Today's schedule is DCBA
D/C Blocks Social and Environmental Sciences - Today we will have you in Room 115 working on our Salish Sea poster. To help...
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. From the Chamber of Shipping
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority-led Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program has announced this year’s measures (2021) to help in the recovery of the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). Again vessels will be asked to voluntarily slowdown (my italicization) in SRKW key foraging areas in Haro Strait and Boundary Pass and at Swiftsure Bank from as early as June 1st. As part of the Chamber of Shipping’s members’ commitments under the SRKW Conservation Agreement under the Species at Risk Act, the measures are enhanced each year as the science around acoustic disturbance, prey availability and contaminants develops. Last year, thanks to the participation of the shipping lines and agents, underwater sound intensity was reduced by nearly 50%
As for laws and regulations...
Also...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? Obviously 2020 and 2021 were bad years for tourism here....ahem COVID-19
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 in 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 for the poster 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.
B Block Human Geography - Today, we'll examine the key issue "Why Do Ethnicities Have Distinct Distribution"? We'll start with a quick review of the triangular slave trade and the concentrated population of African Americans in the American southeast (you know...due to slavery). Then look at the inter-regional migration from the rural U.S. South to northern and western urban areas in the mid to late 20th Century. Connected to this will be "Jim Crow" laws (and segregation in Canada including Viola Desmond), "white flight", and civil rights. Tomorrow, we look at Apartheid in South Africa as you'll have some questions to work on for me.
And don't think it didn't happen in Canada...
A Block Legal Studies - Today we'll conclude the 2019 movie Just Mercy based on the life of Bryan Stevenson. Bryan Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama. The movie is based on his story and that of Walter McMillan (Johnny D). From a Voice of America Article More Innocent People than Previously Known Came Close to Being Executed, US Study Finds
In a new report, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) said its examination of every death sentence handed down since 1973 – more than 9,600 in all – revealed that 185 death row inmates had been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted, 11 more than previously known. There have been 1,532 executions in the United States since 1976.
Today's Fit...
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