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NOAA: local orcas endangered

Washington killer whales spending much of their winter in California waters

K and L-pod off Monterey over the weekend, new baby confirmed among them

posted 03/27/07
PRESS RELEASE: Two pods of Southern Resident Killer whales continued their "Spring Break" this past weekend, and were photographed off central California March 24-25. Nancy Black, of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, reported up to 60 killer whales in Monterey Bay over the weekend, and there was one very new baby among them.

Based on photographs provided to the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor both K-pod and L-pod were present during the encounters over the weekend, and the new calf was confirmed to be in L-pod. J-pod, meanwhile, was sighted in Haro Strait the same day the K’s and L’s were reported in California.

This past Fall the Southern Residents population dropped to 85 following the loss of three adult whales and two calves born in 2006. If the new calf — along with all the other members of the Southern Residents — survives to summer, the population would increase to 86.

"We’re very interested in keeping good track of these whales," says Ken Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research. "If the whale’s presence is any indication of prey availability, coastal California stocks of Chinook salmon (O. tsawytscha) are, as expected, increasingly important to the survival of these endangered whales and they may provide their only hope of avoiding extinction."

Over the past several months — and increasingly over the past seven winters — Southern Resident Killer whales from Washington have been seen off California. On January 24 of this year, K-pod was sighted off the Farrallon Islands near San Francisco. Then on March 18, whale-watchers sighted members of L-pod off Fort Bragg California. Now this latest encounter off Monterey California with both the K and L-pods suggests that the whales have been off the California coast much of the winter.

The last autumn encounter in Washington waters with the K and L-pods was October 23, 2006. The recent sightings off California add to a growing body of evidence that the Southern Residents are traveling hundreds of miles from their summer feeding areas in coastal waters of Washington state and lower British Columbia in search of food.

"Chinook salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest from the Columbia River to Puget Sound and southern British Columbia are in serious trouble from habitat destruction, over-fishing, and dams," says Balcomb. "These Pacific Northwest Chinook stocks cannot in the foreseeable future provide adequate year-round food for the whales or for commercial or sport fisheries. Hence, it appears the whales have moved to ‘greener pastures’ off California for the winter months in recent years.

"Salmon recovery throughout the whales’ habitat range is essential for their long-term survival, and for viable commercial and sport fisheries. Bravo to Governor Schwarzenegger and the State of California for setting aside large parcels of ocean for salmon recovery. It should be a priority for everyone, and the entire coastal marine ecosystem is at stake."

K-pod killer whales sighted off San Francisco

Sept. 2 photo of K20 (born 1986) traveling with her calf K38 (born 2004) in the San Juan Islands. Photo copyright Center for Whale Research www.whaleresearch.com

On January 24, 2007 a pod of "Endangered" Pacific Northwest Killer Whales was sighted along the coast of California just off San Francisco. The whales made an appearance near the W Buoy at approximately 1 p.m. and were later identified as members of the K-pod, as they're commonly referred to by whale researchers in Washington State.

Following the chance encounter, photos were provided by California whale researchers to experts at the Center for Whale Research, based in Friday Harbor. The Center for Whale Research has maintained a continuous and comprehensive photo-identification study of the Pacific Northwest Killer whale pods for 30 years.

In several photos taken during the encounter scientists were able to positively identify an individual female known to researchers as K20, traveling with her 3-year-old offspring, K38, born in 2004. Researchers believe that members of the L-pod were also likely to be in the vicinity based on observer reports from just a little over a week earlier when killer whales were sighted in Half Moon Bay.

The whales are members of two of the three pods of whales referred to as the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population. These whales attract whale-watchers and coastal residents to the San Juan Islands every summer with their predictable arrival following vast schools of salmon enroute to northwest rivers to spawn.

In recent years, reports of Pacific Northwest pods traveling to the California coast during the winter months have been on the increase. These forays into California waters are directly related to their search for salmon, the mainstay of their diet. As salmon stocks dwindle in various parts of their historic range - and fisheries managers fret over conflicts of dividing the harvest and restoring threatened and endangered populations of these fish - the whales have extended their travels to include coastal Oregon and California.

"How do we bring about the recovery of a prey species (salmon) and its natural predator species (killer whales) at the same time?" asks Ken Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research. "It seems a conundrum."

The SRKW population has declined precipitously in the recent decade, and five more went "missing" in late 2006 just before leaving the Pacific Northwest for their winter journey. Winter is the season that scientists generally expect to have whales go missing, that are then logged as deaths, according to the Center for Whale Research.

In February 2006, NOAA Fisheries declared the SRKW's population "Endangered", and now it is attempting to determine the habitat range that must be protected to ensure their survival.

"The coast of Central California is obviously within the SRKW habitat range," says Balcomb, "and the salmon stocks from the Sacramento and San Juaquin River systems are among their prey." Fish scale sampling in other regions following predation by the whales has revealed that Chinook salmon are preferred, though other species are taken at times.

"The recent forecast for harvest of Chinook salmon totaled about 600,000 south of Eureka, 30,000 north of Eureka to southern Oregon, and 300,000 from southern Oregon to the Canada border," explains Balcomb. "That adds up to a lot of fish, and a lot of money for fishermen, but we must keep in mind that the SRKW's need salmon, too. They are the 'competition', but they cannot be blamed for fish population declines. In the natural scheme of things they consume a small percentage of the available prey population, and then move on."

According to Balcomb, the sighting and photo-documentation of SRKW's off San Francisco demonstrates at least three important things:

1) SRKW seasonal habitat usage now regularly includes the coast of California;

2) it indicates the presence of significant numbers of Chinook salmon off the coast of California; and

3) the young mother photographed has successfully reared her calf for a third year, giving some hope that the SRKW population can increase again if there is enough food.

"The whales are not pets," says Balcomb, "but like pets, you cannot keep them if you don't feed them."

"These Famous Killer Whales are probably better known than any other marine mammal," adds Balcomb, "and we are seeking the public's help with sightings and photographs anywhere along the Pacific coast to better document their habitat range."

In the coming months, prior to the SRKW's return to the Pacific Northwest, experts from the Center for Whale Research will be traveling the coast of Oregon and northern California in search of the whales as they move north.

To aid in their search, the Center for Whale Research is asking for the public's help. Please report Killer Whale sightings by calling toll-free 1-(866)-ORCANET (672-2638). For more information about the Pacific Northwest Killer Whales visit www.whaleresearch.com.

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