Olympian file photo
Orcas, such as these near the San Juan Islands, could be classified as threatened or endangered.

Pod of orcas in sound eyed for protection

OLYMPIAN STAFF, WIRE REPORTS

Originally published August 8, 2001

Killer whales in Puget Sound will be studied to determine whether they're endangered.

"We take very seriously the recent declines in killer whale populations and are determined to find out what's causing it," said Donna Darm, acting Northwest regional head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The study includes whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound.

A listing under the Endangered Species Act would have little direct impact on the South Sound, where orcas are only occasional visitors, said John Calambokidis, a marine mammal researcher with Cascadia Research of Olympia.

But it could mean increased restrictions on whale-watching -- one of the possible reasons for the whale's decline. A listing might bring additional protection for salmon, on which the orcas prey in Puget Sound, he said.

Cascadia Research is not directly involved in the new studies, but it is monitoring contaminant levels in other marine mammals, Calambokidis said. Another factor in orca decline may be elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls -- a chemical that may be affecting the whales' immune systems and reproductive rates.

Eleven conservation groups filed a petition in May with the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of NOAA, to have the pod of orcas protected.

The whales are moving toward extinction, the conservationists said, citing a decline of more than 15 percent in the past three decades.

An estimated 78 orcas remain in the "southern resident" pod, which spends much of its time in the Strait and in Puget Sound, the federal announcement said.

The National Marine Fisheries Service will begin a formal status review based on the conservation coalition's request. Listing would take another year and could be done by May 2003, the agency said.

Such a listing -- as a threatened or endangered species -- triggers federal rules that protect a creature's habitat and prohibit killings so that numbers increase.

On the Web

Division of Endangered Species: Species Information (endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html)

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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