By
Seattle Times climate reporter
Owing to concerns over pregnant, underdeveloped or malnourished orcas, 13 southern resident killer whales were declared “vulnerable” Thursday by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The agency issued an emergency order requiring commercial sightseeing vessels and urging boaters to stay at least half a nautical mile away from endangered southern resident killer whales this summer. The move came after federal research showed boats in close proximity can affect an orca’s ability to feed.
“While we have reason to remain hopeful with the reports of recent pregnancies, the reality is that there are several Southern Residents that aren’t doing well and we’re very concerned about the population at large,” Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind said in a release Thursday.
Seattle-based nonprofit SR3 used drone photography to determine that, between September and April, several members of the southern resident orca population were pregnant and a dozen were in poor condition.
The southern resident killer whales are an endangered community native to the Pacific Northwest that consists of 73 members across three pods: J, K and L.
According to the aerial images, as of September three whales in K pod were in the last six to nine months of pregnancy. Videos online recently showed a calf with K pod, suggesting one of the pregnancies was delivered successfully.
Across pods J and L, 12 members were found to be in poor condition, putting them at double or triple the risk of dying.
“Southern residents need precautionary conservation measures, but it is important that these are based on science that is objective, quantitative and adaptive,” said John Durban, senior scientist at SR3.
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study this year showed that boat traffic within 400 yards can interrupt the foraging of southern resident orcas, especially females who often stop eating altogether when vessels travel too close.
Southern resident orcas aren’t getting enough food, according to researchers from the University of British Columbia. The killer whales have been eating less than they burn for six of the last 40 years, and three of those six years occurred between 2018 and 2020, the last years examined in the study published this week.
Research shows killer whale health often correlates with the abundance of salmon, namely Chinook, coho and chum. Declines in Chinook salmon abundance have been attributed to climate change, overfishing, disease and predation.
The state is also concerned about noise pollution and meddling from recreational and commercial boating.
Those whales now designated “vulnerable” have increased protections under the state’s Commercial Whale Watching Licensing Program. Motorized whale-watching vessels are now required to maintain a distance of half a nautical mile from vulnerable whales and those traveling with them.
The agency’s restrictions kick in just as the summer whale-watching season was about to begin. Commercial viewing of southern resident orcas is permitted at certain hours during the July-September season. Outside of the season, licensed operators are not allowed to approach the killer whales within half a nautical mile.
Last fall, two recreational boaters were caught illegally approaching endangered southern resident killer whales near San Juan Island. NOAA Fisheries announced this month that the boaters had been fined for their actions.
The whales were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2005.
The Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) are a distinct population segment of North Pacific killer
whales. The SRKW have a high risk of extinction and are classified as endangered under the Endangered SpeciesAct, and their listing was reaffirmed by NOAA in January of 2022. They also are listed as endangered at the Statelevel, and orca are identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need under the State Wildlife Action Plan. The SRKW are comprised of three family groups (pods): J pod, K pod, and L pod. Each individual whale has an alphanumeric identifier that corresponds with its pod and birth order. Because individual whales are identifiable and documented, the health and status of each whale can be measured and tracked over time.
In June of 2022, the SeaLife Response Rehabilitation and Research (SR3) team contracted by WDFW to monitor Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) body condition concluded their analysis of SRKW observations collected between September 2021 and April 2022. Body Condition: SR3 uses measurements taken from drone photographs and statistical analyses detailed in Stewart et al. (2021) to identify whales in poor condition, which means the orca’s body condition falls in the lowest 20% of measurements for their age and sex compared to comparable measurements from 2016-2022. This lowest body condition state is classified as “BC1.” The best available science suggests that whales measured to be in the “poorcondition” state had a significantly increased (2-3 times higher) probability of subsequent mortality.
There were 12 whales in the BC1 state from J and L pods, including one calf (C), one adult male (M), five adult females (F), one juvenile (J) and four sub-adult males (S): J27(M), J36(F), J44(S), J49(J), J56(C), L54(F). L83(F), L90(F), L94(F), L110(S), L116(S), and L117(S). This includes six whales that were measured to be in BC1 in both September 2021 and fall-spring 2022, plus an additional L pod female (L94) that was not imaged in September. Additionally, there were four whales which have
declined into poor condition since September and are now listed as BC1 (J27, J44, J49, L90). L54 was not imaged in the fall-spring 2022 period, but is on the list because she was measured to be BC1 when last imaged in September 2021. Typically, when the Southern Residents return to the Salish Sea in the spring, they are significantly leaner than in the fall (Fearnbach et al. 2019), and thus we have no reason to believe that L54’s condition has improved. No K pod whales were imaged in the fall-spring 2022 period, but none were measured to be in BC1 in September 2021 when all were imaged.
Late-Stage Pregnancy: There is a high rate of failed pregnancies in SRKW (Wasser et al. 2017), and failed pregnancy can be lethal (Raverty et al. 2020). Late-stage pregnancy requires more food, as much as 25% in the final month of gestation (Kriete 1995). Vessels compound food stress, particularly for females (Holt et al. 2021). SR3 analyzed all of the female SRKW of reproductive age (33 whales, ages >8 and <50) to identify any whales that may be pregnant, and particularly any in the latter half of pregnancy (p>0.75 probability of being within 9 months of birth, out of an approximately 17-month gestation period). Four females were determined to fall in this classification when last measured: K12, K20, K27, and L72. Recent online videos show a young calf traveling with K pod, and most likely one of K12, K20, or K27 is the mother. These K pod whales were last measured in September 2021, so we expect these pregnancies may have ended as of late June 2022. However, if these whales are encountered and still exhibit signs of late-stage pregnancy, an emergency rule at that time will be warranted. Currently, we expect L72 remains in late-stage pregnancy, meriting vulnerable status. As a reminder, calves and their mothers receive extra protection via WAC 220-460-110, which prohibits motorized commercial whale watching vessels from approaching within one-half nautical mile of a group of SRKW that contains a calf of under one year of age.
Other Factors: Beyond the factors described here, WDFW may determine a whale is vulnerable based on other criteria. For example, whales showing signs of illness or injury (emaciated appearance, collapsed dorsal fin, lacerations, entanglement, vessel strike, etc.) would merit extra protection. Additionally, whales that exhibit a dramatic or sudden decline in body condition (for example, dropping two body condition states over a short period of time) or calves that show constrained growth may raise cause for alarm and merit a vulnerable status designation. At this time, no whales beyond those described above are being designated as vulnerable.
Per WAC 220-460-110, the department is adopting an emergency rule to designate J27, J36, J44, J49, J56, L54, L83, L90, L94, L110, L116, L117, and L72 as vulnerable and thereby prevent commercial whale watching operators from approaching these individuals or a group containing any of these individuals within 0.5 nautical mile. This designation and the additional distance is necessary to ensure that the ability of these whales to survive is not hindered by the presence of vessels.
Citation of rules affected by this order:
New: WAC 220-460-110D
Repealed: n/a
Amended: n/a
Suspended: n/a
Statutory authority for adoption: RCW 77.65.620
Other authority:
EMERGENCY RULE
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds:
☒ That immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment uponadoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.