— from Michael Milstein, Public Affairs Officer, NOAA Fisheries —
NOAA Fisheries is taking steps to further assess an endangered Southern Resident killer whale that appears to have a salmon lure hanging from its mouth.
The whale, J39, is a 12-year-old male in the J-pod, the second-largest of three Southern Resident pods and known for frequenting the west side of San Juan Island. The whale does not appear to have been obviously injured by the salmon lure, known as a flasher, which may be attached to a barbless hook.
NOAA Fisheries will provide additional interim funding to the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor to further monitor the whale, which will help assess the impacts of the lure and possible means of addressing the situation.
Barbara Bender of All Aboard Sailing photographed the lure on J39 on Saturday, Aug. 1, near False Bay. The photographs were shared with Orca Network, which forwarded the information to NOAA Fisheries.
“We’re obviously very concerned about the lure and how it might affect J39’s feeding and behavior,” said Lynne Barre, protected resources branch chief in NOAA Fisheries’ Seattle office. “We appreciate the reports from whale watchers who first noticed this and we will work with our partners on the water to watch J39 carefully.”
NOAA Fisheries officials believe the lure may come loose on its own, especially if it is attached to a barbless hook. But biologists will also use observations and photographs collected by the Center for Whale Research to consider what other options may be available to assist the whale.
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Just for people information: All boats when whales are present are supposed to be 200 yards distance away from whales and on the west side of S.J. Is. it is 1/4mile off shore when whales are present. But all the fishing boats do not follow those rules and it seems enforcement is only looking at Whale watching boats, not fishing boats. We need to support these rules for all boaters, kayaks, paddle boarders not just commercial tour operators . Fishing boats pose a much greater threat as we can see here with poor J-39.