— from Dave Pringle for Senator Ranker’s Office —
Sen. Kevin Ranker released a statement [on Friday, August 3] regarding the need for action to protect and recover the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW).
“The past days have been overwhelming with sorrow, anguish and anger. Like you, I have been deeply impacted by the images of the mother with her dead calf.
“It is far past time that we act. The loss of another Southern Resident Killer Whale, the mother’s continued display of grief, and now another young member of J pod facing starvation are all gruesome reminders of the dangerous predicament these magnificent creatures face. Our resident Orca have not had a successful pregnancy in three years. The reality is that these incredible creatures are at extreme risk of becoming extinct. This is not an option. We must do every single thing in our power to reverse this trend.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Ranker: Witnessing extinction is not an option. We must do everything in our power to protect and recover our resident Orca[/perfectpullquote]
“This is exactly why I introduced the Orca Protection Act last session. Many of us in the Senate worked so hard to pass it, but, unfortunately, this critical legislation did not make it to the governor’s desk. Our efforts continue and we are developing new recommendations for the short and long term.
“The Southern Resident Killer Whale task force, on which I serve, is developing recommendations that will come back to the Legislature next year. As a member of that panel, I am doing everything in my power to make sure we produce bold recommendations — recommendations that put aside politics, and in some cases compromise, and purely focus on recovering our resident Orca.
- We must recover their primary food source, Chinook salmon.
- We must prioritize the cleanup of toxins in the Puget Sound.
- We must protect the whales from harassment and noise pollution from vessels.
- We must make sure there is not an oil spill that is the demise of an entire pod as occurred in the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
“Politics as usual is not an option. It will take dedication, resources and political courage to save these whales.
“Witnessing extinction is not an option. The struggle of these creatures is indicative of the struggle of the entire Salish Sea. These magnificent creatures and this incredible place we call home must be protected. These beautiful whales do not get a second chance. We do not get a second chance.”
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” The reality is that these incredible creatures are at extreme risk of becoming extinct. This is not an option. We must do every single thing in our power to reverse this trend.”
THANK YOU AGAIN,SENATOR RANKIN FOR ALL YOU DO FOR US AND ALL CREATION HERE ON ORCAS AND THE SAN JUANS, THE STATE, THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD!!
Best regards,
Frank and Jan Loudin
We have had commissions, partnerships, workgroups, councils, and conferences ad nauseam, for the past 20 years!
The orcas that subsist on Chinook alone appear to be starving. We need to stop all commercial fishing of Chinook to allow the population to recover. Period. (Compensate the commercial fishers and allow small numbers of “recreational” permits.)
Senator, please tell us how we can help!
We survived before chasing these poor creatures became legal…maybe we could try that again….. There are so many better ways to “see” Orcas. Maybe watching a National Geographic video would work.
I’m horrified by the demise of many young orcas. IMMEDIATE ACTION MUST BE TAKEN.
We should contact Mr Pringle for targeted specific action each of us can take to further Senator Ranker’s 4 -point strategy.
i agree with everything Kevin says as well aspeople’s comments but one Source has been overlooked: The naval Maneuvers that torture the Whales with under water unbearable sound. Lest we hear how the Naval Maneuvers are “Keeping America Free”Think Again~
Our resident whales are starving; they eat only salmon. There are no salmon for them. They are being tortured and their eardrums maimed by Navy sonar, which bursts their eardrums (they bleed out through their ears -it makes them prey and destroys their sonar and navigational abilities.) When an orca dies on shore, the Puget Sound is so polluted that people dealing with the poor dead thing have to wear hazmat suits.
We can do something right now about one aspect causing orca extinction: we can ban people chasing, harassing, and surrounding the orcas with boats like some kind of papparazzi. Our local government could ban the practice and levy stiff fines for any infraction. I can think of one particular whale-watch outfit that is so egregious, they should be put out of business immediately. We used to go sit at Limekiln all day if we wanted to see whales; it is a gift to see them – not a “right.”
This is human-caused extinction; there’s no other way to say it. It makes my heart sick that certain of our human species is so selfish and greedy to not stop exploiting wild creatures for profit, and our state government is so selfish and so beholden to fossil fuel interests that they did not unanimously vote to protect our beautiful, intelligent, and iconic orcas. It is so painful to watch their demise and know the cause – us.
Did anyone mention seals, the immense proliferation of seals at the mouths of every river feeding on salmon as they attempt there passage upstream?