Killer Whale Protection

Feds boost protection for killer whales after being sued

The federal government is making it illegal to damage the habitat of critically endangered killer whales off the coast of B.C. — and a coalition of environmental groups is taking credit. The government issued an order under the Species at Risk Act this week that legally protects the areas where northeast Pacific northern and southern resident populations of killer whales live. It also enhances the government's ability conduct inspections and investigations and fine parties who damage those areas, although it does not include specifics about what would constitute damage. A coalition of environmental groups says a lawsuit they launched in October, which alleges the government failed to protect killer whales' habitat as required by law, prompted the government to issue the order on Monday. Jay Ritchlin, director of marine and freshwater conservation at the David Suzuki Foundation, one of the groups involved in the case, said he is glad the federal government has now decided to take this step. "And we're looking forward to a time when they do so without having to be sued first," he said in a statement. The order is the first ever made under the 2004 Species at Risk Act. It came after the government stated in September that it would rely on existing legislation to protect the killer whales. That prompted nine environmental groups represented by Lara Tessaro, a lawyer with the environmental law group Ecojustice Canada, to file the lawsuit against the government.

Review prompted order: official

Pardeep Ahluwalia, director general of the species at risk management program at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said government has reviewed the killer whale protection policy it issued in the fall, taking into account comments from stakeholders, including environmental groups. "We thought we could do better and so the protection order that we published this week was in response to our review," Ahluwalia said. "It's hard to say whether or not that [lawsuit] influenced our decision." Such reviews are standard when the government is working with new legislation such as the Species at Risk Act, he said. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans resident killer whale recovery team, the animals are threatened by declining salmon stocks, increased boat traffic, toxic contamination, and loud underwater noises from dredging. Recent counts show 85 individuals remain in the southern population and around 245 in the northern population.

The nine groups involved in the lawsuit are:

* Dogwood Initiative.
* Environmental Defence.
* David Suzuki Foundation.
* Raincoast Conservation Society.
* Sierra Club BC.
* International Fund for Animal Welfare.
* Greenpeace.
* Georgia Strait Alliance.
* Wilderness Committee.

Tessaro said Wednesday that while she is pleased with the government's order, she won't immediately drop the lawsuit. She wants to see the final, more detailed version of the order that is to be published in the Canada Gazette on March 4 and then consult with her clients before taking that step. "I'm quite sure that this lawsuit is what forced DFO to issue this order," she said. Environmental groups are now hoping the government is serious about enforcing the new protection for killer whales and will follow up with similar orders for other endangered species, Tessaro said. "What this means for the whales is that no longer is their survival and recovery going to be dependent on old laws like the Fisheries Act or unenforceable policies," she said. "Endangered species in Canada are endangered because their habitat is being degraded. Orders protecting their habitat are fundamental if we're going to ensure that these species survive and recover."

AMR

Faith - L57

Faith has been determined as missing by the Center for Whale Research. A recent CWR superpod encounter near Victoria revealed the 31 year old adult male missing and two new babies one in L and J pods each bringing the total for the population to 85 whales. This population is usually off Monteray Bay, CA, at this time of year. Faith is the last member of the L45 matriline. His mother L45 died in 1995 at the age of 57 years old. Faith was her only surviving offspring, his sibling L36 was born two years earlier but died later that same year in 1975. Faith's uncle died, at the age of 19, the same year L57 was born in 1977. The average life span for male resident killer whales is 29 years of age, but they can live longer. Ruffles is the oldest living male southern resident at 58 years of age.

Faith on the left (Haro Striat superpod,12:09 August 27, 2006)

Faith (L&J pods at San Juan Island, 12:35 June 23,2006)

Ocean Noise 2008 Science

Behavioral impacts clearly replaced strandings and deaths as the key issue for marine mammals encountering human noise. Several studies released during 2008 all suggest that whales of many species may stop or reduce their feeding when moderate to loud human sounds enter their habitat, and this particular impact is likely to become a central focus of future research and regulatory consideration.

The legal tussles over mid-frequency and low-frequency active sonars continued, and the Supreme Court decision does not put an end to the controversy. The Navy crossed an important threshold, completing full Environmental Impact Statements for their sonar training procedures for the first time; the lack of sufficient NEPA analysis was the root of most of the legal challenges. The plans they are putting forward to govern sonar training off most of the US coastline continue to rely on safety measures that Federal Courts have found wanting, though it appears that challenges to their proposals are more likely to focus on avoiding biologically important areas than increasing the safety zones that are designed to avoid injury. All parties seem to be accepting that gross injury is rare to the point of being difficult to use as a lever to shift the balance of interests with the Navy’s national security imperative, but NGOs, many field researchers, and agency staff are all looking more closely at the behavioral impacts that take place at much longer ranges (up to several or even tens of kilometers). The next round of Navy sonar conflicts will center on how willing the Navy is to consider these subtler impacts, and whether NMFS or the courts will impose broader territorial restrictions on sonar training to protect areas where whales may be more susceptible to repeated disruption by sonar transmissions.

Shipping noise is moving very quickly to the forefront of international concerns about rising ocean noise. This year the US, with strong German support, initiated a two-year process at the International Maritime Organization to come up with ship quieting recommendations. Also, the unusual sensitivity of harbor porpoises to boat noise has become clearer.

PDF

Acoustic Ecology Institute

January Sunsets

Dolphins, whales lack protection from fishing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration has failed to provide protections required by law to more than a dozen marine mammals potentially at risk of death or injury due to commercial fishing, congressional investigators said Wednesday.

The report by the Government Accountability Office assessed the National Marine Fisheries Service, which identifies potentially endangered animals such as whales and dolphins that can become entangled in fishing gear or lobster traps. It found that out of 30 marine mammals deserving protection under federal guidelines, the agency had failed to set up teams of experts to provide protection for 14 of them.

According to the GAO, the fisheries service was generally aware it needed to take protective measures for the additional mammals, which included the Hawaiian stock of false killer whales and the Central North Pacific stock of humpback whales. But it had not done so because officials said they either had faulty data and lacked money to obtain better information, or believed factors other than commercial fishing were to blame.

The GAO also said the fisheries service generally lacked a "comprehensive strategy" for assessing the effectiveness of its animal protection measures and often missed deadlines to set up teams and devise safety plans.

The report urged Congress to have the fisheries service report on any data limitations. Lawmakers should also consider steps to ensure the agency complies with federal law, it said.

The fisheries service "faces a very large, complex and difficult task in trying to protect marine mammals from incidental mortality and serious injury during the course of commercial fishing operations," investigators wrote.

The GAO report comes a day after President George W. Bush designated what he called "three beautiful and biologically diverse areas of the Pacific Ocean" as national marine monuments in what was the largest marine conservation effort in history. Bush used his announcement to broadly defend his environmental record.

"For an administration that is desperately trying to create a legacy of ocean stewardship before leaving office, it is disappointing to hear that they have dropped the ball on reducing incidental deaths of mammals due to commercial fishing," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va. He is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which requested the GAO report.

Associated Press

Copy of GAO
report

Xmas 2008

Tobogganing in the Sooke Hills, music by Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

Puget Sound Researchers Find Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Orcas

Puget Sound's orcas collectively harbor more than a dozen different kinds of antibiotic-resistant bacteria — as well as other bacteria known to kill animals that are in a weakened condition, according to Puget Sound researchers. Independent researchers David Bain, a biologist, and Pete Schroeder, a veterinarian, have been studying the droplets emitted from Puget Sound whales' blow holes and culturing the samples. Their research, discussed this week at a meeting about recent orca deaths, found at least two groups of bacteria known to cause death in immune-compromised individuals. The findings add to other studies that show the orcas, possibly weakened by toxic chemicals in their environment and a salmon shortage, could be wiped out in a catastrophic event — such as an oil spill or disease. Some say a loss of a third or more of the 83 orcas alive today could trigger a death spiral for the entire population. And it's not just the whales that are at risk. "If these things are getting into whales, then they could be getting into swimmers at the beach," Bain said. Because some bacteria show resistance to antibiotics, it is likely that they are coming from human sources, possibly stormwater or improperly treated sewage. Another concern is that a disease could get into animals on land and spread to Puget Sound. "We don't have an effective barrier to keep it out of the marine environment," Bain said. "It is possible that someone could bring a disease from another continent and expose the whales, causing a significant decline in their population.

For example, a fungus called cryptococcus gattii has been implicated in the deaths of dozens of harbor porpoises in the Northwest, he said. That same fungus has resulted in the deaths of numerous pets and serious illness for humans. Some researchers believe the fungus was brought to British Columbia in a eucalyptus tree from Australia, where the fungus is native. Spores may have washed into stormwater flowing into the Georgia Basin, which connects with Puget Sound. Nobody can say whether the seven deaths of orcas this year were connected to cryptococcus or any other organism, because none of the carcasses were found. Researchers did obtain a blubber sample of one emaciated whale that later disappeared. They are waiting for test results to see if a cause of death can be determined. "One thing we want to learn," said Bain, "is whether there is a correlation between the number of species (of bacteria) and the mortality rates of the whales," he said. In other words, are the individuals with a greater bacterial load at greater risk of getting sick and dying? Schroeder, a marine mammal veterinarian, said two groups of bacteria found by the researchers are of great concern. They are the Vibrios and Claustridiums, which are known to cause death in immune-compromised individuals. "The same biological rule holds true in people and in animals," he said. "You can carry these pathogens around, but they have to get into your system through an open wound. Even then, you might fight them off if your immune system is in good shape." One concern for the orcas, however, is that they contain some of the greatest concentrations of toxic chemicals of any marine mammals in the world. The chemicals include polychlorinated biphenyls, believed to impair the immune system. Another factor that could weaken the whales is a shortage of salmon, which can cause them to use up their fat reserves in search of food. Lack of salmon has been mentioned frequently as a likely factor in the seven recent deaths. Bain, Schroeder and their colleagues in British Columbia have not found major changes in the bacteria they discovered during their three-year study of the Puget Sound whales, known as Southern Residents.

They would like to continue the research, which is funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and include Northern Residents, a related group of orcas in British Columbia. Schroeder said the bacterial counts in water and orcas could become an important indicator of ecosystem health. One reason he and Bain have begun talking about their unpublished research is to get the attention of the Puget Sound Partnership, which is putting together an Action Agenda for restoring Puget Sound. "My standpoint as a veterinarian is that I want to find out if we can prevent these animals from becoming ill," Schroeder said. "If we identify enough of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria, we can start source studies." Tracking the bacteria to their sources — possibly sewage-treatment plants, boat discharges and urban stormwater — could be the key to reducing the orca's exposure to the dangerous pathogens, Schroeder said. Sewage from the city of Victoria is released practically untreated into waters not far from where the whales spend much of their summers. "That," said Schroeder, "is the elephant in the room." Treating the whales for illness is beyond the realm of current research. Schroeder has worked with whales and dolphins in captivity where blood tests reveal the health of an individual. In wild "herd animals," such as orcas, signs of illness may go unrecognized until an individual is so ill that it drops out of its group. If a wild whale could be diagnosed in time, Bain said it could open the door to using the appropriate antibiotics to treat the disease and reduce the risk of wiping out the entire population. That level of manipulation is sure to generate controversy. But knowing that the orcas are surrounded by unnatural bacteria, as well as a variety of man-made chemicals, could change management goals for saving the whales.

source - Kipsap Sun

Help stop the expansion of unsustainable salmon-farming practices in B.C.

photo - Rachael Griffin

Click Here - to Help stop the expansion of unsustainable salmon-farming practices in B.C.


photo - Rachael Griffin

BC: Save Wild Salmon, Save Orcas

Now Public

Anemones

IMGP3499, originally uploaded by Aqua Green.

Aggregated - Arbutus Bay

Rainbow

San Juan Island

Bald Eagle & Blue Heron

83 Southern Residents

photo - L67/Splash by Rachael Griffin

There were seven losses to the southern resident killer whale community of BC this year leaving a total of 83 animals. Those lost include Splash/L67 (23 year old), Luna's mom and little brother Aurora/L101 (6 years old). Lummi/K7 was the oldest female (98 years old) of the population and was noted missing at the beginning of the season. Ankh/L21 a 58 year old female is among the missing and Blosson/J11 a 36 year old female. The calf born in June this year K42 is still surviving however the other calf born this year in August L111 is missing as is J43 a calf born last year. This is very discouraging as the community is endangered and many of the whales are looking like they are malnourished showing a distinctive 'peanut head' when starved apparently due to low Chinook fish stocks.

photo - L67/Splash by Rachael Griffin

Tofino

Sombrio Beach Grey Whales

Two grey whales were feeding near Sombrio Beach during our stay from August 29 to September 2, 2008.

New calf in L pod!

photo - L7/Canuck - L pod member

New L pod calf L111, discovered on August 12, 2008, born to L47. Researchers photographed fetal folds indicating a very recent birth. L47 was witnessed on August 11th without a calf further indicating a birth date of August 12th. This is the sixth calf for L47, L111 joins sisters L91/Muncher and L83/Moonlight who had her own son this time last year, L110. Last year L pod had 43 members, the Center for Whale Research (CRW) has yet to officially confirm two missing members making this a very important birth for L pod.

CWR photos

See and Hear Orcas!

You can hear the underwater calls of the same killer whales you view remotely on the live OrcaCam!

Orca Cam

Orca Sounds - click on "Listen to OrcaSound on San Juan Island"

K7 - Lummi - presumed dead

K7, known as Lummi, the oldest whale in the southern resident killer whale community is presumed to have died since she has not returned to her summer home this year. She was estimated to be born in 1910 making her the age of 98 this year. She gave birth to three whales in her life time, two males and one female. The sons of Lummi are no longer alive, K1 was born in 1955 and died in 1997, K2 was born in 1953 and died in 1974. In 1933 Lummi gave birth to a female K11 who is still alive with one offspring, three grand children and two great grand children.

Center for Whale Research

Save the Streams - Brochure