||| FROM SHARON GRACE |||
Do Southern Resident Killer Whales have inherent rights? Port Townsend, Gig Harbor, and Langley think so. They have adopted a proclamation that describes their support for action by local, state, federal and tribal governments to secure the inherent rights of the Southern Resident Orcas.
The proclamation states:
The rights of the Southern Resident Orcas include, but are not limited to, the right to life, autonomy, culture, free and safe passage, adequate food supply from naturally occurring sources and freedom from conditions causing physical, emotional or mental harm, including a habitat degraded by noise, pollution and contamination.
Should San Juan County be the first county to adopt a similar proclamation, since we enjoy the considerable social, cultural and economic benefits of the waters surrounding us that are called the summer home of the Southern Resident orcas?
Or should the Southern Resident orcas be treated as an economic resource, often to be exploited, without a right to exist on their own? Or put another way, do Southern Resident orcas have inherent value, or do they simply exist for our use?
Is a proclamation symbolic only? Perhaps not. If the Southern Residents’ inherent rights were recognized, would the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have approved a request from the Navy for military exercises that potentially could harm, kill, or “take” 51 Southern Residents per year?
If the Southern Residents inherent rights were recognized, would the Pacific Fishery Management Council be recommending that the periodically starving orcas’ hard-fought-for food allotment be decreased this year from 966,000 salmon to 633,000?
And for the doubters. No, the proclamation won’t give the Southern Resident orcas the ability to do things like vote, appear in court, or get a driver’s license. These are all human conventions. Just like we are not able to swim 35 miles per hour, breach high out of the water, or shut down half of our brain to sleep. These are Southern Resident conventions.
Protecting the orcas is not a zero sum game. Protecting their environment protects our environment. Adopting the proclamation can be a win for all.
If you want San Juan County to be the first county to proclaim that Southern Resident orcas have inherent rights, please contact the San Juan County council members and let them know. Cindy Wolf—cindyw@sanjuanco.com or 360-370-7477, Christine Minney— christinem@sanjuanco.com or 360-370-7478, Jane Fuller— janef@sanjuanco.com or 360-378-2898.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
Thank you for for this insightful, and bold call to action. What you have to say really makes me think. It touched me. It would seem that all creatures should have inherit rights. I wonder if by securing the local pod’s rights (even symbolically), if it might help support the release of whales being held in captivity that are also from our local pod? Our native brothers and sisters revere these creatures and treat them as relatives. Perhaps instead of just opening the county council meetings with a verbal acknowledgement of the tribal peoples and their ancestral past, (here where we now live instead), why don’t we take it a step further by acknowledging their kinship with these orcas by securing the local orcas’s inherit rights as outlined by Sharon?
The good people of Port T. and Sharon Grace raise an interesting question, but they have left out some key information. Arguably, the SRKW already have the rights outlined in the proclamation under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, including total protections, prohibitions against “taking,” designations of so-called “critical habitat,” and much more. The debate rages on, of course, over the adequacy of our government’s response under these laws. But the whales enjoy standing under these laws and the laws are totally enforceable in courts of law. In my view, if San Juan County wants to establish something on the cutting edge, let’s proclaim rights for the “marine ecosystem of the Salish Sea.” The SRKW have a head start, so why stop there. Let’s do this right.
Yes definitely. They are elders very wise and looked on as family by First Nations people. They should be looked after accordingly. Not just dismissed as mere animals. These are sentient beings who have a whole cortex of the brain which we don’t have which processes emotions and is to do with strong family bonds and sharing and understanding and empathy. They also have a larger neo cortex than humans. We need to help them not to starve no fish, no blackfish. We won’t otherwise have them this big gift that we have anymore and it will be our loss.
Toby, my understanding is other protections like the ESA only go so far and up to certain thresholds to prevent jeopardy and such. Yes on rights for the whole Salish Sea and that rights for the Southern Residents can help get us there.
Responses to a letter regarding our recent power outages included Mr. Wood’s advocacy of a variety of micro generation potentials including tidal generation for our island county. How would / could that be reconciled with the free and unimpeded movement of brother Orca and sister Salmon?
As Ms. Bailey noted, “Every action we take can have unintended consequences – because it’s all connected; we’re all connected. I think of all the ideas presented, Ken Wood’s make the most sense.”