At least 14 killer whales swam through waters off northern Vancouver Island where an oil slick is threatening an ecological reserve frequented by the orcas, an environmentalist said.

A barge tipped over Monday in Johnstone Strait near Robson Bight and dumped a load of heavy logging equipment in the water.
(Photo courtesy Travis Meinhold)

Bill Mackay, owner of Mackay Whale Watching, from Port McNeill, B.C., said he was on the water as the whales swam through the area at about 9 p.m. Monday night.

"By radar and by sight we estimated at least 14 animals swam right through the heaviest portion of that spill, which, again, is on the western edge of the reserve," Mackay told CBC News Tuesday morning. "So there's a lot of concern."

It's not known what effect this could have on the orcas, as the biggest concern is whether the whales are breathing in the toxic fumes, Mackay said.

The slick, mainly diesel, has grown to 14 kilometres on Tuesday morning, said Dan Bate, a communications officer with the Canadian Coast Guard's Pacific Region.

A barge overturned Monday and dumped a load of heavy equipment, including a fuel truck, into the waters in Robson Bight, a protected area where killer whale pods come to rub on the shallow gravel of the beach.

Crews begin cleanup work Tuesday on the oil slick, that has grown to 14 kilometres.
(CBC)

Mackay said he's not impressed with cleanup efforts so far, saying there weren't any crews when he was in the water Monday night.

Bate said his crews, who were to begin clean-up Tuesday morning, were in the area Monday night to assess the situation but did not start the work because it was too dark.

A scientist with the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre said the spill could not have happened in a worse area, given its popularity with killer whales.

"Killer whales are animals that are driven by tradition," the UBC adjunct professor said. "We know this from what we've seen in the wild and we know this from the way they behave in captivity as well."

"Once an area is established as a summer feeding area or a socializing area where they come to mate and rub on the beach, they'll do that year after year," he said.