Celebrating the 1st Anniversary of the SB Channel Local Whale Heritage Area
A Whale of a Weekend celebrating the first anniversary of the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area (SBCWHA), a nonprofit organization, was launched the evening of Friday, November 22nd, at the luxurious Ritz Carlton Bacara. The jubilee was a joyous event in honor of the magnificent whales that grace our local waters and to celebrate the designation of the Santa Barbara Channel as a Whale Heritage Site. The weekend festivities began at the Bacara where over 200 whale enthusiasts and supporters were treated to the “Whales, Ales, and Cocktails” Film Festival featuring the film Whale Wisdom by Rick Rosenthal, as well as a new short film, Battle of the Blues, by local filmmaker Adam Ernster. The following day guests joined local experts and scientists onboard the Condor Express on an informative voyage of whale watching and fun.
Serving as Hostess with the Mostest on behalf of the SBCWHA’s support team was Hiroko Benko, the organization’s Co-Director and owner of the Condor Express. At Friday’s opening reception she greeted each guest personally as cocktails and a selection of tasty hors d’oeuvres made their way around the room. Also present with information and brochures was a sampling of the organization’s valued partners: the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, the Museum of Natural History, Ocean Futures Society, WCA, Island Packers, the Condor Express, among others.
The formal program began in the Bacara’s theater with a group of speakers including SBCWHA Co-Director, marine biologist and educator, Holly Lohuis. Chumash Elder Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, representing the indigenous people, spoke, along with California Assembly Member Gregg Hart, filmmaker Adam Ernster and Sean Hastings representing the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Ernster’s informative short film followed. After the intermission, Blue Whale expert and researcher John Calambokidis spoke, followed by the feature film, Rosenthal’s beautifully imaged Whale Wisdom. And what a heartwarming film to conclude this entertaining evening!
On the Condor Express on Saturday, guests heard more about Cetaceans – the family name of whales, dolphins and porpoises – taken from the Greek word meaning ‘Big Fish.’ These animals are sleek, highly intelligent and socially complex mammals with streamlined body shapes. The Blue Whales, with a maximum confirmed length of 98 feet and a weight of 190 short tons, are the largest animals known. They propel themselves through the water with powerful up-and-down tail movements that end in a paddle-like fluke, and reside in all the oceans of the world. In danger globally, preserving and caring for them is an important mission.
Enter the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) and its flagship global program World Heritage Sites. WCA’s mission is simple: To protect cetaceans and their habitats through global collaboration. The Whale Heritage Sites (WHS) program is an initiative created by the WCA, in partnership with World Animal Protection, to formally recognize and accredit destinations around the world that support and demonstrate the importance of cetaceans and their ocean habitats.
Stepping into the frame in Santa Barbara was Hiroko Benko whose passion has always been to preserve and protect the marine environment, most specifically the whales. “I’ve always been passionate about sea life and especially whales who are faced each day with one life threatening danger or another, especially in our out-of-control shipping lanes.” The dangers facing these mammals are close to shore as well as in the shipping lanes of the Santa Barbara Channel. With the increase of cargo and cruise ship traffic during the last several decades, shipping lanes are greatest threat to their lives. The waters off the West coast are especially deadly as the major ports of Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are the busiest in the nation.
Aware of the danger, Benko gathered a support team that included Jean-Michel Cousteau founder of the Ocean Futures Society, Holly Lohuis, marine biologist and educator, and Greg Gorga, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Director. This enthusiastic group of four created the nonprofit SBCWHA with the help of sponsors, environmentalists, biologists and the generosity of the community. Application to the World Cetacean Alliance for the Santa Barbara Channel to be acknowledged as an official Whale Heritage Site was submitted, a status granted only to areas where communities work collaboratively to make and enforce decisions that will benefit cetaceans and their ocean habitats worldwide.
As a result of this herculean effort the Santa Barbara Channel is now the 9th of 11 Whale Heritage Areas worldwide. In partnership with marine sanctuary areas, benefits to whales traversing the Santa Barbara Channel are being felt: cargo ships on their way from ports up and down the West Coast have reduced their speed to 10 knots and within 12 months whale strikes have been reduced up to 50%. Quite an accomplishment!
The SBCWHA is within the waters of Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and, most recently, the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. In collaborative stewardship the SBCWHA is off to great start in preserving an important living laboratory along with initiatives for whale protection. With community engagement and valued partners such as tour operators, biologists, environmentalists, fishers, educators, artists and NGO’s, the SBCWHA’s mission to heighten awareness of the abundance of whales in the channel – and their protection – is off to a magnificent start.
For more information: https://www.sbwhaleheritage.org
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