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An area near Gold River on the West Coast of Vancouver Island will be closed to sports fishing this year because of Luna the killer whale.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada hopes a quieter fishing-free zone in Nootka Sound will keep the orca away from Gold River. It's part of an effort to reduce the risk of injuries to recreational boaters. In the past, Luna has rubbed up against boats and outboard engines, snapping off rudders and sonar detectors.

Fisheries spokesperson Ed Lochbaum, says the goal of the fishing ban is to keep boaters away from the whale, and to keep the whale close to the open ocean. "It's our hope that if there's an area there with little activity, he may habituate to that area, and lo and behold, if the pod should ever come cruising by, it may be an opportunity for him to join." Lochbaum says the First Nations in the area support the closure as part of a stewardship plans now being negotiated.

Last year, First Nations paddlers took to the water to thwart the government's plans to capture Luna, and transport him by truck to Juan De Fuca Strait to rejoin his pod. Lochbaum says there are no plans for that kind of move this year.