Species in the Spotlight Highlights Continued Hardships of Southern Residents
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has released new priority actions for the endangered Southern Resident killer whales (orcas). The purpose of the plan is to outline and prioritize actions by NOAA and its partners to stop the decline of the species and stabilize the population.
The plan is part of NOAA’s “Species in the Spotlight” initiative, which was launched in 2015. The Southern Residents were identified as a priority species because, despite protections under both state and federal law, their population continues to decline. Three primary threats have been identified that affect the population’s recovery; prey availability, high levels of contaminants, and impacts from vessels and underwater noise.
The plan identifies key actions in each of these threat areas that must be taken to stabilize the SRKW population, as well as increasing the information we have surrounding the population’s health and raising awareness about the whales’ recovery needs through outreach and education.
“While we fully agree with NOAA that the Southern Residents are still in dire straits and need an ongoing dedicated effort to prevent their extinction, we are disappointed by the lack of urgency and actions specific to recovery,” said Colleen Weiler, a member of the Orca Salmon Alliance (OSA) and the Jessica Rekos Fellow for Orca Conservation at Whale and Dolphin Conservation. “More of the same will not save the Southern Residents. Many of the actions focus on research and information-gathering. While it is critical to continue monitoring the Southern Residents, without urgent and meaningful actions to meet their needs, we can expect this highly endangered population to continue to decline toward extinction.”
OSA urges NOAA to identify additional actions including specific salmon restoration opportunities, efforts to reduce toxic pollution, ways to better mitigate noise and disturbance, and to provide more information about emergency response plans. OSA further urges the allocation of additional federal funding in FY22 to immediately implement salmon recovery actions throughout the range of the Southern Residents. It is OSA’s hope that increasing the resources dedicated for saving this species and the public’s awareness of their plight will give the Southern Residents a fighting chance.
The Orca Salmon Alliance is made up of 17 member groups who work in tandem to protect and preserve Chinook salmon and the Southern Resident orcas who depend on them as a critical food source. Both of these species face imminent extinction. OSA works to change policies and educate the public on issues impacting these species in order to improve Chinook runs and prevent further decline of the Southern Resident orca population.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has released new priority actions for the endangered Southern Resident killer whales (orcas). The purpose of the plan is to outline and prioritize actions by NOAA and its partners to stop the decline of the species and stabilize the population.
The plan is part of NOAA’s “Species in the Spotlight” initiative, which was launched in 2015. The Southern Residents were identified as a priority species because, despite protections under both state and federal law, their population continues to decline. Three primary threats have been identified that affect the population’s recovery; prey availability, high levels of contaminants, and impacts from vessels and underwater noise.
The plan identifies key actions in each of these threat areas that must be taken to stabilize the SRKW population, as well as increasing the information we have surrounding the population’s health and raising awareness about the whales’ recovery needs through outreach and education.
“While we fully agree with NOAA that the Southern Residents are still in dire straits and need an ongoing dedicated effort to prevent their extinction, we are disappointed by the lack of urgency and actions specific to recovery,” said Colleen Weiler, a member of the Orca Salmon Alliance (OSA) and the Jessica Rekos Fellow for Orca Conservation at Whale and Dolphin Conservation. “More of the same will not save the Southern Residents. Many of the actions focus on research and information-gathering. While it is critical to continue monitoring the Southern Residents, without urgent and meaningful actions to meet their needs, we can expect this highly endangered population to continue to decline toward extinction.”
OSA urges NOAA to identify additional actions including specific salmon restoration opportunities, efforts to reduce toxic pollution, ways to better mitigate noise and disturbance, and to provide more information about emergency response plans. OSA further urges the allocation of additional federal funding in FY22 to immediately implement salmon recovery actions throughout the range of the Southern Residents. It is OSA’s hope that increasing the resources dedicated for saving this species and the public’s awareness of their plight will give the Southern Residents a fighting chance.
The Orca Salmon Alliance is made up of 17 member groups who work in tandem to protect and preserve Chinook salmon and the Southern Resident orcas who depend on them as a critical food source. Both of these species face imminent extinction. OSA works to change policies and educate the public on issues impacting these species in order to improve Chinook runs and prevent further decline of the Southern Resident orca population.