Saving Seafood

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

WASHINGTON: State legislators fund ‘stakeholder forum’ for orca recovery, dam removal

April 30, 2019 — Conservationists, industry officials and other Snake River “stakeholders” will bring dam breaching to the center of the orca recovery conversation with a $750,000 forum, which received funding in the state Legislature’s budget proposal last weekend.

Proposals to remove the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Lower Granite and Little Goose dams on the Lower Snake River are well-backed by conservationists, who say the move would help restore dwindling salmon and orca populations. However, regional commerce and power industries that rely on the dams have historically opposed the idea. Those opponents say removing the dams would make it impossible to move cargo along the Snake River, and it would reduce the amount of clean energy available in the region.

Inslee’s task force recommended the forum last fall as a way to “proactively identify and detail” a plan for several communities that use the river, should the federal government decide to remove those dams, according to a press release by several fish and orca advocacy groups.

“For decades, our elected officials have avoided the difficult conversations we need to have about the lower Snake River dams and their impact on salmon and orcas,” said Robb Krehbiel, Northwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife and member of the Southern Resident Orca Task Force. “Bringing people together to work collaboratively on solutions that help salmon, orca and our communities is the right next step.”

Read the full story at The Daily News

Should seals and sea lions be killed to help save the orcas?

April 26, 2019 — Seals and sea lions are competing with the Southern Resident killer whales for limited Chinook salmon stock. That has some people calling for a cull where the government would organize the hunting and killing of a certain percentage of sea lions and seals.

Sea lions and seals are often seen as adversaries of fishermen. Last year, more than a dozen sea lions were shot, many in the head, and washed up around Puget Sound; mostly in West Seattle.

A recent paper published by federal scientists shows pinnipeds eat twice as much salmon as Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound, and six times more salmon than recreational and commercial fishermen combined.

It’s created quite the debate over the recovery of Southern Resident killer whales who depend on salmon as their main food source.

Should seals and sea lions be killed to save orcas? The question is complex and scientists don’t all agree. Most aren’t sure if it would work. They’re also turning their attention to what they believe is the preferred prey of pinnipeds: forage fish.

At National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Manchester lab, scientists are studying steelhead migration through Puget Sound.

Read the full story at K5 News

SeaWorld Publishes Decades of Orca Data to Help Wild Whales

April 23, 2019 — The endangered killer whales of the Pacific Northwest live very different lives from orcas in captivity.

They swim up to 100 miles (161 kilometers) a day in pursuit of salmon, instead of being fed a steady diet of baitfish and multivitamins. Their playful splashing awes and entertains kayakers and passengers on Washington state ferries instead of paying theme park customers.

But the captive whales are nevertheless providing a boon to researchers urgently trying to save wild whales in the Northwest.

SeaWorld, which displays orcas at its parks in California, Texas and Florida, has recently published data from thousands of routine blood tests of its killer whales over two decades, revealing the most comprehensive picture yet of what a healthy whale looks like. The information could guide how and whether scientists intervene to help sick or stranded whales in the wild.

Read the full story at NBC Washington