Fisheries Canada Reviews Grey Whale Jet Ski Vancouver Strike Near Stanley Park

A video posted on social media on Monday night showed a grey whale jet ski vancouver strike near Stanley Park, where the whale had just surfaced off the west side of the park near Siwash Rock. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is assessing the incident and whether the whale was injured.

Siwash Rock strike

The video showed the jet ski hitting the whale near Siwash Rock, a point on the west side of Stanley Park. Social media posts said the whale had surfaced multiple times in the area before the strike.

The jet ski driver was ejected from the watercraft and rescued by the people on a nearby yacht. That sequence leaves the whale as the main unanswered piece in the review now underway.

Marine Mammal Regulations

Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the Marine Mammal Regulations prohibit disturbance to marine mammals. The department said disturbance includes approaching a marine mammal to feed it, swim with it, interact with it, move it, entice it, cause it to move from the immediate vicinity in which it is found, separate it from members of its group, go between it and a calf, trap it or its group between a vessel and the shore or between a vessel and one or more other vessels, or tag or mark it.

The department said those rules apply to all types of watercrafts, including boats, kayaks and paddleboards. For people using the harbor area off Stanley Park, the incident is a reminder that the same limits apply across every kind of vessel, not just larger boats.

Vancouver harbor waters

The strike happened in a busy stretch of water where multiple types of watercraft operate. The review now centers on whether the whale was injured, and on how the incident fits the Marine Mammal Regulations that cover interaction with marine mammals in the area.