Saving Seafood

New Proposal for Expanded Killer Whale Critical Habitat Reflects Latest Science

September 19, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Research over the past decade has confirmed that endangered Southern Resident killer whales are truly a West Coast species. They feed on salmon as far south as California. Now NOAA Fisheries is proposing to expand their critical habitat based on information about their coastal range and habitat use.

The proposal would extend critical habitat for the whales along a roughly 1,000-mile swath of West Coast waters between the depths of 6.1 meters (20 feet) and 200 meters (about 650 feet). It would stretch from Cape Flattery, Washington, south to Point Sur, California, just south of Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay. The additional area covers roughly 15,626 square miles, or more than 10 million acres.

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comments on the proposal.

Research documenting the Southern Residents’ use of coastal waters included collection of prey and fecal samples. Genetic analysis of the samples showed that while frequenting the West Coast the whales prey on salmon from as far south as California’s Central Valley and as far north as the Taku River in Alaska.

“We now know more clearly that that the whales rely on a diversity of salmon stocks from different rivers up and down the West Coast,” said Lynne Barre, recovery coordinator for the Southern Resident killer whales in NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. “The critical habitat proposal takes that all into account.”

Read the full release here

PFMC: Ad Hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale Workgroup to hold meeting October 8-9, 2019

August 28, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Workgroup (Workgroup) will hold a two-day meeting that is open to the public.  The meeting will begin Tuesday, October 8, 2019, at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and recess at 5:00 p.m.  It will continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday, October 9, and will end at 2 p.m. The meeting times are an estimate; the meetings will adjourn when business for the day is complete.

Please see the SRKW Workgroup October 8-9, 2019 in-person meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

Southern Resident Killer Whale Workgroup to Hold Webinar September 24, 2019

August 26, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council)  Ad Hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Workgroup (Workgroup) will meet via webinar which is open to the public.  The webinar meeting will be held Tuesday, September 24, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT, or until business for the day has been completed.  These are public meetings and not public hearings.  Public comments will be taken at the discretion of the Workgroup co-chairs as time allows.

Please see the SRKW Workgroup September 24, 2019 webinar notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

A public listening station will be provided at the Council office in Portland, Oregon.

For further information:

New lawsuit seeks protection zone for Northwest orcas

August 20, 2019 — A new U.S. lawsuit filed Monday seeks to establish a whale protection zone for endangered orcas in the Pacific Northwest.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Orca Relief Citizens’ Alliance sued NOAA Fisheries in U.S. District Court in Seattle, saying the agency has failed to act on a petition it filed in 2016.

The petition sought to bar vessels from a 10- to 12-square-mile (26- to 31-square-kilometer) area west of San Juan Island where the orcas, called southern resident killer whales, feed from April through September each year. Any vessels exempted from the ban would be required to abide by a “no wake” rule in the zone.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

Orca Action Month Inspires Local Action for Southern Residents

July 19, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The story of Southern Resident killer whale J35 carrying her dead calf for two weeks last summer attracted worldwide attention, prompting Orca Network to rename June “Orca Action Month,” from the former “Orca Awareness Month,” signaling the immediate action needed to recover the critically endangered whales.

NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region applauds the change, and the collaboration between Orca Network and the Orca Salmon Alliance that brought advocates together to take even more action for the Southern Residents.

“Thirteen years ago Orca Network began celebrating Orca Awareness Month in Washington State and had recently expanded to Oregon and British Columbia,” said Cindy Hansen, Education and Events Coordinator for Orca Network. “Also adding to this momentum and expansion has been the partnership with the Orca Salmon Alliance for the past several years. This year we decided that since J35 raised so much awareness with her story, we would change the name from Orca Awareness Month to Orca Action Month.”

Read the full release here

PFMC: Southern Resident Killer Whale Workgroup to Hold Webinars August 6 and September 4, 2019

July 17, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council)  Ad Hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Workgroup (Workgroup) will convene two webinars, which are open to the public.  The first meeting, to be held via webinar, will convene on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), or until business for the day has been completed. The second meeting, to be held via webinar, will convene Wednesday, September 4, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT, or until business for the day has been completed.  These are public meetings and not public hearings.  Public comments will be taken at the discretion of the Workgroup co-chairs as time allows.

Please see the SRKW Workgroup August 5 and September 4, 2019 webinar notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

A public listening station will be provided at the Council office in Portland, Oregon.

For further information:

Task force teams up with Canada for orca solutions

June 21, 2019 — The United States and Canada are working together to save the endangered Southern resident orca.

The Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force met for a second time this year for a review of the successful Legislature season and to discuss the group’s next steps on June 3 in Puyallup. Also, earlier this month, a new orca calf was spotted with J pod, the second baby to be sighted this year.

“A lot of good things have happened,” task force co-chair Stephanie Solien said. “Today is really a day to celebrate.”

There was significant progress made by the Legislature this year, Solien explained, with $933 million in actions passed related to Southern resident recovery.

“This funding is significant and will go a long way to helping in implementing our recommendations. And we thank the Legislature for that,” Solien said.

Solien said there are two more meetings scheduled for the task force, one in September and another in October, after which the group will make more suggestions to Gov. Jay Inslee. Over the summer, workgroups will gather to come up with ideas to present to the group during the September meeting.

Read the full story at The Islands’ Sounder

Whale Watchers Accused Of Loving Endangered Orcas To Death

June 19, 2019 — Whale watching is generally regarded as innocent fun. Unlike an aquarium park, whale watching boats take you to see majestic animals that remain free in their natural habitat.

But when it comes to marine mammals that are already struggling to survive, are the boat-based watching tours really harmless?

That question has become more urgent in Washington state, where Southern Resident killer whales that feed around the San Juan Islands in the summer months have been declining since the 1990s. There are only about 75 left. Orcas are a form of dolphin, though the cetaceans are also sometimes classified as “toothed whales.”

Experts blame the shrinking runs of chinook salmon, the Southern Residents’ preferred meal. (Other kinds of orcas hunt other sea mammals, and are not declining the same way.)

The plight of the Southern Residents gained international attention last summer, when one of the orca females was seen “grieving” for its dead calf, keeping the body afloat for 17 days.

Read the full story at NPR

PFMC: Ad Hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale Workgroup to Meet July 2 and July 23-24

June 11, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Workgroup will convene two meetings, which are open to the public. The first meeting, to be held via webinar, will convene on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), or until business for the day has been completed. The second meeting, to be held in-person, will convene Tuesday, July 23, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.PDT, or until business for the day has been completed. It will continue on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT, or until business for the day has been completed. These are public meetings and not public hearings. Public comments will be taken at the discretion of the Workgroup co-chairs as time allows.

Please see the SRKW July 2019 meeting notice on the Council’s website for full details(both the July 2 webinar and the July 23-24 in-person meeting).

For further information:

Killers and kings: West Coast group intervenes in orca lawsuit

May 31, 2019 — On Wednesday, May 29, the federation, the West Coast’s largest trade organization of small-scale commercial fishermen, filed its opposition to the lawsuit filed in a Seattle federal court lawsuit on April 3, by the Wild Fish Conservancy and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The suit was reportedly filed to protect endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales which eat primarily king salmon, by arguing that their food supply is not well managed. This orca subgroup migrates from California’s coastal waters to Washington’s Puget Sound and into British Columbia. West Coast salmon fisheries outside of state waters are managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which prioritizes sustainability and replenishment.

The suit claims that federally managed ocean salmon fisheries are allowing commercial harvest of the orcas’ food supply, which is contrary to NMFS data and management standards that commercial salmon fisheries have little or no impact on the whales. For many years the council has managed West Coast salmon fisheries to minimize any potential competition between orcas and fishermen, including through a NMFS-approved 2009 biological opinion, which contains various required mitigation measures that further minimize and mitigate impacts to the endangered whales.

“Seafood lovers on the West Coast should be proud of their fisheries management system, which is among the best in the world,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “The Center for Biological Diversity and Wild Fish Conservancy lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service is naïve, counterproductive, and unnecessary. By suing, these two groups instead undermine the extraordinary coalition of scientists, managers, commercial fishermen, and conservationists that has come together to identify the strategies that will be used to recover the Southern Resident Killer Whale population.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman