— by David Neiwert, Crosscut.com —
Vancouver photographer Mark Malleson took this photograph of the Southern Resident killer whale known as J-34, or Doublestuf, breaching while he was in the interior waters of the Salish Sea this spring. It’s a remarkable and frightening photo for orca lovers, because the male orca’s ribs appear to be protruding prominently.
That’s abnormal, especially for a resident killer whale at this time of year, when the orcas are typically well fed after a winter of preying on Chinook salmon. And so Malleson’s photo set off a number of alarm bells in the Northwest whale-watching community as it circulated on social media.
Subsequent photos taken of J-34 and his pod from a scientific drone suggested that, while the whales weren’t particularly plump, their girth was within their normal range. Nonetheless, veteran whale scientist Ken Balcomb is blunt about what he is seeing for the Southern Residents long-term: “These whales are starving,” he says. “There simply aren’t enough salmon out there for them to eat.”
Balcomb and the crew at San Juan Island’s Center for Whale Research have been observing the Southern Residents foraging this winter and spring, and the behavior has been disconcerting: The whales are much more spread out, meaning they are having to forage harder for individual fish. Many of them appear underfed, he says. It’s an especially alarming development following last year’s “baby boom,” in which nine new calves were born into the population, one of whom has apparently already vanished and is presumed dead.
SOURCE and to read more: crosscut.com/2016/06/the-orcas-are-starving/
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Markets ad restaurants are full of salmon. Something has to be done in the commercial fishing industry.
Individually we can stop purchasing or partaking salmon for a year. Pass it on. The orcas are starving. Leave off the salmon while plans and solutions are being made.
Speak up…..no to event banquets, weddings, …
Let’s keep in mind that the current major challenges to this year’s salmon runs can be tied directly to the “blob” of warm water off our coast for last couple of years and low stream flows due to dry and extended summers. There’s natural variability in animal populations. Salmon runs are managed for consistency and to avoid the boom and bust nature of a natural ecosystem, but it still happens. Remember, runs were extremely strong a few years back (and we saw a corresponding boom in perceived health of orcas). Now all that said, it does seem ridiculous that we allow extensive salmon fishing of any kind- commercial or recreational in the Salish Sea. Of course it has an impact, and it might be past time to really adjust to a new reality.
It’s not easy to change food traditions, but it does seem to be a disconnect to go orca whale watching in afternoon, then not think twice about eating salmon in the evening.