-06-07’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:38:19′);
‘2009-06-07’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 10, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:38:29′),
‘2009-06-09’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 15, ”, ‘Adam’, ’10:42:52′),
‘2009-06-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘Adam’, ’21:57:12′),
‘2009-06-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 8, ”, ‘Adam’, ’11:43:09′),
‘2009-06-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 14, ”, ‘Adam’, ’11:11:26′),
‘2009-06-21’, ‘Pleasure’, 0, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:44:46′),
‘2009-06-21’, ‘Diving’, 0, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:44:51′),
‘2009-06-21’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 0, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:44:56′),
‘2009-06-20’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:45:21′),
‘2009-06-20’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:45:26′),
‘2009-06-20’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:45:33′),
‘2009-06-20’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 15, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:45:41′),
‘2009-06-23’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘Adam’, ’12:22:31′),
‘2009-06-24’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘Adam’, ’17:19:48′),
‘2009-06-25’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 6, ”, ‘Adam’, ’21:37:59′),
‘2009-07-04’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:15:39′),
‘2009-07-10’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Adam’, ’08:28:47′),
‘2009-07-10’, ‘Fishing’, 2, ”, ‘Adam’, ’08:28:56′),
‘2009-07-10’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 7, ”, ‘Adam’, ’08:29:04′),
‘2009-07-15’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ‘test of the system’, ‘Garry’, ’17:06:38′),
‘2009-07-17’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 31, ”, ‘Adam’, ’10:40:20′),
‘2009-07-17’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’10:40:29′),
‘2009-07-17’, ‘Other’, 2, ‘Hyaku and a Clean Currents boat were doing some work for the cable laying.’, ‘Adam’, ’10:41:01′),
‘2009-07-17’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Adam’, ’10:41:12′),
‘2009-07-27’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ”, ‘max’, ’19:27:23′),
‘2009-08-08’, ‘Pleasure’, 5, ”, ‘max’, ’18:03:14′),
‘2009-08-08’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 21, ”, ‘max’, ’18:03:27′),
‘2009-08-08’, ‘Kayak’, 2, ”, ‘max’, ’18:03:41′),
‘2009-08-08’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘max’, ’18:03:51′),
‘2009-08-09’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘max’, ’19:56:57′),
‘2009-08-10’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ”, ‘max’, ’19:29:29′),
‘2009-08-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 4, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:12:19′),
‘2009-08-11’, ‘Pleasure’, 6, ”, ‘Adam’, ’09:12:27′),
‘2009-08-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 45, ”, ‘max’, ’18:22:52′),
‘2009-08-12’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Adam’, ’11:16:48′),
‘2009-08-12’, ‘Pleasure’, 25, ”, ‘Adam’, ’11:17:05′),
‘2009-08-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 5, ”, ‘Adam’, ’18:22:42′),
‘2009-08-15’, ‘Pleasure’, 10, ‘Numerous pleasure boats were seen speeding through the Reserve today, as well as several fishing just on or inside the boundaries of the reserve. ‘, ‘Adam’, ’19:56:17′),
‘2009-08-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 5, ‘One tour boat spotted cutting kelp so that tourists could examine it and eat it (!)’, ‘Adam’, ’19:56:50′),
‘2009-08-15’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Adam’, ’19:56:59′),
‘2009-08-16’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘max’, ’19:45:23′),
‘2009-08-16’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 11, ”, ‘max’, ’19:45:32′),
‘2009-08-16’, ‘Fishing’, 12, ”, ‘max’, ’19:45:42′),
‘2009-08-17’, ‘Pleasure’, 5, ”, ‘Adam’, ’06:54:36′),
‘2009-08-17’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘Adam’, ’06:54:45′),
‘2009-08-23’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 26, ”, ‘Adam’, ’17:30:10′),
‘2009-08-25’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Testing…’, ‘admin’, ’15:08:15′),
‘2009-08-25’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 30, ”, ‘Adam’, ’20:56:56′),
‘2009-08-26’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 30, ”, ‘Adam’, ’22:36:02′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘Success in contacting them as they sped through the reserve. They reduced speed and I thanked them.’, ‘Ryan’, ’10:05:47′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘A blue-hulled pleasure craft with 70hp Johnson sped through the reserve and ignored all hails. A Caucasian woman was at the helm and boy was her passenger.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:13:38′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘SpringTide came through today around 11:00, pursued sea lions in the water through the kelp bed between here and North Rock and twice positioned its active props in the path of swimming sea lions.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:14:26′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Prince of Whales \\”The Empress\\” was in today at 11:45, and was a model of responsible and sustainable eco-tour operation in the reserve.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:48:04′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Sooke Coastal Explorations (C10570BC) followed shortly after \\”The Empress\\” and copied their good behaviour.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:50:03′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘The Marauder IV a Springtide Tours boat arrived at 11:54 and made a slow pass through the channel.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:54:57′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘MV Goldwing and an OceanExplorations.Com boat arrived at 12:15. The MV Goldwing was much more attentive to its approach this time, ”m so proud”. The OE.com boat came in fast but slowed in the channel.’, ‘Ryan’, ’12:20:30′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Five Star SuperCat came through at 12:30, very close to Great Race as it drifted through the channel. Several basking Californians moved in from the kelp bed.’, ‘Ryan’, ’12:35:10′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘Prince of Whales \\”Queen of Hearts\\” and \\”Her Majesty\\” arrived at 1:04 and 1:05 respectively after leaving orca viewing to the east of the reserve.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:05:19′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘BC-548385 vessel entered the reserve at speed (200hp on back) from the south. I hailed them to slow. As they sped past the Assistant Keeper\\”s house I got their serial number and again hailed them to slow, at which point they did. They made a slow pass through the channel and left to the E.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:26:30′),
(665, ‘2009-09-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘BC1151531 a blue-hulled boat came into the reserve today at 1:15 and spent over 20 minutes motoring around the islands.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:37:31′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Prince of Whales \\”The Jester\\” arrived at 1:50. It was not past the winch house (relative to my perspective in line with North Race) before it began to power up and its wake made it through the kelp bed to wear the Northern Sea lions are hauled out on the NE corner of Great Race.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:56:13′),
(667, ‘2009-09-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘An Oak Bay Marine Group rental boat was spotted motoring around North Race at 1:55 and slowly motored E at 2:00.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:01:04′),
(668, ‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Prince of Whales \\”Ocean Magic II\\” entered the reserve today at 2:10 and passed by the jetty at 2:13. This boat is generally very good about angling away from the jetty during its drifts, however today it required a course adjustment that created a lot of prop wash.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:14:36′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ‘The SeaFun Safari zodiac C01898BC their speedboat Serengeti and the Prince of Whales boat \\”The Empress” all arrived around 3:00. As expected, the zodiac really pushed the 100m viewing guideline, at times less than 20m from the jetty. The Serengeti was a bit better behaved, and the Prince of Whales boat being the most responsible.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:17:28′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Sooke Coastal Expeditions again, couldn\\”t get near the jetty as the C01898BC boat was positioned cross-ways in the channel.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:18:08′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘The Marauder IV of Springtide Tours was back at 4:00. Cold people without jackets on deck!’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:04:37′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘POW \\”Her Majesty\\” was back at 4:05.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:08:51′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Great Pacific Adventure\\”s large cabin cruiser arrived at 4:12.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:16:30′),
‘2009-09-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘An Explorer 672 vessel registry 1K3397 came barreling through the channel at 4:24 creating more wake than any vessel today washing up against the hauled out sea lions causing some to take to the water. Hailed on VHF68 to no avail.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:25:25′),
‘2009-09-14’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Laura Verhegge arrived with her Marine Science class for an orientation just after 8.’, ‘Ryan’, ’09:07:45′),
‘2009-09-20’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 23, ‘At 12:12 I radioed the Cetacean that they were creating wake off the jetty to which they replied they were going just 6 knots. I confirmed that 7 knots or less was the DFO guidelines. A chorus of whale watchers joined in on VHF16 that the Cetacean was well within its rights.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:41:59′),
‘2009-09-20’, ‘Pleasure’, 8, ‘A Campion Explorer boat with serial 1K3570 entered the reserve just after 12 and island hopped for photo opportunities. At around 12:20 they pursued a group of swimming sea lions south of Great Race until the marine mammals duck-dived with splash. I was unable to raise them on VHF.\r\nAnother Campion Explorer boat with serial 1K3397 planed through the reserve W to E stopping just in front of the jetty, then maneuvering in the channel for 3 minutes before powering up again and planing out of the reserve. I was unable to raise them on either VHF16 or 68. See Infraction report of the group who stopped to feed the sea lions. A large pleasure cruiser (BC663375) ambled through the reserve around 1:30 to 1:45 today. They motored through the kelp bed on the North side of Middle Rocks.’, ‘Ryan’, ’14:41:51′),
‘2009-09-20’, ‘Kayak’, 2, ‘A single and a double arrived just after slack tide.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:46:52′),
‘2009-09-23’, ‘Other’, 3, ‘Hyaku was here twice today, and the zodiac once.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:27:18′),
‘2009-09-23’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 18, ‘With bad weather comes bad behaviour. The Wildcat (the giant red boat) came through the reserve at speed today, not slowing until they had reached the jetty. The entire front end came out of the water to give an indication of its speed. I was talking with Judy Lavoie at the Times Colonist as POW\\”s giant ship came barreling through the channel between North and Middle Rocks… they didn\\”t even slow to view the sea lions until their second pass. Highly unusual behaviour for POW, but as I said, animal welfare is only a priority on nice days.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:00:44′),
‘2009-09-24’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 6, ‘as of 11:00.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:01:38′),
‘2009-09-26’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 12, ‘As of 15:00’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:13:26′),
‘2009-09-27’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 11, ‘As of 16:00.\r\n Seafun Safari’s Serengeti I always notice because of their close approaches to the rocks. Today their driver was paying more attention to his cellphone than his driving and exceeded the 7 knots guidelines right in front of the jetty, perhaps the most sensitive area for swimming sea lions.’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:58:34′),
‘2009-09-27’, ‘Pleasure’, 8, ‘An Oak Bay Marine Group rental boat was fishing Rockfish in the reserve from about 14:00 onwards. I took the boat out to them as Pedder Bay Marina and R/V Resort was unable to deter their customers from the illegal fishing activities. I have video of the incident.\r\nThree other boats at that time asked me how close they could get to the sea lions, and were very careful while in the reserve.\r\nRecreational vessel serial 14K 33742 sped into the reserve charged up to the NE corner of the island causing sea lions to stampede. Did not respond to hails on VHF 16 and 68. Proceeded W along the front of Great Race much too close and moving too fast, waved when they saw me motioning for them to move further away.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:54:13′),
(685, ‘2009-09-29’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 10, ‘The big POW and FiveStar boats did more than their usual maneuvering off the jetty today. The create a lot of wash when moving like this.’, ‘Ryan’, ’16:38:14′),
‘2009-10-04’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 21, ‘The students studying here this weekend commented on how close the boats came to shore. At one point there were 6 boats in front of the jetty… a growing problem of crowding that should be addressed.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:36:10′),
‘2009-10-12’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 7, ‘as of 16:00’, ‘Ryan’, ’15:44:15′),
‘2009-10-18’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 6, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’15:41:03′),
‘2009-10-22’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 8, ”, ‘Ryan’, ’09:19:47′),
‘2009-11-02’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ‘Very unusual disturbance today. The POW boat “Empress” rounded the corner W->E at 13:00 at a respectful distance far outside the route that some of the large boats will take. The California sea lions on the jetty were immediately spooked at 20-30 animals took to the water. While they did cause a disturbance and were within the 100m DFO guideline for marine mammal viewing (particularly at Race Rocks), the operator did nothing out of the ordinary and had no time to react to mitigate the disturbance his boat caused.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:34:52′),
(24, ‘2009-06-01′, ’14:13:28’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Boat’, ‘Century’, ‘Approached too close to Middle Rock. Made contact with the driver on VHF 16.’, ‘Adam’, ’14:14:29′),
(25, ‘2009-06-01′, ’14:14:54’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ”, ‘Sped through the passage between Middle Rock and North Rock. Licence could not be determined.’, ‘Adam’, ’14:15:30′),
(26, ‘2009-05-31′, ’14:16:22’, ‘Disruption’, ‘Boat’, ‘C01898BC’, ‘Approached the end of the jetty and dirsupted a sea lion, to which the tourists on the boat became very excited and started cheering, furthering its displacement into the water.’, ‘Adam’, ’14:18:30′),
(27, ‘2009-05-31′, ’14:17:37’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Boat’, ‘Eagle Wing Tours’, ‘Approached too close to North Rock, disrupting seals.’, ‘Adam’, ’14:18:06′),
(28, ‘2009-06-30′, ’16:00:14’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘na’, ‘yellow hull bayliner, 3 persons on board, fishing by middle rock\r\n\r\nhailed on the radio, no response\r\n\r\neventually drifted away with current’, ‘max’, ’18:00:26′),
(29, ‘2009-07-01′, ’11:56:19’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘n/a’, ’15 foot blue fibreglass boat. No licence number visible. Two males on board, fishing on N side of N. Rock. Caught one fish before departing into Race Passage.’, ‘Adam’, ’11:57:41′),
(30, ‘2009-07-29′, ’21:24:27’, ‘Landing’, ‘Boat’, ‘not visible’, ‘Upon returning to RR at 2100 this evening we came across a 19-foot Larson with two males on board who had just landed on the jetty. We informed them of their inappropriate behavior and they departed shortly thereafter.\r\n\r\nUpon inspection of the island, their story that they had just landed seemed plausible. ‘, ‘max’, ’21:27:57′),
(31, ‘2009-08-09′, ’19:45:00’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Plane’, ‘unknown’, ‘fly-by at approx 1945 this evening, single engine sea plane heading east.’, ‘max’, ’19:58:09′),
(32, ‘2009-08-10′, ’00:11:00’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘rental from Pedd’, ‘Fishing off Middle Rock. Four persons on board. Were informed of the ecological reserve boundaries in person, and they exited the reserve immediately, heading towards Church Island.’, ‘max’, ’19:31:34′),
(33, ‘2009-08-16′, ’19:45:47’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ”, ‘There were 13 infractions today, all by fishing vessels.\r\n\r\n7 vessels were fishing in the reserve.\r\n\r\n3 were traveling too fast through the reserve.\r\n\r\n3 were too close to marine mammals.\r\n\r\nTherefore, it appears as if efforts to educate about the boundaries of the reserve and recommended boating practices within the reserve must be increased.’, ‘max’, ’19:47:18′),
(34, ‘2009-08-25′, ’15:08:49’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ”, ‘test’, ‘admin’, ’15:08:55′),
(35, ‘2009-09-20′, ’13:31:04’, ‘Other’, ‘Boat’, ’30K2923′, ‘Welcome to the Race Rocks Zoo.\r\nThis boat ambled in safely enough, then proceeded to throw food to the sea lions! I have a very clear photo of one man throwing what appears to be baitfish into the air and the other man watching it fly. He proceeded to throw more food until I waved him off.’, ‘Ryan’, ’13:35:49′),
(36, ‘2009-10-03′, ’17:10:39’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K39952′, ‘This boat ignored radio hails on VHF 16 and 68. The Fisheries hotline was contacted at 17:10.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:11:20′),
(37, ‘2009-10-03′, ’17:11:24’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘Pedder Bay renta’, ‘The three gentlemen who identified themselves as Chinese when they were caught illegally fishing in the reserve last Saturday are here fishing Rosedale Reef and S of Great Race. Rick at Pedder Bay has informed me they are now banned for life from renting their boats.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:12:37′),
(38, ‘2009-10-04′, ’11:36:17’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘Pedder Bay renta’, ‘3 men claimed to have a First Nations\\” traditional use license. I did not tell them to stop fishing or push the issue as their growing frustration with hooking the bottom soon led them to leave the reserve.’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:37:49′),
(39, ‘2009-10-18′, ’15:41:08’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Boat’, ’13K117331′, ‘Trophy Pro man and son were cruising through the kelp beds on the E side of Great Race and then got within 20m of the sea lions hauled out on the NE corner of the island. Hailed on VHF16 and 68, no response.\r\nI have photographs of several animals showing the characteristic duck-dive/splash behaviour when surprised by a boat in close proximity to their haul outs.’, ‘Ryan’, ’21:50:46′),
(40, ‘2009-10-18′, ’21:50:52’, ‘Too Close’, ‘Plane’, ‘?’, ‘This report comes from a group of VNHS kayakers who photographed a float plane at very low altitude in the reserve. They reported that California sea lions took to the water as the plane flew as low as 100-200\\”.’, ‘Ryan’, ’21:52:50′),
(41, ‘2009-09-27′, ’21:56:34’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ‘Pedder Bay renta’, ‘Video and photographs submitted to DFO of a man and 2 youth who identified themselves as Chinese who were fishing Rockfish in the reserve.’, ‘Ryan’, ’21:57:15′),
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