2709, 2015

Quiet(er) Marine Protected Areas Needed for Marine Mammals — Soon

By srschram|September 27, 2015|News, Orca, Protection Zone, Salish Sea|

The endangered Southern Resident Orca need more quiet to aid their recovery, and they are not alone.  A new study shows the urgency to protect endangered Southern Resident Orca and other marine mammals from disruptive noise pollution, by identifying and establishing key protection zones where the whales live, socialize, and hunt.  The study shows how to include noise pollution in protection planning for all marine mammals, focusing primarily on areas

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2507, 2015

Stranded killer whale rescued on B.C.’s North Coast

By srschram|July 25, 2015|News, Orca|

From the Vancouver Sun: “When a young orca whale stranded on some jagged rocks on B.C.’s North Coast cried out in pain, Janie Wray felt sorrow run through her whole body. Wray, a member of the environmental research group Whale Point, was among a team of residents and environmental workers who worked desperately for almost nine hours Wednesday to keep the female calf cool and wet before the tide was

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2507, 2015

Ocean-energy project bad for killer whales, B.C. researcher says

By srschram|July 25, 2015|Climate Change, News, Orca, Whales|

From the Vancouver Sun: “A proposed clean-energy project may slow the speed of climate change, but it could also imperil threatened orcas, critics say. Vancouver-based Weyl Power Ltd. — pronounced “wheel,” not “whale” — is eyeing two sites within the Northern resident killer whales’ critical habitat for ocean energy projects. The company has only applied to monitor and investigate the potential of the sites, but a local orca researcher says

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1704, 2015

Orcas Are Shouting Over Boat Noise – And It Might Be Making Them Hungry

By srschram|April 17, 2015|News, Orca, Research|

This research adds to the evidence that a Whale Protection Zone is needed. Orcas Are Shouting Over Boat Noise – And It Might Be Making Them Hungry From KUOW Picture yourself at a noisy bar. You realize that you have been shouting at your date all night in order to be heard. Well, orcas in Puget Sound are in kind of the same situation. Marla Holt, a research biologist with

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0104, 2015

Another Orca Calf Spotted. So How Many Endangered Killer Whales Are There?

By srschram|April 1, 2015|News, Orca, Protection Zone|

According to the Seattle Times, a fourth calf has been identified, potentially raising the population of Southern Resident Killer Whales to 81.  A formal increase in the SRKW population should wait until the July 1 census, but until then we can regard the birth of four new Orca is a hopeful sign.  At the same time, the continued decline of breeding females remains the most serious indication that the Puget

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