September 6, 2018 — Canada is taking steps to expand habitat protection for killer whales to boost survival of the critically endangered southern-resident population.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced Wednesday the department is initiating a 60-day comment period on creating new areas of critical habitat for the whales. One area is off the coast of southwestern Vancouver Island, including Swiftsure and La Pérouse banks (important for both northern and southern residents). The other is in Dixon Entrance, along the north coast of Graham Island from Langara to Rose Spit (important for northern residents).
The move to expand habitat protection comes on top of a reduction by the department of chinook salmon harvest by up to 35 percent for the 2018 fishing season, with a full closure of commercial and recreational fish for chinook in three key foraging areas for the southern residents: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Gulf Islands and the mouth of the Fraser River. These measures, enacted June 1, will continue until Sept. 30, and include increased monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the closures.
The critical-habitat designations could lead to further fishing reductions as well as restrictions on vessel traffic. The survival of southern-resident orcas — which are actually a large dolphin — is threatened because of underwater noise that disrupts their ability to hunt, as well as toxins and reduced availability of their primary prey, chinook salmon.