It's amazing how in all these new articles know one seems to point out that SRKW range typically rely on chinook that were from rivers in the USA. It's a shame granny died as i'm sure if we cold interview her she would of said how she loved to dine on columbia river june hogs....The SRKW face so many problems and the ENGO's no this,IT will be the gift that keeps on giving. Most of them are off of fish farms backs now guess that campaign well has run dry...
"it is known that the famed upper Columbia/Snake River chinook - the ones that began life far, far upriver and must climb the highest mountains in order to return as adults to spawn themselves - were generally the biggest and most plentiful fish. Many of those famous populations - like the fabled "June hogs" have disappeared as a consequence of the construction of dams like Grand Coulee, but a few still remain. They start their journey home early, gathering first in the salt water at the mouth of the river in the winter and spring, to be able reach their far-flung streambed destinations before winter returns. Historically, these were the most bountiful runs of chinook found anywhere in teh world, but are now at just a few percentage points of their former numbers largely as the result of dams and other forms of habitat destruction.
Since 2006, winter data has trickled in indicating Southern Resident orcas eating upper Columbia and Snake River chinook. But the best evidence is just in from a young adult male orca from K pod, K25, (Scoter). On December 29, 2012 NOAA researchers tagged him with a satellite transmitter off Vashon Island. K25 always travels with his K pod family, and as of February 22 the tag was still broadcasting location data.
A look at NOAA’s maps of his travels show that at least five of the maps, between January 21 and February 8 (to date) show that they consistently milled around, presumably foraging, near the mouth of the Columbia."
http://www.wildsalmon.org/tag/protecting-orca.html