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Orcas get taste of federal money
By CHRISTOPHER DUNAGAN
21st February 2003
Killer whale experts are rejoicing about increased government funding to study what could be killing Puget Sound's orcas.
The federal budget approved last week contains $750,000 for orca studies, and Gov. Gary Locke proposes to add another $100,000 in the state budget.
"I think it is pretty exciting and long overdue," said David Bain, a killer whale researcher based at the University of Washington.
The last federally funded field studies involving Puget Sound orcas occurred in the 1970s, when Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research began counting the whales each year.
Since then, Balcomb has scraped to find private funds to maintain the annual census - which is what tipped off experts that the whale population was nose-diving, from 99 to 78 animals in just five years.
Bain said everybody now recognizes that research is needed to figure out why the population is dropping. Orca researchers have identified a need for $4 million to $5 million over the next three to four years, he said.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was able to keep $750,000 in the $397.4 billion federal budget, which was passed by Congress last week.
"This is a huge shift in priorities," Bain said. "It is a really big step forward, but it is short of what we need to do everything that needs to be done."
Supplemented with private research money, scientists may learn many important things about the whales, he said.
"I hope it's not a one-shot deal; we will need similar amounts every year for the next several years," said Bain, who helped organize a research conference last year. "If this is all there is, the private sector will really need to pitch in."
National Marine Fisheries Service found money last year for Balcomb to begin gathering information this winter from fishermen and others who may see orcas. It's always been a mystery where the three Puget Sound pods, known as Southern Residents, travel in winter.
Linda Jones, who manages regional studies for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said a top question for researchers is why the whales contain such high levels of toxic chemicals.
"Contaminants are on everyone's mind," she said.
Another big issue concerns the genetics of the whales and how they are related to other orca populations.
National Marine Fisheries Service declined to list the Southern Residents as endangered because they are grouped together with Northern Residents from British Columbia and Alaska as well as seal-eating transients.
Genetic studies could determine whether the current classification system is flawed, Jones said.
Bain said researchers generally agree that studies should focus on three principal concerns:
- Toxic chemicals, which could be causing immune and reproductive problems.
- Food availability, which could affect the uptake of chemicals.
- Whale-watching, which can create stress for the whales.
Research needs to go beyond the whales to see how chemicals move from contaminated sediments into the food supply of the fish-eating whales, he said.
The money could be used to complete analyses of orca tissue samples collected several years ago during a variety of studies. The tissue samples were collected through a process of darting.
"There's a lot of data around that needs to be analyzed," Bain said. "(The government) could give little amounts here and there to get that work done."
Additional studies could help determine whether Navy sonar or diesel motors of ships are affecting the whales.
Bain said many commercial whale-watch operators have agreed to help study how their actions disrupt orca behaviors and how they might operate their boats more safely.
According to Fred Felleman of Orca Conservancy, U.S. and Canadian officials ought to establish an international commission to work together in figuring out what is affecting the Southern Residents.
The joint commission was proposed by Cantwell and her fellow Senate Democrat from Washington, Patty Murray, in letters to government officials in both countries.
The Canadian government has declared the orcas "endangered," which is somewhat akin to the "depleted" status now proposed in the United States.
U.S. and Canadian authorities have agreed to consult each other as the two governments work simultaneously to revise protective regulations, including federal whale-watch guidelines, said Marilyn Joyce of the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
"We generally agree that coordination and cooperation would be beneficial," she said. "We need to look at the research we are doing to make sure we're not duplicating efforts. In terms of a formal body, we have not moved that far."
Felleman argues that an international commission could pursue identical rules based on the needs of whales on either side of the border.
Reach Christopher Dunagan at
(360) 792-9207 or at cdunagan@thesunlink.com
or
The Sun in Bremerton, Wash., at http://www.thesunlink.com
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