A B.C. conservation group is urging the federal government to follow in Washington state’s footsteps, after it passed legislation for vessels to help better protect endangered southern resident killer whales.

The Raincoast Conservation Foundation launched a petition to urge Ottawa to increase the existing vessel buffer from 400 metres to 1,000 metres.

Washington state passed Senate Bill 5371 which, beginning in January 2025, will require boaters to stay 1,000 yards away from southern resident killer whales.

“Increasing the buffer to 1,000 metres here in Canada is important, to harmonize with that, because we’re talking about a transboundary species,” said Valeria Vergara, co-director of Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s cetacean program.

“Agreeing on the protection measures is fundamental, but there’s also consistency with [the] best available science.”