9:15 - 11:50 C Block Social and Environmental Sciences
12:30 - 3:05 B Block Legal Studies
C Block Social and Environmental Sciences - Today I will have you in the Learning Commons / Library doing some research on the value and extent of whale watching as an eco-tourism activity throughout the Salish Sea both in British Columbia and Washington State. Before we do that to help answer a question from yesterday...From Slower ships: A saving grace for orcas?
To the human eye, big ships cruising along the west side of San Juan Island this summer might have looked like they were traveling in slow motion. To the perceptive ears of killer whales, those same ships might have sounded a little bit quieter.That’s because more than half of commercial ships transiting Haro Strait — between San Juan and Vancouver Island — voluntarily slowed down as part of a two-month experiment by the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia. The Port wanted to test how slowing vessels reduces underwater noise — and whether that could help endangered killer whales.On the noise front, the slowdown appears to be a success, according to the Port’s preliminary analysis. Not only were participating ships quieter, but ambient underwater noise levels also fell by nearly half during the slowdown, which ran from Aug. 7 to Oct. 6 (2017).
In 2019 the Chamber of Shipping signed a conservation agreement that encourages large commercial vessels to slow down in key foraging areas for the SRKW to reduce underwater noise that may disrupt their ability to find prey.
As for laws and regulations...
Now for today...what is the Economic Impact of Tourism in British Columbia? Statistics from the Tourism Industry Association of BC show:
- In 2018, the tourism industry generated $20.5 billion in revenue and tourism-related provincial tax revenue was more than $1.7 billion in 2018.
- In 2018, tourism exports generated revenue of $6.9 billion which was higher than that of the mineral (13.4%) and agriculture & fish (10.0%) primary resource industries, but lower than that of energy (26.4%) and forest products (34.2%).
- The tourism industry contributed $8.3 billion of value added to the BC economy, as measured through GDP (in 2012 constant dollars). In 2018, tourism contributed more to GDP than any other primary resource industry (forestry & logging $1.8B, agriculture & fishing $3.2B, oil & gas $4.9B, and mining:$5.2B).
- In 2018, 19,329 tourism-related businesses were in operation in BC, 161,500 people were employed in tourism-related businesses and the tourism industry paid $6.0 billion in wages and salaries.
Not too bad, right? The natural benefits of the Salish Sea are clearly fundamental to nature-based marine tourism. Importantly, the ability to engage in these activities motivates decisions to visit. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines ecotourism as:
Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features-both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations
Whale watching is key to eco tourism in the Salish Sea and is a popular activity in the Haro Strait region. The Whale Museum (Friday Harbor, WA) estimates that annually more than 500,000 people go whale watching on commercial and/or private recreational vessels in the trans-boundary waters of Washington and British Columbia [NOTE: The total number of people engaged in whale watching activities is likely an underestimate. The commercial whale watch industry do not report individual or total annual numbers of passengers engaged in whale watching in the Haro Strait region]. Whale watching provides people with an opportunity to learn about and appreciate marine wildlife. The conservation rationale for whale watching is the theory that as more people become aware of the importance of marine ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them, increasing numbers of them will work to help preserve them.
Applying averages from a Raincoast Conservation Foundation survey to a conservative 47 companies in the Salish Sea shows a minimum of $16.8 million in annual revenues to a maximum of $24.5 million. Employment estimates range from 132 -188 full-time year round employees to 325 - 359 in peak summer season. From a DFO report... Victoria has the largest density of whale watching operators (about 45) with a fleet of about 80 vessels. Haro Strait and the islands that border it (B.C.’s Gulf islands and Washington State’s San Juan Islands) are considered among the best and most accessible places in the world to watch killer whales. In this area the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) community consisting of three pods (J, K, and L) totaling 74 (2 births this year - 2020) whales is a most popular attraction between May and September when the whales feed on migrating salmon.
For the US...from the Sea Doc Society, the results show that whale watching participants who whale watch from boat-based tours or from terrestrial viewing points in San Juan County support over $216 million worth of economic activity in the Puget Sound Region every year. This activity generates more than $12 million in state and local tax revenue annually and supports over 1,800 jobs. The Southern Resident Killer Whale Chinook Salmon Initiative states...The value of the overall whale watching industry in Washington State is worth at least $65-$70 million annually, with an average annual growth rate of 3%. An estimated 42 whale watch companies operate in Washington State, 22 of which are listed in Dun & Bradstreet’s Million Dollar Data base. The 22 listed companies generated $64 million in sales, by themselves.
So, your job is to identify the members on list of the Pacific Whale Watch Association and identify foraging locations for the J, K and L pods of the Southern Resident Killer Whale population (look at the DFO Canada 2020 Management measures link) on your Salish Sea map. Also you might want to write down revenues generated as notes on the sides of your map.
I'd also like you to select two "experience providers" (whale watching companies one Canadian and one American) and look to see what the policies/guidelines are for whale watching that they follow and what they have to say about sustainability / research / conservation.
With Benton...Guided Research Questions:
https://www.orcanetwork.org/Main/index.php?categories_file=Births%20and%20Deaths
Which pod has the most individuals? Scrolling to the bottom, who is the oldest orca you can find?
https://www.epa.gov/salish-sea/southern-resident-killer-whales
List 2 of the 5 things you can do to help southern resident orcas.
https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/species-of-concern/southern-resident-killer-whale/
How many births were there between 2012 and 2020?
https://georgiastrait.org/work/species-at-risk/orca-protection/southern-resident-orcas/
How many marine species are at risk in the Georgia Strait?
What does ECHO stand for?
https://www.straight.com/news/1161311/david-suzuki-human-behaviour-root-orca-plight
How are hatchery raised salmon less desirable ecologically than wild salmon?
What is the value of Orcas in the Salish Sea from the
following perspectives:
Intrinsic? Ecological? Economic?
B Block Legal Studies - Today we'll start with the Parties to an Offense...from the Halton District School Board in Ontario:
The Perpetrator: is the person who actually commits the criminal offence. When more than one person is directly involved in committing a crime, they are called co-perpetrators. In every case, the person actually has to be present at the scene of the offence to be identified as either a perpetrator of co-perpetrator. A person who commits an offence, aids a person to commit an offence, or abets a person in committing an offence is defined as a party to an offence under section 21 of the Criminal Code.
Aiding and Abetting: Aiding means helping a perpetrator commit a crime. To aid the perpetrator, one does not have to be present when the offence is committed. Abet means to encourage without actually providing physical assistance. Two things must be proved before an accused can be convicted of being a party by aiding or abetting. The first is that the accused had knowledge that the other intended to commit an offence. The second is that the accused aided or abetted the other. Mere presence at the scene is not conclusive evidence of aiding or abetting. Under section 21(2), a person who plans an offence is just as guilty as a person who actually commits the offence. However, a person is not guilty if his/her action is not intended to assist in the commission of an offence.
Counselling: The separate offence of counselling, (s. 22), is similar to abetting but is much broader in scope. Counselling includes the acts of advising, recommending, persuading or recruiting another person to commit an offence ("procuring, soliciting or inciting"). A person who counsels does not have to be present at the scene of the crime.
Accessories After the Fact: The Criminal Code provides a penalty for a person who is an accessory after the fact as outlined in section 23. Knowingly assisting a person who has committed a crime to escape capture includes providing food, clothing, or shelter to the offender. One exception to his law is the favoured relationship between a legally married couple. A man or woman cannot be held responsible for assisting in the escape of a spouse and someone escaping with a spouse. An accessory after the fact is one who receives, comforts or assists any one who has been a party to an offence in order to enable him/her to escape, knowing him/her to be a party thereto. There are three constituent elements of the offence of being an accessory after the fact: knowledge that a crime has been committed; an intent to assist the criminal to escape; and an act or omission intended to aid a criminal.
The effect of being a party is that you are guilty of committing an offence – you can be a robber in any of the ways set out. It is not a separate offence. Your criminal record will reflect that you were guilty of robbery, not abetting robbery. I'll go over the R. v. Goodine (1993) case with you
To end the week, we'll watch an episode of Law & Order from season 9 (episode 1) called "Cherished". From tv.com:
After a baby girl is found dead, Briscoe and Curtis investigate the family and learn that her adopted family and brother were trying to keep some painful secrets. Jack gets a new partner, Abbie Carmichael, who had a 95% percent success rate in her four years with Special Narcotics. Together McCoy and Carmichael try to prove that the little girl's brother committed the crime
The episode deals with some pretty heavy stuff (child abandonment and fraud) and to see a real life example check out the Pravda news article here. The real life case surrounds a couple who adopted a child from a Russian orphanage and a decision was handed down in the case in 2008. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
A Tooele Utah mother who admitted to killing a 14-month-old boy she and her husband adopted from Russia was sentenced Friday to prison for up to 15 years. Kimberly K. Emelyantsev, 34, who had pleaded guilty to second-degree felony child-abuse homicide in the death of Nicoli Emelyantsev, offered a tearful apology in 3rd District Court.
I'll have you be the judge for the Law and Order episode and I'll ask you to make a decision about Dr. Andrei Kostov, Megan Connery and /or Edward Connery.
After a baby girl is found dead, Briscoe and Curtis investigate the family and learn that her adopted family and brother were trying to keep some painful secrets. Jack gets a new partner, Abbie Carmichael, who had a 95% percent success rate in her four years with Special Narcotics. Together McCoy and Carmichael try to prove that the little girl's brother committed the crime
The episode deals with some pretty heavy stuff (child abandonment and fraud) and to see a real life example check out the Pravda news article here. The real life case surrounds a couple who adopted a child from a Russian orphanage and a decision was handed down in the case in 2008. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
A Tooele Utah mother who admitted to killing a 14-month-old boy she and her husband adopted from Russia was sentenced Friday to prison for up to 15 years. Kimberly K. Emelyantsev, 34, who had pleaded guilty to second-degree felony child-abuse homicide in the death of Nicoli Emelyantsev, offered a tearful apology in 3rd District Court.
I'll have you be the judge for the Law and Order episode and I'll ask you to make a decision about Dr. Andrei Kostov, Megan Connery and /or Edward Connery.
If there's time left you may finish your work from this week. Next week...arrests, searches and pre-trial motions (plea bargains) then courtrooms, evidence and verdicts.
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