SAN JUAN COUNTY MARINE RESOURCE COMMITTEE
|
|
||
SAN JUAN COUNTY MARINE RESOURCE COMMITTEE |
|
Related page | |
MRC: County should manage whale watchingposted 11/07/00
County government should be involved in management of whale watching in the San Juan Islands, the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) decided Nov. 1. Just how the county should manage the hundreds of boats following orcas each summer will be a major part of the MRC's work next year. "The bottom line is it didn't die here," MRC Chair Jim Slocomb said of whale watch management discussions. The MRC, which makes recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners, listened to a panel discuss the pros and cons of placing regulations on whale watching. The panel included researchers, whale watch vessel operators, whale protection and education organizations, federal enforcement agents and county attorneys. MRC members, who represent many of the same entities, then debated the issue. "I'm hearing there is consensus that the county should be involved, but there is no consensus on how it should be involved," Slocomb said prior to the unanimous vote for county-level controls. "I'm very glad," said Mark Anderson, leader of Orcas Relief, a group petitioning for active county involvement in whale watching. "It's wonderful. I believe we in the county are accepting we have a huge problem ... and as a county we're in agreement to do something about it. I just hope we do something in time." Determining the extent of the county's role in whale watching management will be part of the MRC's work the coming year. Minutes of the MRC Nov. 1 meeting--topic Should whale watching be regulated by the county? |
|
|
|
|
