Watching Our Water Ways

The legal battle to determine whether captive killer whales — specifically Lolita — should be considered part of the endangered orca population has been taken out of the courtroom by parties in the case.

Lolita lives alone in a tank at Miami’s Seaquarium.
Photo courtesy of Orca Network

A settlement agreement (PDF 284 kb) was signed two weeks ago between the National Marine Fisheries Service — which enforces the Endangered Species Act for marine mammals — and animal rights advocates who would like something better for this isolated animal.

Lolita is a female killer whale from Puget Sound who has been kept in a tank in Miami for 42 years.

The agreement essentially puts the lawsuit on hold pending a formal petition process under the ESA. Otherwise, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and others in the case would be left to argue about missed deadlines and proper legal notice to the federal government. See U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle’s ruling (PDF 48 kb).

Reading between the lines, I can imagine a conversation between lawyers for the two sides:
(more…)

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Geoduck harvesting remains controversial. Some people are convinced that it creates long-lasting damage to the seabed and to the creatures that dwell on the bottom. Others are equally convinced that damage is minimal and does not last very long.

I have never determined for myself if one side or the other is absolutely right, or if it depends largely on bottom conditions at a specific site. As a reporter, I continue to listen to both sides and try to give them each fair treatment.

One thing is for sure, however: The money that goes into state coffers from the sale of geoducks is quite remarkable. In a story published in today’s Kitsap Sun, I quote state officials who say the market has remained strong, despite the downturn in the economy.

In a single area north of Blake Island in Kitsap County, the state will receive $1.4 million for geoducks harvested this year alone. Similar amounts can be expected from that area for the next few years.

I will entertain comments and links to documents from anyone who wants to discuss the damage issue. I must give some weight, however, to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which has approved a Geoduck Habitat Conservation Plan and incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act. (See the NMFS Web site on geoducks.)

The reports, which are based largely on research by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, give the geoduck fishery a “low-effect” rating when it comes to threatened and endangered species.

“A low effect HCP is one that NOAA’s Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determine to have minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, or candidate species and their habitats covered under the HCP,” according to the NMFS Web site.

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Six Canadian environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against their federal government to protect the habitat of killer whales, including the Southern Resident animals that frequent Puget Sound in the summer and fall.

“This is the first lawsuit ever of its kind in Canada,” said Lara Tessaro, staff lawyer at Ecojustice. “We hope to force the federal government to legally protect the critical habitat of endangered species — like the Southern Resident killer whales.”

Tessaro was quoted in a news release on the Ecojustice Web site and in a story by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The lawsuit covers the Southern Residents, listed as “endangered” under Canadian law, and the Northern Residents, listed as “threatened.” The listing criteria are somewhat different in the two countries. Canadian authorities, like their U.S. counterparts, have officially recognized the whales at risk of extinction.

“DFO’s decision not to protect critical habitat of resident killer whales is symptomatic of the federal government’s widespread failure to implement the Species at Risk Act,” Gwen Barlee, policy director of the Wilderness Committee, said in the news release.

Also mentioned in both the news story and release was Lance Barrett-Lennard, recognized as an expert on killer whales throughout the Northwest and co-chairman of Resident Killer Whale Recovery Team in Canada. Barrett-Lennard said the team has resisted efforts by government officials to remove scientific information from the team’s list of recommendations.

“If the response by the [fisheries] minister stands, it effectively means that nothing has to be done under the Species at Risk Act to protect killer whales, so it’s a hard pill to swallow,” he said in the CBC story.

I placed a call this morning to DFO to see if anybody wishes to discuss this lawsuit. Officials responded this afternoon that they can’t comment because the issue is before the courts.

Backgrounders on killer whales in Canada and in the United States.

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