A man who went fishing in West Vancouver, B.C., Friday afternoon ended up catching a spectacular show. Jhordan Stevenson was at Sunset Marina when a trio of orcas suddenly surfaced just metres away. “Wow,” he says, his amazement audible as he witnesses the first breach in what he told CTV News was an “incredibly special” encounter that lasted for nearly an hour. Since posting video of what he witnessed online, it has racked up tens of thousands of views on Instagram. Getting this close of a glimpse of the endangered marine mammals from the water is difficult without violating regulations in place for their protection. Transport Canada issued an interim order on June 1 declaring that all vessels must stay at least 1,000 metres away from southern resident killer whales in southern B.C. coastal waters, including the Strait of Georgia, the Juan de Fuca Strait and waters off Vancouver Island. This is up from the previous 400-metre approach distance. The term vessel doesn’t only apply to motorized watercraft, last year a paddleboarder was fined for getting too close to a southern resident killer whale after a video of that incident gained traction online.
