In the wake of widespread opposition, federal officials have delayed a controversial decision on whether to ban boats from more than six square miles of water off San Juan Island during the summer, along with other regulations aimed at protecting endangered killer whales from human interference.

The proposed regulations would close much of  the west side of San Juan Island to all boat traffic, including kayaks and non-motorized vessels, between May and September. The rules would also prohibit boats from coming within 200 yards—twice the current limit—of the whales and from being in the path of any killer whale within 400 yards.

But after facing critical audiences during a series of meetings in recent weeks, The National Marine Fisheries Service announced it was extendeding the deadline for public comments from Oct. 27 to Jan. 15 of next year—meaning the regulations, which could have taken effect next summer, won’t be implemented until at least the 2011 summer boating season.

The proposals have drawn opposition from diverse groups of stakeholders including fishermen, whale watch operators, kayakers and conservationists, who turned out in force at public meetings over the past month in Anacortes, Seattle and Friday Harbor.

The move to extend the deadline followed a letter from U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, to the National Marine Fisheries Service. In his letter, Larsen noted the “intense interest” from the public in the proposed rules.

“I am deeply concerned that the proposed rules would restrict recreational opportunities for local communities and hurt local businesses without providing meaningful protection for orcas,” Larsen wrote.

“The NMFS proposal will prevent many of my constituents from fishing, kayaking and boating for pleasure, as well as severely hinder the operation of commercial whale watching and kayak touring industries.”

Lynne Barre, a marine mammal specialist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the deadline was extended in response to Larsen’s letter and several other requests.

Asked if she was surprised by the negative feedback, Barre said, “This is part of our public process, to put our proposed rules out for public review. It’s hard to anticipate what type of response we’re going to get, and that’s why we go through this process.”

Barre said it’s too early to say whether Fisheries will consider revising the proposed regulations in response to public feedback.

“If we get information about a new impact we didn’t evaluate, or new scientific or economic information, those are the types of things we’ll have to consider before we move forward,” she said. “It’s hard to predict what will happen.”

A diverse range of speakers turned up at public meetings, including the one pictured above in Seattle, to speak against the proposed regulations.

Some are skeptical that the extended comment period will result in changes to the proposed regulations. Ken Balcomb, executive director and research biologist for the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, sees the rules as a red herring diverting attention from what he says is the primary threat to the region’s killer whale population: starvation caused by depleted salmon stocks.

Fisheries, he says, is focusing on vessel traffic as an easier alternative to address than the intractable issue of fisheries management.

“(Fisheries) has got to clean up their act in terms of proper management of the fisheries for a sustainable yield, not only for people but for whales,” Balcomb said. “That’s the real issue. I think this is a cop-out or a smokescreen for the failure to deal with the real issue.”

Fisheries officials say the regulations are needed to protect Puget Sound’s Southern Resident killer whales, declared endangered in 2005. Scientists estimate there were once around 200 killer whales in the region; that number has now shrunk to about 85, according to the fisheries service.

Officials say boat traffic off San Juan Island causes behavioral changes in the whales, impacts their ability to communicate, puts them at risk of being struck by boats and impedes their ability to hunt for food.

But while Barre said the proposed regulations are based on “the best available scientific information,” Balcomb and others say Fisheries has relied on questionable science in developing the rules. Two of the articles used as a basis for the regulations, Balcomb said, were subject only to internal peer review, rather than the standard practice of review by outside experts.

“They’re using scientific methods that are not generally acceptable,” he said.

Shane Aggergaard, president of the Pacific Northwest Whale Watching Assocation, an industry trade group, said he’s pleased stakeholders will have more time to comment on the regulations.

The original deadline, set for less than a month after the public meetings, didn’t provide enough time for comment on regulations that “could potentially cripple” the state’s whale watching industry, he said.

The PWWA has proposed alternate regulations that would establish a 7-knot speed restriction year-round on the west side of San Juan Island rather than the no-go zone, prohibit boats from being “negligently” within 100 yards of the Southern Resident population and require vessels to stay out of the whales’ path.

The association, Aggergaard said, fully supports regulations to protect the region’s killer whales but feels the proposed rules go too far and would be legally challenged if implemented as is.

“We want to see a reasonable law that gives more than adequate protection to the Southern Resident killer whales so we can actually enforce it,” he said.

Comments on the proposed regulations can be submitted by email or regular mail until Jan. 15. Additional information is available here.