Tide turns against Luna
Writers say rambunctious orca needs a human family

Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Worried about threats to Luna's life, two science writers have proposed a solution where the troublesome five-year-old orca would be entertained and studied at the same time.

The proposal, submitted to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm, calls for a scientific team on a boat to provide Luna the company he craves, while keeping him away from risky situations. The orca's fondness for damaging boats has raised the ire of boaters in Nootka Sound -- small recreational boats are now converging on the sound, and in the last two weeks, several vessels have been damaged.

"We want to give him what he wants in a managed, controlled way with people who are trained," said Parfit, who, with Chisholm, has been working in the Nootka Sound area for 18 months. "We want to keep him alive and keep him off fishermen's boats."

Keeping people away from Luna so he does not get habituated hasn't worked, because Luna won't stay away from people, said Chisholm.

"We think the only way to keep this highly social animal alive is to give him a human family until his whale family comes to get him."

An agreement between the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation to manage the whale is on the verge of being signed. DFO hopes it will be in effect by next week.

But some say a completely new approach is needed if tragedy is to be averted.

Mounting local frustration has resulted in increasing threats to shoot or harpoon Luna, or even to feed him fish laced with cyanide, said Parfit and Chisholm, who initially went to Nootka Sound to write an article for the Smithsonian magazine. The couple is now working on a book, to be published by Penguin Canada, titled Saving Luna.

"Killing him would be tragic and dangerous and solves nothing because it would create dramatic conflict among people. But we understand the frustration. We think the threat is terribly real," Parfit said.

Scientific organizations have already expressed interest in the year-round, long-term program, which would allow scientists to study the whale, Parfit said.

The scientific team would work in conjunction with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation -- which scuttled last year's attempts to capture Luna and reunite him with his pod -- and no extra money would be needed from DFO, Parfit said.

At first, Parfit and Chisholm would use their own boat. They would then look for participation and funding from research institutions.

The two hope that once Luna develops an affinity for the project boat, his territory could be expanded and he would regularly swim into the open ocean, where there is more chance of connecting with pod members.

DFO manager Bill Shaw said he has not yet looked closely at the proposal, but it is essential that any volunteers work within the stewardship agreement.

"We don't want people to go out independently and put themselves at risk."

The agreement between the Mowachaht/Muchalaht and DFO offers the First Nation a limited amount of cash, but does not give band members any special rights or liability coverage if they interact with Luna or lure him away from boats or marinas.

The First Nation's role would largely be education and monitoring, while enforcement and assistance would primarily be carried out by fisheries officers and the coast guard vessel stationed at Friendly Cove.

"If anyone decides to try and lure the whale out of a marina such as Critter Cove, they are essentially at their own risk," Shaw said.

CREDIT: Debra Brash, Times Colonist
Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit talk about their studies of Luna the lonely whale in Gold River.