Thank you.
Good evening, everyone. Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate the opportunity to address Bill S-203.
I'm Dr. Martin Haulena. I'm head veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium, as well as at our national marine mammal rescue centre, both part of Ocean Wise. Ours is the only rescue centre in Canada able to rescue, rehabilitate and release marine mammals, including cetaceans, the taxonomic group of animals that includes all whales, dolphins and porpoises.
I'd like to use a recent example of our work to explain my concerns about Bill S-203 in its current form, and its potential impact on our efforts to save endangered whales in Canada. Last summer, I spent the better part of the month in the San Juan Islands, located between Vancouver Island and Washington state, taking part in a rescue effort for a small killer whale known as Scarlet, or J50, according to the naming system for killer whales, off the west coast.
J50 was four years old, a member of the critically endangered southern resident killer whale population. Based on her emaciated body condition, she was very sick. Veterinary intervention with free-ranging animals isn't something we ever take lightly, but time is running out for this group of whales. There are only 75 of them left, as has been mentioned a few times. Based on what we know about them and their environment, we understand that environmental threats, including pollution, underwater noise and lack of prey, are causing their decline. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is also taking actions to address those issues, but for this population of whales, the time needed to reverse the impact of these threats—