VANCOUVER — Experts on B.C.'s killer whales will be carefully counting dorsal fins when whale season starts this month, hoping there was no lethal fallout from a diesel slick last fall in a world-famous ecological reserve off the Pacific coast.
Just a few hundred metres from where the whales heave their bodies up near the shore of Robson Bight, massaging their backs and bellies on the rocks, a barge loaded with equipment, a fuel truck and almost 1,200 litres of hydraulic oil sank in August
"When you have killer whales swimming through diesel fumes... you've got the potential for health effects," said mammal research scientist Peter Ross with the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, B.C.
"That oil exposure can present some very, very serious problems and can be fatal, if at a sufficiently high dose."
There are just 200 northern resident killer whales who spend the warmer months from June to October at the northeastern end of Vancouver Island.
One of the biggest threats to the whales is pollution, followed by boat traffic and a decline is salmon stocks, their main source of food.
"It was almost everybody's worst nightmare when it did take place, because it was so close to these very special rubbing beaches," Ross said of the barge accident. "It's one of the very few places where we know that killer whales come to rub on."
Killer whales have been classified by the federal government as a species at risk, giving the animals special protection.
The federal and provincial governments have put out a request for proposals to lift equipment, including the truck loaded with 10,000 litres of diesel, from the ocean floor where some worry it may be leaching into the marine environment for the past nine months.
While experts, environmentalists and government all agree the equipment needs to be removed, there doesn't seem to be a good time to risk an environmental disaster.
"The chance of getting this equipment up before the whales come back is pretty slim," ventured Jennifer Lash, of the environmental group Living Oceans Society.
But she said the window grows narrower as the salt water eats away at the metal of the equipment.
"When you have weakened metal and you try and lift it you have an increased chance of it breaking and cracking or some sort of leak," Lash said.
Ross has also weighed the pros and cons.
"If these killer whales are frequenting these waters in the summer months...there's the potential for whales to be immediately and directly coated in oil," he said. "Outside of the summer months, of course, we often face in these parts rough weather."
If an accident happened in bad weather Ross said it would be almost impossible to use booms to stop the fuel from hitting the sensitive ecological reserve they've been trying to protect.
In its request for proposals, the B.C. government asks for two recovery plans: One as soon as possible and another for recovery to be carried out in October.
If the equipment isn't removed soon Lash said there needs to be very strong monitoring this summer to ensure the orca aren't swimming through a fuel slick to rub on the rocks.
Lash said this horrible accident should be used as an example for other captains.
"We need to learn from these sorts of mistakes," she said. "To do that it may require charges be laid."
Several agencies, including Transport Canada, the Transportation Safety Board and the B.C. Environment Ministry are investigating the barge accident.
The company that owned the barge, Ted LeRoy Trucking, has filed for bankruptcy.
The area where the whales make their summer home is an extremely busy corridor.
Shipping traffic, cruise ships, fishing boats and whale watching operations all use the route between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland.
"This is one of the most congested, heavily used areas, a marine highway, that supports our coast," Lash said. "We need to ensure that we have the right regulations in there, the same way we have the right regulations on the highways that go across Canada."
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