SEATTLE — Killer whales that
spend their summers in Puget Sound are a distinct population group and
will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday.
NOAA's
National Marine Fisheries Service spent a year reviewing a petition to
delist the orcas. The petition was brought by the Sacramento-based
Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of California farmers who faced water
restrictions to protect salmon the orcas eat. They argued the Puget
Sound orcas were part of a larger north Pacific population and didn't
qualify for the 2005 endangered species listing.
But NOAA spokesman Brian Gorman said those arguments were rejected.
"We
have decided these killer whales are a distinct population group,"
Gorman said. "They have their own language, own food source. They don't
interbreed with other groups of killer whales. They meet the legal
standard for a distinct population group."
He added officials are continuing to work on recovery plan options.
There are now 82 orcas in three pods — J, K and L — which also spend much of the year in the Pacific off the West Coast.
They
are known as southern resident orcas. Puget Sound also is visited by
so-called transient killer whales that hunt harbor seals.
"It's
great news that Puget Sound's orcas will continue to be protected," said
Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director for the Center for Biological
Diversity in San Francisco.
"It was troubling to even think that the killer whales might have their protections stripped," she said in an email.
The Fisheries Service says there's no new information to make it change its opinion.
"Our
determination that the southern resident killer whale population
constitutes a distinct population segment under the Endangered Species
Act and previous conclusion that the DPS is in danger of extinction and
should retain endangered status all support our finding that the
petitioned action to delist the southern resident killer whale DPS is
not warranted," the service said in its finding.
Despite their
popularity with whale watchers and symbolic value to the region, the
orcas are "not in the best of shape," Gorman said.
Their numbers peaked at close to 100 in the 1990s.
"Water
quality in Puget Sound isn't the best. There's lots of boat traffic,
especially in the summer," Gorman said. "Their food — Chinook salmon are
limited. And that's just in Puget Sound. We have no idea what goes on
in the ocean where they spend most of their time."
A recovery plan
issued in 2008 suggests actions to address threats from pollution,
vessel traffic and noise and a limited food supply, NOAA said in a news
release.
A lawyer for the Pacific Legal Foundation said he'll
check with the family-run farms to decide whether the next step will be a
lawsuit. The Empress Del Bosque and Coburn Ranch farms in the San
Joaquin Valley south of Sacramento might receive no irrigation water
next year in order to help protect salmon in the Sacramento River.
"Although
we disagree with the service, the finding does tee up various issues
that we would like to litigate over," attorney Damien M. Schiff said
Friday.
The main one is the lack of a genetic difference between Puget Sound orcas and others that are not endangered.
"Our
argument is the service is cherry picking to list a population of
species," Schiff said. "You could take any species, and if you focus on a
narrow subset of individuals you could decide they are not doing well
and need protection."
Only by narrowing its focus to these three
pods can the service say it looks like the population is in trouble, he
said.
SEATTLE (AP) Aug 3, 2013— Washington state is getting a new officer — one who will protect and serve killer whales.
Federal funds will allow the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department
to hire an officer to enforce laws protecting Puget Sound orcas.
The National Marine Fisheries Service says the department will use
the $925,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to hire the enforcement officer for three years.
The killer whale cop is expected to spend 500 hours a summer on
marine patrols, investigating violations, and working with other federal
or Canadian agencies and community groups.
The officer will make sure boaters stay at least 200 yards away from
the orcas. They have been listed as an endangered species since 2005,
and NOAA turned down a petition Friday to delist them.