1907, 2019

Administration Agrees to Revisit Ocean Salmon Fishing Impact on Endangered West Coast Orcas

By srschram|July 19, 2019|Orca, Orca Relief, Press Releases, Puget Sound, SRKWs|

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

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2806, 2016

NOAA Killer Whale patrols begin in San Juan Islands

By srschram|June 28, 2016|News, Orca, Puget Sound, Salish Sea|

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) will soon begin seasonal summer patrols in Haro Strait around Washington’s San Juan Islands.  Officers will be enforcing special Federal regulations designed to protect endangered Southern Resident killer whales by keeping boat traffic at a safe distance from the whales. This is the sixth year implementing NOAA Fisheries’ regulations that require whale watching vessels and most other vessels to remain at least 200 yards

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0412, 2015

New Puget Sound climate study: Older projections coming true, more changes ahead

By srschram|December 4, 2015|Climate Change, Puget Sound|

Closer to home than the thousands of world leaders in Paris to discuss how to limit the scale of human-caused global warming, the consequences of climate change underway around Puget Sound have been detailed in an in-depth scientific study. The report, issued in November [https://cig.uw.edu/resources/special-reports/ps-sok/] by the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group, found projections in a 2005 study on potential warming effects have come to pass, its authors said.

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0801, 2015

Do local orcas need a room of their own?

By srschram|January 8, 2015|News, Orca, Protection Zone, Puget Sound|

From Crosscut: “The orca iconography in Puget Sound tourist gift shops borders on sappy, but for those lucky enough to have seen an orca in the flesh, the love of these whales is not so hard to understand. Yet the whale tourism industry may also come with a darker side: Are we literally loving the Southern Resident killer whales to death?” Read the complete article

0912, 2014

Activist group calls for San Juan whale protection zone

By srschram|December 9, 2014|News, Orca, Protection Zone, Puget Sound|

From MyNorthwest.com: Activists are calling for a limited, whale protection zone off San Juan Island to help the declining local population of endangered orcas. The protection zone could include a no-wake speed limit to cut noise and discourage whale watching boats that sometimes pursue orcas. “They need more chance to rest and to socialize in a quieter environment,” said Bruce Stedman, executive director of Orca Relief Citizens Alliance. “But particularly,

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