FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orca Salmon Alliance mourns loss of J50; urges #BoldActionNow
The 15-group coalition urges meaningful, comprehensive, urgent and unified response from all stakeholders and the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force
September 14, 2018
Contacts:
Dr. Deborah Giles, Orca Salmon Alliance, Wild Orca 916-531-1516
Katie Kirking, Orca Salmon Alliance, 509-999-8632
Colleen Weiler, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 810-813-1643
Cindy Hansen, Orca Network 360-223-5666
Seattle, Washington – Today, the Orca Salmon Alliance (OSA), along with all those who love the Southern Resident orcas, deeply mourn the presumed death of J50, also known as Scarlet. As of September 13th, Scarlet had not been sighted with her mother, J16 or other members of her family group for nearly one week. With Scarlet’s presumed death, the Southern Resident orca population stands at just 74 whales in the wild (Tokitae, a member of L pod, has been held in captivity by the Miami Seaquarium since 1970).
Colleen Weiler of Whale and Dolphin Conservation said “Scarlet’s birth came at a time that those who love this unique community of orcas were feeling particularly discouraged, after the tragic death of the charismatic and well-loved Rhapsody (J32). As the first calf in what would become the “baby boom” period during December 2014 and January 2016, she sparked hope amongst orca researchers, advocates and all of us that the decline of the Southern Residents was starting to turn around. Orcas only have about a 50% chance of surviving their first year of life, and as the orcas continued to decline, Scarlet was still here and going strong. With her death, only five of those calves are still alive today. The Center for Whale Research estimates the Southern Residents have at best five years left of reproductive potential; we must act – now. Without more abundant prey and the ability to forage free from noise and disturbance, these
whales will continue their path towards functional extinction.”
“There has been a huge amount of attention focused on the Southern Residents this summer, and Scarlet in particular. Our hearts are broken at the loss of this sweet, energetic young whale. J50 was once dubbed the ‘happiest baby orca on Earth’ after a photo of her seemingly jumping for joy went viral. But, at a time when she should have been fattening up on Fraser River salmon, Scarlet continued to wither away. We call on all stakeholders to come out of their corners and unite behind a bold, creative and comprehensive suite of actions to save these whales from extinction,” said Katie Kirking of the Orca Salmon Alliance. “We appreciate the hard work put in by the chairs of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force convened by Governor Inslee as well as the tone they have set as the immensely complicated discussions regarding how to make the recommendations most likely to save this population from extinction proceed. We hope that stakeholders can move beyond protecting their own interests and preconceived notions to put the needs of the Southern Resident orcas front and center. If we can’t come together now to put the orcas first and develop bold, aggressive, and comprehensive solutions to prevent their decline, we will lose this population. There’s simply no silver bullet. Everyone must give a little in order for us all to take #BoldActionNow to save the whales we love from extinction.”
“The crisis facing the Southern Residents has never been more dire,” said Dr. Deborah Giles, science advisor for the Orca Salmon Alliance. “Unless everyone—and I do mean everyone—steps up to the table with open minds, open hearts, and the willingness to give up something, the functional extinction of these orcas is imminent and likely inevitable. I’ve spent my adult life researching and trying to recover the Southern Residents. It’s hard for me to understand how anyone who loves these whales would oppose anything that could potentially
make even a small impact. From individuals being mindful of how their everyday actions impact orcas to large collective projects to increase prey, restore habitat, eliminate toxics and control vessel traffic, we need to do anything and everything to save them now--before it’s too late.”
Cindy Hansen of Orca Network said: “We just saw an example of bold action. The Canadian Court of Appeal shut down the Trans Mountain Pipeline extension in part because of the impact it will have on the Southern Residents. It’s time for us all to step up and be bold - bold in supporting big actions, and bold in banding together to change how we live our day-to-day lives in ways that could improve conditions for these orcas. The question at this point is, ‘do we truly care about these orcas enough to make the sacrifices necessary to save them?’ I do. The Orca Salmon Alliance does. I desperately hope that enough people, businesses, stakeholders and governmental entities care enough to come together and make the kind of across the board changes and sacrifices necessary to save these whales.”
“Many people are asking what they can do personally”, said Giles. “Right now we need the public to engage in the coming months as the Orca Recovery Task Force finalizes recommendations for action.”
The Orca Salmon Alliance urges all who care about the Southern Residents to join their call for #BoldActionNow and will have information posted on its Facebook page and website on how to engage with the Task Force along with other suggested actions individuals can take to make a difference for the Southern Residents. The Alliance will continue to distribute the “Bold Action Now” ribbons at meetings of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force and will post images of the ribbons on its Facebook page for all to use and share over social media.
“Every little bit counts,” said Kirking. “Big, bold actions need to be taken on every level from our government and all stakeholders to individuals making changes. It takes a village to create change and when many people act, together we can make a difference. We hope all will join us in choosing to be a part of the solution.”
Orca Salmon Alliance was founded in 2015 to prevent the extinction of the Southern Resident orcas by recovering the wild Chinook salmon populations upon which the whales depend for their survival. OSA members include Orca Network, Defenders of Wildlife, Save Our Wild Salmon, Washington Environmental Council, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Endangered Species Coalition, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Puget Soundkeeper, Center for Biological Diversity , Seattle Aquarium , Whale Scout, and Toxic Free Future .
Orca Salmon Alliance mourns loss of J50; urges #BoldActionNow
The 15-group coalition urges meaningful, comprehensive, urgent and unified response from all stakeholders and the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force
September 14, 2018
Contacts:
Dr. Deborah Giles, Orca Salmon Alliance, Wild Orca 916-531-1516
Katie Kirking, Orca Salmon Alliance, 509-999-8632
Colleen Weiler, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 810-813-1643
Cindy Hansen, Orca Network 360-223-5666
Seattle, Washington – Today, the Orca Salmon Alliance (OSA), along with all those who love the Southern Resident orcas, deeply mourn the presumed death of J50, also known as Scarlet. As of September 13th, Scarlet had not been sighted with her mother, J16 or other members of her family group for nearly one week. With Scarlet’s presumed death, the Southern Resident orca population stands at just 74 whales in the wild (Tokitae, a member of L pod, has been held in captivity by the Miami Seaquarium since 1970).
Colleen Weiler of Whale and Dolphin Conservation said “Scarlet’s birth came at a time that those who love this unique community of orcas were feeling particularly discouraged, after the tragic death of the charismatic and well-loved Rhapsody (J32). As the first calf in what would become the “baby boom” period during December 2014 and January 2016, she sparked hope amongst orca researchers, advocates and all of us that the decline of the Southern Residents was starting to turn around. Orcas only have about a 50% chance of surviving their first year of life, and as the orcas continued to decline, Scarlet was still here and going strong. With her death, only five of those calves are still alive today. The Center for Whale Research estimates the Southern Residents have at best five years left of reproductive potential; we must act – now. Without more abundant prey and the ability to forage free from noise and disturbance, these
whales will continue their path towards functional extinction.”
“There has been a huge amount of attention focused on the Southern Residents this summer, and Scarlet in particular. Our hearts are broken at the loss of this sweet, energetic young whale. J50 was once dubbed the ‘happiest baby orca on Earth’ after a photo of her seemingly jumping for joy went viral. But, at a time when she should have been fattening up on Fraser River salmon, Scarlet continued to wither away. We call on all stakeholders to come out of their corners and unite behind a bold, creative and comprehensive suite of actions to save these whales from extinction,” said Katie Kirking of the Orca Salmon Alliance. “We appreciate the hard work put in by the chairs of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force convened by Governor Inslee as well as the tone they have set as the immensely complicated discussions regarding how to make the recommendations most likely to save this population from extinction proceed. We hope that stakeholders can move beyond protecting their own interests and preconceived notions to put the needs of the Southern Resident orcas front and center. If we can’t come together now to put the orcas first and develop bold, aggressive, and comprehensive solutions to prevent their decline, we will lose this population. There’s simply no silver bullet. Everyone must give a little in order for us all to take #BoldActionNow to save the whales we love from extinction.”
“The crisis facing the Southern Residents has never been more dire,” said Dr. Deborah Giles, science advisor for the Orca Salmon Alliance. “Unless everyone—and I do mean everyone—steps up to the table with open minds, open hearts, and the willingness to give up something, the functional extinction of these orcas is imminent and likely inevitable. I’ve spent my adult life researching and trying to recover the Southern Residents. It’s hard for me to understand how anyone who loves these whales would oppose anything that could potentially
make even a small impact. From individuals being mindful of how their everyday actions impact orcas to large collective projects to increase prey, restore habitat, eliminate toxics and control vessel traffic, we need to do anything and everything to save them now--before it’s too late.”
Cindy Hansen of Orca Network said: “We just saw an example of bold action. The Canadian Court of Appeal shut down the Trans Mountain Pipeline extension in part because of the impact it will have on the Southern Residents. It’s time for us all to step up and be bold - bold in supporting big actions, and bold in banding together to change how we live our day-to-day lives in ways that could improve conditions for these orcas. The question at this point is, ‘do we truly care about these orcas enough to make the sacrifices necessary to save them?’ I do. The Orca Salmon Alliance does. I desperately hope that enough people, businesses, stakeholders and governmental entities care enough to come together and make the kind of across the board changes and sacrifices necessary to save these whales.”
“Many people are asking what they can do personally”, said Giles. “Right now we need the public to engage in the coming months as the Orca Recovery Task Force finalizes recommendations for action.”
The Orca Salmon Alliance urges all who care about the Southern Residents to join their call for #BoldActionNow and will have information posted on its Facebook page and website on how to engage with the Task Force along with other suggested actions individuals can take to make a difference for the Southern Residents. The Alliance will continue to distribute the “Bold Action Now” ribbons at meetings of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force and will post images of the ribbons on its Facebook page for all to use and share over social media.
“Every little bit counts,” said Kirking. “Big, bold actions need to be taken on every level from our government and all stakeholders to individuals making changes. It takes a village to create change and when many people act, together we can make a difference. We hope all will join us in choosing to be a part of the solution.”
Orca Salmon Alliance was founded in 2015 to prevent the extinction of the Southern Resident orcas by recovering the wild Chinook salmon populations upon which the whales depend for their survival. OSA members include Orca Network, Defenders of Wildlife, Save Our Wild Salmon, Washington Environmental Council, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Endangered Species Coalition, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Puget Soundkeeper, Center for Biological Diversity , Seattle Aquarium , Whale Scout, and Toxic Free Future .
Scarlet with her mother, J16 (Slick) in January 2015, a month after Scarlet was born.
Image: NOAA/Vancouver Aquarium, taken under research permit.