The many whale-watching cruise ships that crisscross the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park daily can travel up to 45 km/h on these waters where cetaceans can come to the surface at any time. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) had however raised doubts about the relevance of navigating so quickly, following an incident that could have had tragic consequences.
Every summer, tens of thousands of tourists embark on one of the cruise ships, mainly from Tadoussac, in the hope of observing whales in their natural environment. The marine park, with its area of 1245 km2, is also a privileged place in the world for this type of excursion of a few hours. There are several thousand of them each year.
Under the Marine Activities Regulations, boats can travel at a maximum speed of 25 knots (45 km/h), for example to get to an area where whales are present more quickly. Zodiacs and other similar craft can easily reach this speed when the weather conditions are relatively mild.
Once at an observation site, however, captains must slow down and follow various rules of approach, including keeping a certain distance from surfacing animals, not blocking their way and keeping at least 400 meters away from species. endangered, such as the blue whale.
Incident
Despite the rules in force, a zodiac cruiser hit a whale head-on in 2016, while traveling at 21.6 knots (40 km / h). Two people were then ejected from the boat, including the captain. In a report published in 2018, the TSB harshly criticized the lack of safety on board this boat.
The TSB investigator had also deplored the fact that the speed limit set at 25 knots was followed “blindly” by tour companies. “Science shows that in waters where there are whales, the vessel should not move faster than 10 knots to allow the whales to avoid collision and the operator to see the whale to avoid collision” , he had insisted, in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Since this incident, however, the speed limit has not been reviewed in the marine park, where whales sustain a tourist industry that brings in several million dollars each year in benefits for businesses in the sector and for the region.
However, Parks Canada specifies by e-mail that annual one-day training is offered to captains of all sea excursion companies. The regulations in force also require captains to retake an exam annually “to obtain a certificate to continue to operate in the Marine Park”.
The TSB report on the 2016 incident listed 16 “collisions” that occurred between 2006 and 2016, some with cetaceans. One of them involved a collision with a blue whale that occurred while the boat was traveling at a speed of 15 to 20 knots. In August 2020, a fin whale was also severely mutilated in the marine park, an incident for which no one responsible has been formally identified.
“Warnings”
Park agents patrol the water to ensure compliance with the regulations in force, recalls the ministry in a written response. “At the same time, Parks Canada favors an awareness and prevention approach and deploys numerous actions in these areas to make users understand the role they play in the protection of marine mammals and how they can adjust their behavior accordingly”, specifies -your.
According to data provided to Duty by Parks Canada, between 2015 and 2022, monitoring led to the issuance of 32 “warnings” and 7 “statements of offence”. But so far only two fines have been issued, amounting to $300 each, and two decisions are still pending.
There is also a “slowdown zone” at 15 knots (27 km/h) in the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord, the sector where navigation is the “most intense” in the marine park. This area has been defined by Parks Canada in order to reduce the disturbance of belugas, which has been identified as “a threat to the recovery” of this endangered species.
In a report produced by Parks Canada to analyze the monitoring of compliance with this measure, it is indicated that a significant proportion of boats transited at maximum speeds greater than 20 knots during the years 2018 to 2020, then greater than 15 knots in 2021. .
The “slowdown zone” was more respected in 2022, particularly in a context where several sightings of cetaceans were made directly in the mouth during this season. Parks Canada has identified 5,584 cruise ship passages.