This interview with Mark Anderson of Friday Harbor is the second in Janet Thomas’ series about Influential Islanders. 1.What brought you to San Juan Island and how long have you lived here? I first came to San Juan to assistant teach at the Friday Harbor Labs under a brilliant scientist, Dr. Peter Hochachka, who had just founded a new field of science called biochemical ecology. I was his Ph.D. student
Lawsuit Stayed As Southern Resident Killer Whale Population Drops SEATTLE― A lawsuit challenging West Coast salmon fishing’s impact on critically endangered orcas was put on hold today after the Trump administration agreed to update its analysis. A federal judge approved the settlement and stayed the case until May 1, 2020, or sooner if the National Marine Fisheries Service completes the new biological opinion that will include mitigation measures. The order
Lawsuit Prompts Consultation to Save Southern Resident Killer Whales PORTLAND, Ore.— Federal, state and tribal fishery managers and experts on critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales begin meeting today to discuss how West Coast salmon fishing is limiting availability of the starving orcas’ main food source. The National Marine Fisheries Service recommended the working group after being put on notice in December that its outdated analysis violated the Endangered Species Act as this
SEATTLE— The Center for Biological Diversity has won a victory in the legal battle to force the Trump administration to protect the West Coast habitat of the last remaining Southern Resident killer whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service has committed to proposing a rule acting on the Center’s 2014 petition for orca habitat protection off Washington, Oregon and California. An expanded designation of critical habitat has to be proposed by early October
Southern Resident Population Drops to 75 as Trump Administration Ignores Fisheries’ Impact SEATTLE— The Center for Biological Diversity and Wild Fish Conservancy sued the Trump administration today for mismanaging West Coast salmon fisheries and harming critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales, a violation of the Endangered Species Act. That orca population has dropped to just 75 individuals, mostly because declining salmon runs have left them without enough to eat. Today’s lawsuit was