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.
donderdag 30 oktober 2008
When the last whale is gone
The news that killer whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca are dying of starvation should surprise no one (Killer Whales Disappearing Off Southern B.C. - Oct. 29). Their chief food source is chinook salmon, which marine biologist Alexandra Morton warned recently were in danger of being wiped out by the sea lice transferred by Atlantic salmon in fish farms.
This impending extinction could be avoided, were the government to order fish farming into enclosed tanks on land, as has been recommended by numerous scientific and environmental authorities, numerous times. When the last whale is gone, and the last salmon run fails to return, will B.C. still be "The Best Place on Earth?"
This impending extinction could be avoided, were the government to order fish farming into enclosed tanks on land, as has been recommended by numerous scientific and environmental authorities, numerous times. When the last whale is gone, and the last salmon run fails to return, will B.C. still be "The Best Place on Earth?"
vrijdag 24 oktober 2008
Salvage of fuel truck from ocean floor in whale reserve postponed until spring
The salvage operation aimed at raising potentially hazardous wreckage from the ocean floor in Vancouver Island's ecologically sensitive Robson Bight has been put off until spring, B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner said Friday.
"The federal government's view is that there were significant risks to carrying out this work this fall," he said. "Even at this time of year there can still be a significant number of killer whales in the vicinity."
Logging equipment and machinery, including a tank truck carrying 10,000 litres of fuel, was dumped into the internationally renowned killer whale reserve 290 kilometres northwest of Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2007 when a barge overturned.
The 11 pieces of equipment, which have been examined by underwater cameras, is lying in 350 metres of sea water at the bottom of Johnstone Strait, a major waterway on the northeastern side of Vancouver Island.
Penner said Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the coast guard maintain the whales are known to stay in the area through November, but by that time the weather "is getting bad."
"The consensus is that we should wait for the spring, now, and hope for the better weather that comes in the spring to coincide with the period when there is very little whale activity in that area," he said in a phone interview.
His preference was that the salvage operation go ahead this fall, but he said he is willing to abide with the decision.
"It's a tough call to make," he said. "I would to have liked to see it removed as soon as possible, but we also want to do it at a time when there aren't killer whales there."
"DFO was being particularly cautious," he added.
He also pointed to a recent study indicating the likelihood of metal corrosion leading to the tank truck leaking is less than originally thought.
The analysis, by a UBC engineering professor, concluded that it would take at least two and a half to three years from the date of sinking for the fuel tank to corrode through.
The Robson Bight habitat, also known as the Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve, was established to provide a sanctuary for killer whales and is one of the few areas in the world where they are known to drive themselves out of the sea onto so-called "rubbing beaches."
It includes 467 hectares of upland and 1248 hectares of foreshore.
Numerous charges have been laid against the master of the tug boat, the barge owners, and the logging contractor and equipment owner, Vancouver Island-based Ted LeRoy Trucking Ltd.
Last month a Dutch company with a partner in based in Seattle, Wa., was awarded the salvage contract by the B.C. environment ministry.
"The federal government's view is that there were significant risks to carrying out this work this fall," he said. "Even at this time of year there can still be a significant number of killer whales in the vicinity."
Logging equipment and machinery, including a tank truck carrying 10,000 litres of fuel, was dumped into the internationally renowned killer whale reserve 290 kilometres northwest of Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2007 when a barge overturned.
The 11 pieces of equipment, which have been examined by underwater cameras, is lying in 350 metres of sea water at the bottom of Johnstone Strait, a major waterway on the northeastern side of Vancouver Island.
Penner said Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the coast guard maintain the whales are known to stay in the area through November, but by that time the weather "is getting bad."
"The consensus is that we should wait for the spring, now, and hope for the better weather that comes in the spring to coincide with the period when there is very little whale activity in that area," he said in a phone interview.
His preference was that the salvage operation go ahead this fall, but he said he is willing to abide with the decision.
"It's a tough call to make," he said. "I would to have liked to see it removed as soon as possible, but we also want to do it at a time when there aren't killer whales there."
"DFO was being particularly cautious," he added.
He also pointed to a recent study indicating the likelihood of metal corrosion leading to the tank truck leaking is less than originally thought.
The analysis, by a UBC engineering professor, concluded that it would take at least two and a half to three years from the date of sinking for the fuel tank to corrode through.
The Robson Bight habitat, also known as the Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve, was established to provide a sanctuary for killer whales and is one of the few areas in the world where they are known to drive themselves out of the sea onto so-called "rubbing beaches."
It includes 467 hectares of upland and 1248 hectares of foreshore.
Numerous charges have been laid against the master of the tug boat, the barge owners, and the logging contractor and equipment owner, Vancouver Island-based Ted LeRoy Trucking Ltd.
Last month a Dutch company with a partner in based in Seattle, Wa., was awarded the salvage contract by the B.C. environment ministry.
Puget Sound Orcas Presumed Dead
L-67, “Splash,” a 23-year-old female, has been missing since September. Splash has two living brothers and was the mother of Aurora (L-101), who died over the summer. Her son Luna was the orca who became isolated in Nootka Sound, British Columbia, and died in 2006.
L-111, unnamed female, born August 12, has been missing since late August. She was the daughter of "Marina" (L-47), one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. L-111 is survived by two sisters.
J-11, “Blossom” a 36-year-old female has been missing since July. Blossom has three living offspring: son Blackberry ( J-27); daughter Tsuchi, (J-31); and son Mako, (J-39).
L-21, “Ankh,” a 58-year-old female, was one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. Ankh is the mother of Marina (L-47) and grandmother of L-111, one of the seven who died this summer.
L-101, “Aurora,” a 6-year-old male, was the fourth offspring of Splash, who died in September.
K-7, “Lummi,” a 98-year-old female, was missing when the orcas returned in June. She was one of the oldest whales in K pod. She has a daughter, Georgia (K-11), a granddaughter, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
J-43, 1-year-old unnamed calf, was missing when the whales returned in June. Mother is J-14 (Samish), who has three surviving offspring.
Sources: Orca Network and The Whale Museum
L-111, unnamed female, born August 12, has been missing since late August. She was the daughter of "Marina" (L-47), one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. L-111 is survived by two sisters.
J-11, “Blossom” a 36-year-old female has been missing since July. Blossom has three living offspring: son Blackberry ( J-27); daughter Tsuchi, (J-31); and son Mako, (J-39).
L-21, “Ankh,” a 58-year-old female, was one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. Ankh is the mother of Marina (L-47) and grandmother of L-111, one of the seven who died this summer.
L-101, “Aurora,” a 6-year-old male, was the fourth offspring of Splash, who died in September.
K-7, “Lummi,” a 98-year-old female, was missing when the orcas returned in June. She was one of the oldest whales in K pod. She has a daughter, Georgia (K-11), a granddaughter, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
J-43, 1-year-old unnamed calf, was missing when the whales returned in June. Mother is J-14 (Samish), who has three surviving offspring.
Sources: Orca Network and The Whale Museum
Necropsy Shows Beached Whale was in Good Health
There are new questions tonight surrounding a rare killer whale that beached itself Wednesday on Kauai.
The 18-foot mammal was removed from Brennecke's Beach after scientists made the decision to euthanize it saying it was just too sick to survive back in the water.
The necropsy showed it's a male, not a female, and that its organs were actually in pretty good health, which puzzles scientists since the whale had signs of sickness like exposed ribs and whale lice.
At this point, scientists say there is no smoking gun that says what was wrong. Over 700 pounds of tissue was shipped to Oahu and to labs across the country.
"It was surprising to us that most of the organs looked relatively good with the naked eyes, but of course there's microscopic work that can be done now and quite of bit of diagnostic screening that can be done to look for signs of infection and disease. So we'll have to wait and see," said Dr. Kristi West, assistant professor at HPU.
This was only the third killer whale to ever beach itself in Hawaii.
The HPU scientists say they should be able to tell exactly how old the whale is by examining it's teeth similar to the way you tell the age of a tree by the rings in its trunk.
The 18-foot mammal was removed from Brennecke's Beach after scientists made the decision to euthanize it saying it was just too sick to survive back in the water.
The necropsy showed it's a male, not a female, and that its organs were actually in pretty good health, which puzzles scientists since the whale had signs of sickness like exposed ribs and whale lice.
At this point, scientists say there is no smoking gun that says what was wrong. Over 700 pounds of tissue was shipped to Oahu and to labs across the country.
"It was surprising to us that most of the organs looked relatively good with the naked eyes, but of course there's microscopic work that can be done now and quite of bit of diagnostic screening that can be done to look for signs of infection and disease. So we'll have to wait and see," said Dr. Kristi West, assistant professor at HPU.
This was only the third killer whale to ever beach itself in Hawaii.
The HPU scientists say they should be able to tell exactly how old the whale is by examining it's teeth similar to the way you tell the age of a tree by the rings in its trunk.
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