Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) No-Go Area

This site was created to raise awareness of and advocate for compliance with the SRKW no-go area. The no-go area was established in 2018 along the west side of San Juan Island for the protection of customary foraging grounds used by the SRKW. Commercial whale watching vessels are required and have agreed to stay out of the no-go area at all times (spoiler: they don't). All other vessels are subject to voluntary compliance.

My personal observation is that many recreational boaters are unaware of the SRKW no-go area, and that few volunteer to comply with it. I would go so far as to call it a failure based on the low rate of compliance.

My hope is that the information presented on this website will promote conversations and awareness in the boating community, with a goal of increased voluntary compliance. I also hope that it shines a light on the many commercially-operated vessels whose operators also seem to be unaware of the no-go area.

About the data

This site shows cases where vessels entered the SRKW no-go area. This data comes from the AIS transceiver on the vessel, which broadcasts vessel position, heading, and speed on a regular basis. The Coast Guard collects this data and, after a six month delay, NOAA publishes it for public use. Commercial vessels are required to broadcast AIS data. Not all recreational vessels broadcast AIS data. Few small recreational fishing boats do so.

The data is presented without alteration or correction. In some cases, vessel names and ownership have changed since these events were logged.

Please do not ascribe the data you see on this website to a specific person without doing further validation. Unless you were there, you do not really know what happened. It is assumed that most skippers of vessels listed on this site are simply unaware of the restrictions and expectations for the no-go area. Hopefully this website will be a catalyst for conversation along the lines of "did you know...?" and "why not go around the no-go area?"

Some of the data certainly raises questions which I hope may be discussed:

• It seems reasonable to assume that the people at American Cruise Lines are accountable for the actions of the vessels AMERICAN SPIRIT and AMERICAN CONSTELLATI. In which case, they have some signficant opportunities for improvement. They regularly head directly to the no-go area in front of Lime Kiln point and do a small circle within or across the no-go area.
• Why is it OK for WDFW R /V #627 (presumably a state government fish and wildlife research vessel) to blast right through Lime Kiln at 18 knots? Why can't they go 1/2 mile out of their way when just transiting the no-go area at high speed? I doubt that research is actively conducted while underway at 18 knots.
• Two out of the three vessels operated by San Juan Cruises, a commercial whale-watching business based in Bellingham, have history of entering the no-go area: VICTORIA STAR 2 and SALISH EXPRESS. Compliance with the no-go area is required of commercial whale-watching vessels. There are about a dozen commercial whale-watching vessels listed on this site for ignoring the no-go area.
• Several charter boats are in the top 20 visitors. Is there an opportunity to do more outreach to the charter companies to educate their customers?
• In a different class from the above examples of commercial and public service vessels, but striking for the volume of activity, the Round the County sailboat race on November 14, 2021 saw by far the highest number of boaters crossing over into the no-go area at 40 boats. Other than one other day that had 24 boats enter, there are no days with more than 20 boats listed. Orcas Island Yacht Club, can you please add information about the SRKW no-go area to your sailing instructions for the race? Or maybe there should be a formal exception for events like this, perhaps with monitoring for whale presence before an all-clear is given. As these are recreational vessels, they are only subject to voluntary compliance. It is not reasonable to expect racers to voluntarily give up the advantage of hugging the shore in adverse current. And yet, most sailors consider themselves good stewards of the environment, so why not comply voluntarily?

Other noteworthy patterns emerge from the data. For example, the patterns of vessel movement seen on July 27, 2021 from about 13:30 to 14:30 are highly suggestive of whale watchers swarming the position of something interesting off Lime Kiln Point.

SEA SPORT appears to moor on a buoy or anchor within the no-go area in Andrews Bay. A good example of every situation being different and there being perfectly reasonable explanations for some vessels being in the no-go area.

The recreational vessels listed on this site are not in violation of any laws. They are successfully complying with the letter of the law. But given that NOAA and WDFW have politely asked that recreational boaters voluntarily comply, I argue it is good stewardship and good seamanship to do so. Most of the operators of these vessels are simply unaware of the no go area and would modify their vessels' courses if they were.

Choose a vessel

Review the logged visits to the no-go area by a specific vessel

Vessel Names: The Coast Guard collects the vessel name just as it is registered in and broadcast by the vessel's AIS transceiver. Vessel names are not unique, vessels can change names, and AIS transceivers may be sold and fail to be reset to the new vessel's name. They are not easy to update. For these reasons, you may see different vessel names on the external Marine Traffic profile pages, or when making direct observations when out and about on the Salish Sea.

These are the top 20 vessels by number of distinct dates in the most recent year's data where the vessel entered the no-go area. You may also review the list of all vessels, over 800.

Choose a date

See vessels transiting the no-go area on a given date. Out of the most recent full year of data available, these are the top 20 dates with the most distinct vessels entering the no-go area. You may also review the list of all dates.

The data source is the NOAA Marine Cadastre program which publishes all AIS data logged by the Coast Guard, on a 6 month delay.