What’s Killing the Southern Residents? SeaDoc Society Reviews…

By Elora West|March 20, 2017|News|

  Food availability, contaminant burden, and noise and vessel stress would all appear to be acting in concert causing the decline of SRKW – according to a recent scientific review from the SeaDoc Society. Written by, Scott West (Orca Relief, Executive Director)   The SeaDoc Society, founded in 1999, conducts and sponsors scientific research in the inland waters of the Pacific Northwest, also known as the Salish Sea. (http://www.seadocsociety.org/) SeaDoc

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Vancouver Park Board votes to end display of cetaceans at aquarium

By srschram|March 13, 2017|News, Whales|

In a unanimous vote, the Vancouver Park Board has decided to change its bylaws to end the display of live cetaceans at the Vancouver Aquarium. The Thursday night vote came at the end of a lengthy, emotional debate that spanned two nights and heard from more than 60 speakers. Ultimately, all seven commissioners voted in favour of a motion to amend bylaws “to prohibit the importation and display” of live

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Acoustics Expert Dr. Christopher Clark to Join Advisory Board of Orca Relief Citizens Alliance: Assisting effort to create new Whale Protection Zone

By Elora West|January 31, 2017|News|

SEATTLE, WA–(Marketwired – January 30, 2017) – Orca Relief Citizens Alliance is honored to have Dr. Christopher Clark, Imogene Johnson Senior Scientist, Cornell University; and Senior Advisor, Planet OS, join its advisory board. Dr. Clark’s expertise in animal acoustic communication, with an interest in the application of advanced acoustic technologies for scientific conservation of endangered species, will be an asset to the board as Orca Relief continues to seek support

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Interview with KOMO Radio News

By Elora West|January 16, 2017|News|

Check out our Executive Director, Scott West, discussing the Whale Protection Zone in an interview with Herb Weisbaum on KOMO Radio, January 16, 2017. The time for a Whale Protection Zone is now. Over 87,000 individuals have signed the Care2 petition since November in support of the WPZ and so can you: click here. We urge everyone to join in the process and let NOAA, NMFS know that there is

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The Whale Protection Zone: Nuts, Bolts, and Support

By Elora West|January 16, 2017|News|

NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has been studying the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) and the issues that haunt them. NMFS has concluded that there are three major impediments to the recovery of the SRKW: food scarcity (primarily Chinook salmon), pollutants in their environment, and noise and harassment from vessels. We at Orca Relief agree that those three issues are significant impediments, but we would add climate change,

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