Fears rise as killer whales mysteriously vanish

Where are Blossom and Splash?

Also identified as J11 and L67, they are two breeding female killer whales that have been added to a growing list of local orcas missing and believed dead this year.

Their disappearances have fanned fears for the future of the southern resident killer whales.

No bodies have been found, but scientists with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island have concluded there are now seven adults and calves unaccounted for, pushing the population that once numbered 200 down to 83.

Southern resident orcas straddle the U.S. border, ranging the waters off B.C.'s south coast through the Gulf Islands to Seattle.

They're among the most researched and watched whales on the planet, all individually identified by numbers and even names based on fin markings.

Observers had already witnessed signs of starvation in the form of an emaciated condition called "peanut head."

And the orcas' plight may be worsening as they head into winter malnourished as a result of this year's dismal salmon returns.

"This is a species that cannot afford to lose one, let alone seven individuals," said Christianne Wilhelmson of the Georgia Strait Alliance.

The whales rely heavily on chinook and chum salmon as their primary food source, she said, but those fish stocks cratered this year.

Six environmental groups have now joined forces to pressure the federal government to take new steps to protect both northern and southern resident orcas in order to comply with Canada's Species At Risk Act.

Rather than issue an order that critical habitat be protected, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued a statement deeming that habitat to already be protected through a variety of existing mechanisms.

Ecojustice, the non-profit group coordinating the challenge, has asked the Federal Court of Canada for a declaration that Ottawa has not adequately met its responsibilities.

Staff lawyer Lara Tessaro said it's a key test of Canada's approach to protecting endangered species.

"If we lack the will to protect killer whales, there's not too many species the government is going to protect," she said.

Tessaro said actions that could aid orcas include naming Marine Protected Areas that limit certain activities, banning military sonar use when whales are present as well as more intensive steps to protect salmon and even allocate part of the runs for orca consumption.

She said Ottawa's powers to authorize habitat destruction, as it has done for the expansion of Deltaport, is an example of the inadequacy of federal orca protection.

The groups also fear the whales' salmon food supply is dwindling due to overfishng, the impacts of fish farming, inland habitat loss and rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.