After grey whale struck, park board considers banning jet skis in Burrard Inlet

The watercraft approaches the whale prior to the collision. (Micaela Roughton)

Following public outrage after a grey whale was struck by a jet-ski operator earlier this month, the Vancouver Park Board is set to vote on a motion that would help significantly restrict or outright ban personal motorized watercraft in Burrard Inlet.

The motion comes after an online petition calling for jet-ski restrictions in the waters off Vancouver, where whales are known to frequent, caught the attention of Park Board Chair Tom Digby. The petition had over 8,000 signatures as of Sunday afternoon.

“I, like a lot of people, saw the horrible footage online of the whale being hit by that jet skier and I wanted to do something,” Deborah Katz Henriquez, creator of the petition, told CTV News. “I was shocked. I was actually really gutted. I just felt my heart sink at that moment.”

Marine officials said that the grey whale appeared to be OK after the collision, but noted that the mammal’s condition is difficult to determine by sight alone.

“I think we can do better in Vancouver. I think we can provide a safe environment for the marine animals that come to our waters, seeking refuge and seeking food, and that we have a responsibility to do so,” Katz Henriquez said. “I think that allowing jet skis is like a bullet in a school zone, and we need to slow vessels down and we need to put protections into place for the whales.”

The item coming to the park board on Monday asks commissioners to “formally adopt a policy position advocating for the prohibition or significant restriction of high-speed motorized personal watercraft” in Burrard Inlet and waters near parks and beaches.

The board does not have jurisdiction over waterways, so the motion would ask staff to investigate ways the municipal body could discourage or restrict the use of jet skis and sea doos at facilities it manages, such as using signs or public education.

Digby told CTV News the park board is in the “best position of all” to take a leadership role on the issue as the public can participate in its decisions.

Stronger regulations on marine vehicles would require buy-in from other authorities like Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

If the motion passes, the park board would also call on higher levels of government to establish Burrard Inlet as an urban marine conservation and stewardship zone.

“I was really struck to learn that major cities around the world have actively taken a role in banning motorized personal watercraft. So, Victoria has restrictions, the San Juan Islands have severe restrictions… Sydney, Australia, is perhaps the best example where they have completely prohibited personalized motorized watercraft in their harbour,” Digby said.

“I think Vancouver is actually behind the times here and really needs to pick up the pace on banning these particularly harmful instruments on the water.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson