Immediate Release

Orca Relief Salutes Washington State for its Action

SEATTLEâ - April 5, 2004â - Orca Relief (www.orcarelief.org) commends the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission (DFW) for adding the region's orca population to the state list of endangered species. Orca Relief is a non-profit organization dedicated to reversing the population decline of the Southern Resident orcas.

"This decision is long overdue and should eliminate any questions the U.S. federal government has about including Southern Resident orca in the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Canada has already done it, the state of Washington has done it, and it’s now up to the U.S. government to do it," says Mark Anderson, founder of Orca Relief. "We worked hard to help the DFW come to this decision, and we applaud their vision in assisting this endangered population."

Since 1995, the southern resident population of orcas (which spend between six and eight months of the year in the San Juan Islands) has declined by nearly 20 percent.â - During that same period, the number of motorized whale-watching boats in the area has increased dramatically, - reaching up to 140 boats in a single day.

Among the factors cited by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife is the harassment by marine vehicles. Orca Relief commissioned three separate scientific studies that show motorized whale-watching boats may play a primary role in the decline of the southern resident Orca population.

One of the scientific studies was conducted by Dr. Birgit Kriete, who also serves as executive director of ORCA. The Kriete study shows that the whalesâ - energy requirements have increased by almost 20 percent for adult male killer whales compared to the years when no or very few commercial whale watch boats were in operation. This is linked to increased respiration and swimming rates, and increased boat avoidance paths, leading to higher energy requirements.

Another research study done by Dr. David Bain, University of Washington, indicates motorized boats at current guideline distances may degrade Orca sonar efficiency by 95-99 percent.

The third study, conducted by U.W.†researchers Glenn VanBlaricom and Carlos Alvarez-Flores, shows a strong statistical correlation between whale population decline and boat activity.

Orca Relief Citizens' Alliance (ORCA) was founded in 1997 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Orca Relief was formed to focus specifically on ascertaining the causes of Orca mortality, and in reducing this death rate. Orca Relief believes that orca, as one of the largest of the toothed whales, represent an excellent opportunity to learn more about brains larger than ours. Orca Relief also believes that the Puget Sound populations are most likely to provide that knowledge.

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Press Contact: Melissa Milburn, Orca Relief, 206-972-9096

ORCA RELIEF CITIZENS' ALLIANCE
P.O. Box 1969 | Friday Harbor, WA | 98250 | Phone: (360) 370-5554 | Fax: (360) 378-7041
email: info@orcarelief.org

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