An example of a lack of communication has just reared its ugly head: the new statute protecting Southern Resident Orcas. Biologists just don't communicate with enforcement designing regulations or statutes, and it's very important.It hasn't always been that way. Under the new statute, in order to arrest or site someone, you must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the violator was within a thousand yards to a Southern Resident Killer Whale. Distant estimates don't count. How does an officer prove that the whale was an SRK when there's a chance that it might be of another group? This question must be absolute, not just an opinion. How does one (a citizen) determine a thousand yards? Judges won't convict unless people menace or harass a whale. Those who crafted this new statute didn't ask enforcement for guidance (just like they failed on the Columbia gillnet buy back). If you read the statute, most of the actions that might actually affect the SRKs are exempted. Joe Fisherman is the victim on this.
Killer whales are smart. I've spent a lot of time around them in AK and BC. Small boats don't affect them.