Saving Seafood

Endangered orcas get new protection from US government

August 2, 2021 — Endangered killer whales received new habitat protections from the U.S. government Friday.

The National Marine Fisheries Service finalized rules to expand the Southern Resident orca’s critical habitat from the Canadian border down to Point Sur, California, adding 15,910 square miles (41,207 square kilometers) of foraging areas, river mouths and migratory pathways.

Seattlepi.com reports that the total protected area now encompasses more than 18,000 square miles (46,620 square kilometers).

“These critically endangered orcas are finally getting the federal habitat protections they desperately need,” said Julie Teel Simmonds, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Events, fisheries proposal keep endangered orcas in the spotlight

June 14, 2021 — While endangered Southern Resident orca whales found in the Salish Sea are rarely seen by the average person, the species continues to be in the spotlight.

Several organizations are holding events throughout June to celebrate Orca Action Month, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries is gathering input on several plans that could shape efforts to protect and understand the species.

Regional wildlife photographer Bart Rulon showcased the species with several of his photos during a Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group event held online Thursday.

Rulon and others who spend significant time on the water have seen the orcas interact with their families, their food and other wildlife including harbor porpoises.

He shared photos of one mother-son duo routinely seen together, from the time the son’s dorsal fin was small next to his mother’s, to now, with the full-grown son dwarfing his mother thanks to male orcas’ larger size.

Read the full story at The Columbian

Studies give insight on plight of orca whales

December 30, 2019 — Two studies and a state report released this month build on the efforts to understand what’s impacting the region’s endangered Southern Resident orca whales and what steps could be taken to help save them.

Researchers and wildlife managers have for years suggested that the Southern Resident orcas, which spend several months of the year in the Salish Sea and coastal waters of Washington, are struggling to find large, nutrient-rich chinook salmon to eat.

Studies recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggest the Southern Resident orcas are competing with other fish-eating orca populations of the North Pacific Ocean and that orca calves born to families without grandmothers have a lesser chance of finding chinook to eat and surviving to adulthood.

Meanwhile, a draft state report released Dec. 20 concludes it’s not clear whether a move long called for by environment and wildlife groups – to remove dams on the lower Snake River – would significantly boost the number of fish available to the region’s orcas.

Removing four dams on the lower Snake River in southeast Washington, where it curves from the Idaho border toward the Oregon border, could improve conditions in the river system for salmon, according to the report.

Read the full story at The Spokesman-Review

Will cutting salmon out of our diets save the Puget Sound orcas?

August 29, 2019 — Salmon is a popular food in the Pacific Northwest for humans and orcas alike. But, the Southern Resident Orcas are struggling with their sole food source, Chinook Salmon, getting smaller and smaller.

With that in mind, is it still a good idea for us to consume fish? Will cutting salmon out of our diets help our orca population rebound?

Ray Hilborn is a professor at the University of Washington’s University of School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. His research focuses on ways to best manage fisheries to provide sustainable benefits to human society.

“In general, fisheries have quite a bit lower environmental impact than livestock, and even with respect to crops, many fisheries look very good compared to crops,” said Hilborn.

Read the full story at K5 News