Traditional Waters, Modern Threats: The Gitga’at’s Fight for Humpbacks

The rise in commercial shipping traffic, coupled with the resurgence of humpback whale populations, has created a pressing concern for Indigenous communities and conservationists alike. As stewards of their traditional territory, the Gitga’at First Nation has been at the forefront of efforts to protect these majestic creatures while navigating the challenges posed by industrialization.

On the north coast of British Columbia, ship traffic has increased in recent years, but so has the humpback whale population in this area.¹ With the continued increase in marine shipping, strikes of humpback whales from commercial vessels are a major concern, with researchers estimating there could be a high of 20 strikes a year by 2030.² During the summer of 2023, there were three humpback strikes that occurred within 10 days along the Pacific coast.³ This current level of strikes on humpback whales could reverse the growth in the population numbers that are slowly making a comeback.⁴

The Gitga’at First Nation are the stewards of the land and water in this area of the north coast. About 130 members currently live in Txalgiuw (Hartley Bay), while others live outside of their traditional territory in cities across British Columbia and elsewhere.⁵ The Gitga’at First Nation has an elected council to govern the territory, and the community does everything they can to celebrate and protect their culture. Seasonal food harvest and other ceremonial ties to the land and water are particularly important to the nation.⁶ The traditional waters of Gitga’at First Nation are home to the highest density of humpback whales along the north coast of British Columbia.⁷ While humpback whales are in these waters, they bubble net feed and practice their songs before their long migration journey south.⁸ As guardians of the land and water, the Gitga’at First Nation has shown a tremendous effort to protect humpback whales in their traditional waters through research and conservation initiatives.

The Gitga’at First Nation has started several programs to help protect their environment, such as collaborative research initiatives and Indigenous-led environmental monitoring programs.⁹ The SWAG project (Ships Whales and Acoustics in Gitga’at Territory) is helping to equip the Gitga’at First Nation to monitor ship traffic and make decisions effectively around stewarding their traditional waters.¹⁰ Through the SWAG project, hydrophones are deployed in the waters around Txalgiuw (Hartley Bay) to detect, identify, and track whales and ships within a 200 km radius.¹¹ The data gathered from the hydrophones is used to understand how acoustics interfere with marine mammals’ communication, feeding, and socialization.¹² The goal of the SWAG project is to use these findings to suggest different ship traffic practices, such as alternative routing and slowdowns, to lower the impacts of marine shipping on the humpback critical habitat within the Gitga’at First Nation’s territory.¹³

Although the population of humpback whales has increased in Gitga’at First Nation territory, their continued growth is threatened by commercial shipping activity.¹⁴ Speed reduction measures and transit rescheduling when humpbacks are present may be helpful to limit the chance of vessel strikes within the region.¹⁵ Additional partnerships with local nations could allow Traditional Knowledge and western science to collaborate and learn from each other to better protect humpback whales on the north coast of British Columbia. As leaders of the SWAG project, the Gitga’at First Nation is a notable example of how Indigenous communities are stewarding their waters by applying Traditional Knowledge in marine research practices.

About the author

Chanessa Perry is a citizen of the Nisg̱a’a First Nation and is of mixed European and Nisg̱a’a ancestry. She completed three internships through Clear Seas’ Indigenous Internship Program, and recently joined the team as a Research Assistant. In this role, she’ll continue to develop her research on the impacts of shipping on marine mammals and the ways Indigenous communities are applying Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous research methods to steward the marine environment.

References

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2. Global News BC. (2023). 3 humpback whales struck in B.B. waters within 10 days last month. Website. https://globalnews.ca/news/9884188/humpback-whale-ship-strikes-bc/ ↩︎
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11. Picard, C., Way, J., & Alidina, H. (2021). The SWAG Project-Ships, Whales and Acoustics in Gitga’at territory (SWAG). Website. https://wwf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SWAG-desc-Sept2021.pdf ↩︎
12. Picard, C., Way, J., & Alidina, H. (2021). The SWAG Project-Ships, Whales and Acoustics in Gitga’at territory (SWAG). Website. https://wwf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SWAG-desc-Sept2021.pdf ↩︎
13. Picard, C., Way, J., & Alidina, H. (2021). The SWAG Project-Ships, Whales and Acoustics in Gitga’at territory (SWAG). Website. https://wwf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SWAG-desc-Sept2021.pdf ↩︎
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