Opinion: Why Canada's new pipeline proposal threatens the Salish Sea 

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This remarkable ecosystem is also home to the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

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The odds are already stacked against the whales

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The “killer whale” or “black fish” is deeply engrained in the culture of Indigenous Nations all along the coast. It was also recently voted the “icon of British Columbia.”

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Down to only 73 adults, the survival of Southern Residents is threatened due to the interconnected problems of declining prey availability, underwater noise from ships, and pollution.

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Southern Resident killer whales are genetically distinct from other killer whales. They have their own family structure, culture, and language. In the dark waters of the Salish Sea, they depend on sound much as we depend on sight, using echolocation and calls to hunt, navigate and stay connected with one another.

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They also depend almost entirely on Chinook salmon, many of which begin and end their lives in the Fraser watershed.
Today, both predator and prey are struggling.

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The proposed west coast oil pipeline and new Roberts Bank marine terminal would increase the three major risks to Southern Resident killer whale survival.

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First, another causeway and marine terminal would further disrupt juvenile salmon leaving the Fraser River. Federal assessments for Roberts Bank Terminal 2 have already found these structures interfere with salmon migration, particularly for young Chinook, the whales’ primary food source. Building another terminal risks making an existing problem worse.

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Second,oil spilled in the Salish Sea is harmful to both salmon and killer whales. A large spill would be catastrophic to both salmon and killer whales, but even routine operations risk smaller chronic releases of oil into marine waters. Around Roberts Bank, powerful tides, currents and the Fraser River outflow make containing any amount of spilled oil extraordinarily difficult. Promises of world-class spill response seem reassuring on paper. The sea, however, does not read policy documents.

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Third, the anticipated increase in oil tanker traffic means enough underwater noise to completely overwhelm the Southern Residents’ ability to hunt and communicate voluntarily. Chronic noise pollution in the Salish sea has been a tough problem to solve. Initial gains from voluntary vessel slowdown programs have already been eroded by increased tanker traffic following the Trans Mountain expansion. The government’s own scientists have concluded that the concept of offsetting impacts — trading off increases in noise in one area for reduction in noise in another — does not work for the problem of underwater noise pollution. Without significant adoption of quiet vessel technology or an enforceable limit on underwater noise, there is no realistic or effective way to protect the whales while increasing shipping.

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Changing the rules

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Ottawa is considering side stepping the safeguards under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), Canada’s cornerstone law protecting endangered wildlife, to enable this project to proceed by designating the pipeline as a project of national Interest.

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The law currently prevents governments from approving projects that would jeopardize the survival or recovery of endangered species. Suspending the protective provisions of SARA could put the whales on a path to extinction.

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Canada now faces a choice that goes beyond pipelines.

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The Southern Residents are already struggling to survive. The government’s proposed changes will silence their unique voices forever.

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Whether the orcas survive this political moment is now a government choice, not an accident.

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If we trade whales for oil exports today, history will not remember the barrels. It will remember what we were willing give up.

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Margot Venton is the nature program director at Ecojustice.

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