Southern Resident Whales - New Study Released Nature, Extinction in 75-100 years

[SpringVelocity]

Raincoast and Misty McDuffee is after the fishery again. I don't think this is good news the paper was published in Nature.

Southern resident killer whales face extinction in 75-100 years, study predicts

More must be done to protect their habitat and prey to stop the orcas' decline, researchers say.

www.princegeorgecitizen.com

With this data, Paquet and his colleagues will lobby governments at the provincial, state and federal levels, along with key bodies like the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in hopes of directing stricter policy to better protect these whales.


The DFO did not comment on the new research directly, but said that 2024-specific measures to protect southern resident killer whales would be announced soon. Starting in 2019, the agency began adding new rules to protect southern residents, such as fishing closures and restricting speeds in certain areas.

 

[SpringVelocity]

 

[SpringVelocity]

Here is the article in Nature.

Warning sign of an accelerating decline in critically endangered killer whales (Orcinus orca) - Communications Earth & Environment

The Southern Resident killer whale population will decline slowly for a generation or two before accelerating toward extinction, suggests a model-based population viability analysis accounting for sensitivities to age structure, survival rates, and prey-demography functional relationships.

www.nature.com

 

[trophywife]

just listening to the sob story on the news.. noise and lack of salmon. wow.

 

[SpringVelocity]

Yeah follow the

 

[wildmanyeah]

Addressing prey needs requires increasing the abundance of large, older Chinook. Increased abundance and quality of prey within SRKW critical habitat can be realized by changing fishing practices. Moving Pacific Salmon Treaty fisheries in Alaska and BC away from Chinook rearing grounds and migration routes into terminal river and estuarine locations results in an immediate increase of Chinook salmon in critical habitat of up to 25% (Supplementary Table S2). Secondly, transitioning marine fisheries to terminal (river-based) areas can recover a more archetypical Chinook age structure (early- mid 20th century). By not harvesting immature fish in marine fisheries, and then allowing large females to pass through terminal fisheries to spawning grounds, a size increase up to 40% can occur over a 50-year period. Scaling these scenarios to consider both improved value and abundance of mature Chinook salmon in critical habitat results in increases of 35%, 28%, 18%, and 9% at the end of 50 years, if scaled for effectiveness at 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% (Supplementary Table S2). While not quantified, freshwater habitat restoration and protection would further support recovery of wild Chinook abundance.

 

[agentaqua]

MSN

 

[salmonkiller01]

Honestly I feel these predictions are about as accurate of global warming, rising oceans and long term weather forecasts.
The reports are made to order so agendas can go ahead.
Southern resident whales were doomed when they took over 25% of the population out for aquariums.
100 years of swimming in Victoria waste water, Washington industry water…..
Stop fishers to keep the whales alive, lol.
What about stopping whale watching? The interrupt them all day. Never hear of that.
In my opinion

 

[ship happens]

Not only that but no sport boat rolling around with a little 9.9 kicker could ever outfish an orca for **** sakes. Let's be real here.

 

[eroyd]

Whales in Esquimalt harbour last week with the yellow boat fleet in close pursuit, but I'm sure that paparazzi has no effect on the orca's feeding.

 

[mbowers]

Here's Eagle Wing Tours in the Basin last week harassing the hell out of a killer whale. The big boat sat in ambush off Billings Spit for a while and forced it to swim within 50m of them. Then they chased it around and eventually drove right over it. If they behave like this in front of a crowd of onlookers on the beach, imagine what crimes they commit in the ocean when nobody is watching them. Should be DFO observers required on every whale watching boat.

Orca chase 1

Orca chase 2

 

[searun]

Here's Eagle Wing Tours in the Basin last week harassing the hell out of a killer whale. The big boat sat in ambush off Billings Spit for a while and forced it to swim within 50m of them. Then they chased it around and eventually drove right over it. If they behave like this in front of a crowd of onlookers on the beach, imagine what crimes they commit in the ocean when nobody is watching them. Should be DFO observers required on every whale watching boat.

Orca chase 1

Orca chase 2

Send that to DFO - clearly inside the supposed 200m (600 feet) avoidance zone for WW - which IMO should be 400m based on the science that was applied to everyone else!

 

[eroyd]

Send that to DFO - clearly inside the supposed 200m (600 feet) avoidance zone for WW - which IMO should be 400m based on the science that was applied to everyone else!

It was done with Esquimalt harbour. Nothing was done. Follow the money. Apparently if there is a scientist onboard they can move a lot closer which IMO is BS.

 

[salmonkiller01]

It was done with Esquimalt harbour. Nothing was done. Follow the money. Apparently if there is a scientist onboard they can move a lot closer which IMO is BS.

That makes sense, a family friend just got there degree in biology of some sort and now they work on whale watching tours.
License to crowd the whales.

 

[Stoisy]

Can't you guys see they are helping the whales!? They have their best interest at heart! That is a transient. The boat is making as much noise as possible around the whale to create an auditory smoke screen, allowing it to get closer to the seals. It's a new ENGO-approved seal cull method, but only if they have a "naturalist" onboard....

This paper is wild.

 

[jackfish]

Honestly I feel these predictions are about as accurate of global warming, rising oceans and long term weather forecasts.
The reports are made to order so agendas can go ahead.
Southern resident whales were doomed when they took over 25% of the population out for aquariums.
100 years of swimming in Victoria waste water, Washington industry water…..
Stop fishers to keep the whales alive, lol.
What about stopping whale watching? The interrupt them all day. Never hear of that.
In my opinion

What agenda do you think is being pushed?

 

[salmonkiller01]

Close all fishing to save the whales. Once the waters are limited to whale watching and scientific study the ocean is all theirs( whale watchers, environmentalists). No limits of approach. Fishers are the blame right now not the boats following and harassing whales. Easy to sell salmon fishers are starving the whales

 

[jackfish]

I get the point that if we are serious about protecting whales, everyone should be part of the solution. Can't just block the rec fishing and let the other problem contributors continue unchecked. It does feel like we, rec fishermen, are subjected to ever increasingly complex regulations and limits. Also seems like vast majority of us follow the regs, while arguing the politics, which makes me proud. It also does **** me off seeing the whale speedboats, and the exceptions for commercial fishing. I think the rec fishermen get the brunt of it, because we have no funded lobby.

 

[Reel Time]

If someone made a graph like that 20 - 30 years ago they would be fired. That is ridiculous. Idiocracy.

 

[ziggy]

You only need to google the footage of the capture in Penn Cove to know what’s happening. These pods are subject to inbreeding caused by removal of breeding stock. The Northern salmon eating whales are doing fine so I have doubts that in a species that ranges from Northern California to South East Alaska,the Southern ones, can’t find fish. The misnomer of “Resident” seems to mislead people. They have a huge range! It’s all about fund raising..