The port authority-led ECHO Program collaborates with over a hundred Canadian and U.S. partners and advisors from across government agencies, the marine transportation industry, Indigenous communities, and environmental groups. By bringing groups together from a diverse range of industries, perspectives, and areas of expertise, we strive to ensure that the ECHO Program’s work is informed by cultural, economic and environmental best practices.
The ECHO Program is guided by the advice and input of an advisory working group and associated technical committees. The guidance provided by these volunteer advisors greatly assists the ECHO Program team in deciding which scientific studies, educational initiatives and other projects should be advanced to best meet program objectives. Meetings of the advisory working group and most technical committees are independently facilitated by the Fraser Basin Council, which helps the ECHO Program find collaborative solutions to support at-risk whales.
We appreciate the ongoing support, guidance, and contributions of our many advisors, partners, and collaborators, whose efforts continue to help reduce the cumulative effects of marine shipping on at-risk whales.
| Advisory working group | |
|
BC Coast Pilots BC Ferries Canadian Coast Guard Chamber of Shipping Council of Marine Carriers Cruise Lines International Association – North West & Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada Indigenous advisors National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Ocean Wise Pacific Pilotage Authority Royal Canadian Navy Shipping Federation of Canada Transport Canada Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Washington State Ferries WWF-Canada |
| Vessel operators committee | |
|
BC Coast Pilots BC Ferries Canadian Coast Guard Chamber of Shipping Council of Marine Carriers Cruise Lines International Association – North West & Canada Hapag-Lloyd (Canada) Inc. Holland America Group Marine Exchange of Puget Sound |
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association Pacific Northwest Ship & Cargo Services Pacific Pilotage Authority Royal Canadian Navy Shipping Federation of Canada Transport Canada U.S. Coast Guard Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Washington State Ferries |
Acoustic technical committee |
|
BC Ferries Fisheries and Oceans Canada DHI Group Inc. DW Ship Consult JASCO Applied Sciences National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Oceans Networks Canada Ocean Wise |
Royal Canadian Navy Robert Allan Naval Architects Saturna Cetacean Sighting Network Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) Consulting Canada Transport Canada University of British Columbia University of St. Andrews University of Victoria Washington State Department of Transportation |
| Other program or project collaborators | |
|
Achieve Quieter Oceans (AQUO) American Waterways Operators Green Marine Nanaimo Port Authority Port of Seattle Port of Tacoma Prince Rupert Port Authority JASCO Applied Sciences Oceans Networks Canada Makah Tribe |
Pacheedaht First Nation Puget Sound Pilots Saturna Island Marine Research and Education Society Scripps Institute of Oceanography Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) Consulting Canada Tsleil-Waututh Nation University of Victoria NEMES Project (Noise Exposure to the Marine Environment from Ships) The Whale Museum |
| Funding partners | |
|
Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fraser River Pile and Dredge |
Trans Mountain Corporation Transport Canada |
Alignment with Government of Canada recovery strategies
Since the announcement of the government’s Ocean Protection Plan in 2016 and Whales Initiative in 2018, the ECHO Program and its advisors have been working in parallel with, and engaging more actively, in the Government of Canada’s process to ensure our collective research and mitigation efforts are aligned.
The Government of Canada’s recovery strategies for at-risk whales in the region include:
- Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada
- Recovery Strategy for the Transient Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) in Canada
- Recovery Strategy for the Offshore Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) in Canada
- North pacific humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae): recovery strategy
- North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica): recovery strategy
- Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus): recovery strategy progress report 2009 to 2014
- Blue, fin and sei whales: recovery strategy progress report 2006 to 2011
Visit the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Species at Risk Act: recovery strategies for a full list of their recovery strategies.
The ECHO Program has structured its focus areas based on three of the four current threat categories identified in the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Recovery Strategy for Northern and Southern Killer Whales and advances projects in each category aimed at informing the development of measures to reduce threats to whales from marine shipping. For more information on ECHO Program projects, see our projects and initiatives page.