Written by: Megan, Lead Naturalist
What does Orca Spirit do to ensure Marine wildlife safety, is a fantastic question. For us protecting the Salish Sea is the centre of everything we do. This is reflected in our mission statement: “Our goal is to offer guests wildly authentic whale and wildlife experiences while preserving and protecting the spectacular natural environment we are fortunate to do business in”.
For us that starts right at the hiring process. This allows us to find the right people who genuinely care about what they do beyond following company policies and procedures. We carefully select naturalists, captains, and even office staff with a deep interest in the ocean. A majority of our office staff go on to be naturalists!
Through these hiring practices, we make sure we have the most passionate team possible, a team that will constantly come up with new ideas, as well as hold each other accountable.
Pacific Whale Watch Association
We are proud to be a member of the Pacific Whale Watch Association.
The Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) is a community of ecotourism professionals with a shared commitment to education, conservation, and responsible wildlife viewing in Washington state and British Columbia. They don’t just take anyone though. There is a strict application process that looks at company values as well as how the company will fit in with the rest of the industry.
Being a part of this organisation gives us a strict set of regulations to follow. This includes things such as not viewing the southern residents, after concerns about boat noise, as well as regulating other whale watching companies. We have an app where we can all communicate, as sometimes people make mistakes or misjudge things. With this tool the PWWA gives us an opportunity to deal with these issues immediately, rather than reporting them to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) which could take months to bring to action, and this helps protect the environment much more efficiently.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Orca Spirit collaborates closely with the DFO. We strictly adhere to wildlife viewing laws, including staying at least 100m away from Humpback whales. However, our team’s passion plays a crucial role here. While the law permits us to approach within 100m of the whales, their sheer size often means we can still enjoy a fantastic view from farther away. For instance, if a whale is engaging in energetic activities like breaching or tail slapping, we avoid getting too close to avoid disrupting their behavior. The same consideration applies when we encounter sleeping whales; we prioritize not disturbing their rest by keeping our distance. Our top priority is always the protection of these magnificent animals. While we pride ourselves on providing our guests with an exceptional experience, reflected in our 1,149 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor, we never prioritize this over the well-being of wildlife.
Pacific Salmon Foundation
Orca Spirit annually donates a large sum of money to the Pacific Salmon Foundation – a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wild Pacific salmon and their habitats in B.C. and the Yukon. Salmon are vital to B.C. as more than 137 plants and animals – including orcas, bears, and trees – depend on Pacific salmon for their survival. In 2024, we are proud to a reach milestone of $250,000 in donations to the PSF, a massive amount of money making some real difference to Salmon populations in BC.
Research Initiatives
Additionally, we spend hours every week reporting our sightings to various organisations such as Happywhale, Finwave, and the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration.
This data is collated and used to produce scientific reports that address wildlife protection measures, which are then used in legislation. We make sure every whale we see is reported to the whale report app which gives real-time alerts to nearby large commercial vessels that there are whales near and they need to be vigilant. This awareness enables vessels to undertake adaptive mitigation measures, such as slowing down or altering course in the presence of cetaceans, to reduce the risk of collision and disturbance.
We report any whale or pinniped entanglements to the relevant organisations so that they can send out a disentanglement team. We regularly remove marine debris from the ocean, coffee cups, and plastic bags, one time we even fished a hockey stick out! How Canadian eh?
Green Initiatives
We also donate to the Marine Education and Research Society an organisation dedicated to promoting conservation and understanding of marine ecosystems through scientific research, environmental education, and marine wildlife response.
We’re proud to say our tours are Carbon Neutral because we offset our carbon emissions with Ostrom Climate who use our donations to protect and restore forests in the Great Bear Rainforest and on Quadra Island as well as fund the implementation of renewable solar energy in the Gansu Province of China.
Conclusion
Every employee at Orca Spirit is committed to safeguarding marine wildlife. Without this dedication, none of us would still be here. While whale watching may seem like a business, its core is the people who are devoted to safeguarding these animals for future generations.
Learn more about our approach to responsible whale watching and book your tour today to see these best practices in action.
