While some Southern Resident killer whales are still out of the area, J pod has returned to our inland waterway (Point Roberts at the moment). We also have the L-12s and a few Ks, according to Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research.

We’ll wait and see if any of these whales show up for Orca Sing tomorrow night. See my previous Water Ways entry.

There’s another interesting orca event going on next week, which is worth some attention. It’s called “Southern Resident Orcas, Then and Now: What Have We Learned?” It’s sponsored by Orca Network, the Seattle Aquarium and Puget Sound Partnership.

I’m anticipating that the highlight of this social event will be recently unearthed film footage of the 1971 killer whale capture in Penn Cove on Whidbey Island. The late Don McGaffin, a reporter for KING 5 TV, became thoroughly involved in the story, asking the right questions.

Ralph Munro, former secretary of state for Washington and a longtime advocate for orcas, helped bring this dramatic footage to light and make it available for Tuesday’s event. I’ve previewed the film, which takes us back to what seems like another world.

You will see in the film orcas thrashing about in a tiny pen, as people with ropes looped around the animals try to move them around.

At one point, McGaffin sits down on a dock with the water behind him and looks into the camera.

“Whale catchers and oceanarians keep pounding the public relations drum, taking the position that one of the reasons the killer whale is taken is for scientific reasons,” McGaffin notes. “Yet some marine biologists don’t know whether to laugh or cry at that suggestion.”

McGaffin then points out that one may study the physical structure of a captive killer whale — but what about their social structure, their feeding choices, their travel patterns?

“What they really don’t know is if the whales taken by (Ted) Griffin and (Don) Goldsberry these past seven years are from the same family or the same pod, yet the captures go on.”

At the time, researchers knew little about Puget Sound orcas. Of course, McGaffin could not know that these whales would become one of the most studied marine mammal populations in the world. Today, thanks to Ken Balcomb and a convenient family structure among the whales, we can draw all the family trees going back 35 years.

The recently unearthed film also includes interviews with biologists and politicians who talk about the captures from their points of view.

“The struggle to protect the Puget Sound killer whales has many heroes,” Ralph Munro says. “Perhaps first and foremost is the late Don McGaffin of KING 5 television and publisher Wallie Funk of the Whidbey News Times newspaper. Both Don and Wallie risked their lives to get detailed pictures of the captures and the sorting of whales during the 1970s.”

Ralph will provide commentary to the film. Others expected to make comments are Bill Ruckelshaus of Puget Sound Partnership, Howard Garrett of Orca Network and Gary Chittim of KING 5 TV, who will provide more recent footage of killer whales.

Tickets are $50 per person to cover expenses. Any proceeds will go to special projects by Orca Network.

For information or to purchase tickets, go to Orca Network or call (360) 678-3451.

Ralph sent the following letter to promote Tuesday’s event:

(more…)

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

UPDATE

A group of orcas swam by Lime Kiln State Park earlier in the day Saturday, but they were gone by the time OrcaSing started in the evening, according to notes with photos by People for Puget Sound. Still, everybody seemed to have a good time, according to reports. Also, check out the YouTube video by The Whale Museum.

——————–
With luck, J pod will be back in the San Juan Islands Saturday in time for “Orca Sing,” an annual celebration of Puget Sound’s beloved killer whales on San Juan Island.

Three members of L pod shown in a rare "triple tail lob" Wednesday off the western shore of San Juan Island.
Photo by Jim Maya, Maya's Westside Charters

This morning, I received a report that J pod had been spotted with a portion of L pod near Jordan River at the southern end of Vancouver Island, west of Victoria. That’s just a spy hop and a jump away from their summer waters in the San Juan Islands.

Charterboat operator Jim Maya told me about J pod hanging out with a group called the L-12s when I contacted him about using the photo on this page — a rare “triple tail lob,” in which three orcas slap their flukes at once. Maya, who has 20 years experience on the water, says he has never seen one of these maneuvers before, let alone capturing it with a camera.

The L-12s have been in and out of the San Juans lately, but J pod has not been seen for about a month. Many people have been worried, since J pod is known to spend much of its time in inland waters, especially at this time of year. (See Water Ways, June 12.)

If J pod really is at the south end of Vancouver Island as of this posting, the whales could be back to the San Juans by tonight or tomorrow — though there are never any guarantees that they will show up for Orca Sing.

Experts at the Center for Whale Research are ready to see if all the animals are accounted for and if their are any newborns in the group.

Orca Sing, now in its 10th year, begins at 6 p.m. at Lime Kiln State Park with “Stories and Sounds,” an update on the orcas and their activities by Cindy Hansen, education coordinator for The Whale Museum.

Music by the City Cantabile Choir and guests begins at 7 p.m., as participants watch for whales off the western shore of San Juan Island. Last year, a large number of orcas showed up to make it one of the most memorable events in the series.

Some years, the whales have not been seen, however.

“We tell people to come and make a day of it,” said Jenny Atkinson of The Whale Museum, who has helped to organize the event.

She suggests bringing a picnic dinner and carpooling to the park, since parking is limited. For information, e-mail Atkinson or Hansen or call (360) 378-4710.

Sponsors include City Cantabile Choir, The Whale Museum, People For Puget Sound, Friends of the San Juans, Whale Trail and the American Cetacean Society’s Northwest Chapter.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Federal biologists are really stirring things up in Northern California. They have determined that the irrigation system in the vast Central Valley farm region jeopardizes the future of several species of fish as well as Puget Sound’s killer whales.

The killer whale angle is worth some discussion — but first the larger picture.

“What is at stake here is not just the survival of species but the health of entire ecosystems and the economies that depend on them,” Rod Mcinnis, southwest regional director for NOAA’s Fisheries Service said in a news release. “We are ready to work with our federal and state partners, farmers and residents to find solutions that benefit the economy, environment and Central Valley families.”

Changing the water system to meet the requirements of threatened and endangered species could reduce water supplies by 5 to 7 percent, significantly affecting farm production and drinking water supplies. Several proposed projects — valued at hundreds of millions of dollars — could help balance that out. To see the technical reports, go to NOAA’s Web site on the issue.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger objected to the findings in a written statement:

“This federal biological opinion puts fish above the needs of millions of Californians and the health and security of the world’s eighth largest economy. The piling on of one federal court decision after another in a species-by-species approach is killing our economy and undermining the integrity of the Endangered Species Act. I will be asking for a meeting with Secretary Salazar and Secretary Locke to discuss our concerns with these biological opinions, and my Administration will be pursuing every possible avenue to reconcile the harmful effects of these decisions.”

Court action is almost certain.

Reporters Kelly Zito of the San Francisco Chronicle and Colin Sullivan of the New York Times’ “Greenwire” do a good job in fleshing out this story from the California perspective.

It’s interesting to see the federal biologists address the plight of the Southern Resident killer whales with respect to water use in California. These orcas frequent Puget Sound, but they are spending a great deal of their time along the West Coast down to Monterey Bay. The bottom line in the biological opinion is that salmon availability along the coast could be a key factor in whether the population is able to avoid extinction.

Environmental groups were quick to argue that if water operations in Northern California can raise the risk of extinction to intolerable levels, then surely the dams on the Columbia River ought to be a concern.

“The recent National Marine Fisheries Service conclusion linking destruction of salmon habitat to harm to killer whales is a breath of fresh air,” said Kathy Fletcher, executive director for People for Puget Sound in a statement. “Our killer whales are at critically low numbers, and NMFS has recognized that what we do to salmon in freshwater impacts our orcas in the ocean. But it doesn’t make sense to protect salmon for whales to eat in California while at the same time ignoring the effect of dams on fish in the whales’ backyard.”

The issue of what to do about the dams remains before a federal judge. The Obama administration is considering whether to continue with the Bush approach to leave the dams in place or revisit the issue.

“The fiction that the dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers have no effect on the food supply for orcas is one of many failings in the Columbia and Snake River biological opinion,” said Steve Mashuda of Earthjustice, which represents the groups in the case. “Our killer whales shouldn’t have to travel all the way to Monterey Bay to find a decent meal.”

To understand why the federal biologists consider water activities in California critical to the survival of the Southern Resident killer whales, I’ve pulled some comments from the Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion on the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project (PDF 12.7mb):

(more…)

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Each June, killer whale observers of all varieties wait for the three Puget Sound pods to arrive in the San Juan Islands for an extended stay.

I usually mark the arrival with a news story reminding local folks about the social structure and behavior of our resident pods. I was prepared to write this story when I heard that L pod was headed south through Johnstone Strait along Vancouver Island. Instead, I’ll wait. Here’s the story I did write for tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun:

For a brief time this week, it appeared that Puget Sound’s killer whales had returned to Washington waters to take up their summer residence.

Several members of L pod were seen off Victoria Tuesday, after traveling along the east side of Vancouver Island in Canada, according to reports compiled by Orca Network. But, instead of heading on east into the San Juan Islands, the L-pod orcas turned west into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, headed for the Pacific Ocean.

All three groups of Puget Sound orcas — J, K and L pods — typically spend their summers hunting salmon in and around the San Juans. While J and K pods have been around part of the winter, L pod last appeared for only a day or two in February. When L pod showed up Tuesday, it was a good bet that the whales were here for a longer stay, said Howard Garrett of Orca Network.

“They did a quick peek in, then headed out,” he said. “The supposition is that they didn’t find enough to eat.”

The whales’ primary diet is chinook salmon, which are normally running at this time of year. Maybe, Garrett said, they’ll be back in few days.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has proclaimed June “Orca Awareness Month.” For a list of events, visit Orca Network.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

I’m always looking for something different for this space on Monday. I don’t know whether a jigsaw puzzle fits everyone’s definition of amusing, but I thought I’d throw out this idea for a change.

Jigsaw puzzles are great for when you want to relax and not think about much of anything but finding pieces with similar colors. We all need to relax once in awhile, right?

I found a Web site called JigZone that allows you to pick your picture, decide how it should be cut into pieces and choose the number of pieces that should be created.

Click on the picture to the right and you’ll see the pieces scrambled. Choices for putting the picture back together are at the left of the puzzle.

Whether you like jigsaw puzzles or not, you have to admit that the variety here is incredible. Go to “more puzzles” and dig down to see all the pictures available. Cut the pictures into many, many shapes. If you think you know your states, choose a monotone picture and select “United States” to see if you can put the states where they belong

The puzzle site also allows you to measure how long it takes to complete a puzzle.

This site even integrates with Facebook, so you can cut your posted photos or someone else’s into dozens of pieces and put them back together again.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Concerns about the Navy’s use of sonar Tuesday night in the Strait of Juan de Fuca are reverberating among environmental groups, whale advocates and researchers.

USS San Francisco leaves Bremerton Tuesday // Kitsap Sun photo

Many are wondering whether killer whales and other marine mammals may have been injured by the intense sounds — including human voices —emanating from the recently repaired fast-attack submarine USS San Francisco.

From what I gather, there is talk about calling for an official investigation into the Navy’s activity, perhaps with input the National Marine Fisheries Service. More discussion is expected tonight at a public forum called by whale advocates concerned about an expansion of Navy training activities. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St.

Meanwhile, Val Veirs, professor emeritus of physics at Colorado College, has calculated that the highest levels of sound received at Lime Kiln Lighthouse on San Juan Island was about 140 decibels, according to a press release issued this afternoon by The Whale Museum. Veirs is president of the board for The Whale Museum.

“The received levels of the signals at Lime Kiln Lighthouse were about the most intense sounds that the hydrophones there have recorded in the past several years of continuous operation,” Veirs said a written statement.

The sonar pings were about as intense as those recorded in May 2003, when the Navy’s guided missile destroyer USS Shoup moved through Haro Strait, Veirs said.

Biologists observing killer whales at that time believe that the animals responded to the sound by moving away at a rapid pace. As a result of that incident, the Navy changed its protocols on the use of sonar.

I have requested additional information from the Navy about operations by the USS San Francisco, including general mitigation measures that the Navy takes when using sonar around marine mammals. Navy officials have indicated that the crew took the normal precautions to protect marine mammals.

For those still wondering about the strange human voice emanating through the water, you can start finding answers with this brief entry in Wikipedia:

The underwater telephone also known as UQC or Gertrude was developed by the U.S. Navy after World War II, the UQC underwater telephone is used on all manned submersibles in operation. Voices communicated through the UQC are heterodyned to a high pitch for acoustic transmission through water.

Based upon the Navy’s acknowledgment that crews were operating sonar in the Strait of Juan de Fuca but not Haro Strait, Veirs made additional calculations of the sound energy that must have emanated from the sub.

“We estimate that the distance between our hydrophone at Lime Kiln Lighthouse and the submarine was in the neighborhood of 10 nautical miles,” Veirs said. “For our hydrophones to pick up the strong signals that they did, the submarine was emitting sound with source level in the range of 174 to 226 dB re 1 microPa@1m.”

I’ll look to others to report on definitive studies and tell me whether these sound levels can cause injury under the circumstances we find in Puget Sound. But I seem to recall the levels reported by Veirs are worthy of concern. See “NOAA Technical Memorandum: Sound Exposure and Southern Resident Killer Whales (PDF 884 kb).”

While The Whale Museum has received no reports of stranded or injured marine mammals, the organization wants the public to be on alert and contact the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network, (800) 562-8832, if unusual behavior is seen.

Howard Garrett of Orca Network offered this response to a comment related to the previous entry about the sonar incident.

“The fact the sonar was taking place in the Strait of Juan de Fuca rather than Haro Strait is even more disturbing because 1) that is where the reports of Transients, a minke, & 2 gray whales were; & 2) if the sonar was happening in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, & it was being picked up so loudly at Lime Kiln & NW San Juan Island, then it must have been much louder closer to the source in the Strait…”

Obviously, this discussion will continue.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

UPDATE: THURSDAY, MARCH 12
I just read on Orca Network that Ken Balcomb has corrected the date that L pod was seen in Monterey Bay. It should have been March 5, making the trip two days longer than first reported.

————-

Here’s a short piece I just completed for tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun, after I talked with Ken Balcomb.

Orcas Travel Fast to California

MONTEREY BAY, CALIF.

A group of killer whales that frequent Puget Sound recently completed a nearly 1,000-mile trip to Monterey Bay, Calif., in 11 days — demonstrating just how fast orcas can swim.

“They were really scootin’,” said Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research after identifying photos of L pod, one of three groups of whales that frequent Puget Sound.

Members of the pod were photographed off South Kitsap on Feb. 20 and then again last Tuesday (March 3) in Monterey Bay, Calif. It may be a record in terms of documenting actual sightings at the beginning and end of their travels, “but we know they can 75 or 80 miles a day, even around here,” said Balcomb, based on San Juan Island. “They did in it one direction (to California). Here, they usually go back and forth.”

Given that the sightings in Puget Sound and Monterey Bay were about 1,000 miles and 11 days apart, the rate of travel would be about 90 miles a day without a layover.

The last sighting of L pod was Saturday in the Farrallon Islands, Balcomb reported. That’s about 100 miles northwest of Monterey and about 30 miles west of San Francisco.

In recent years, sightings of the Puget Sound whales have increased off the California coast, where whale watchers have been on alert to photograph orcas for identification.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research filled me in today on the third orca calf spotted in the Puget Sound region in the last month.

The animal looks healthy, he said, much more healthy than its sibling who died two years ago before its first birthday.

In comments on the story that went up on kitsapsun.com this afternoon, some people expressed legitimate concerns for these whales, because they are ingesting chinook salmon, which are known to contain elevated levels of toxic chemicals.

Our good friend Sharon O’Hara asks, “More importantly, sorry for asking, aren’t the salmon toxic? Are the calves immune to the toxicity of the mother milk from the salmon they ingest?”

“That’s what I’m thinkin’,” adds Morganm12.

While Puget Sound chinook do carry a higher toxic load than salmon in British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, I don’t think it means that the Puget Sound orcas, which eat them, are necessarily doomed.

Rather than launching into an off-the-cuff discussion about the synergistic effects of food supplies, disease and stress, I’ll try to get gather up some hard data to support my ever-optimistic outlook. Stay tuned, and feel free to jump in if you have some real information about the toxic problem.

For those who haven’t seen my story, I’ll paste the entire text below:
(more…)

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

I don’t mean to be overly sentimental, but writing about L-57 last night was like writing an obituary for an acquaintance, maybe even a friend.

L-57, a 31-year-old male orca, has gone missing. That means, in all likelihood, that he has died, as I described in a story in today’s Kitsap Sun.

L-57, known as Faith, is special to a lot of Kitsap County residents and others, because he was the whale everyone could recognize when 19 members of L pod spent a month in Dyes Inlet in 1997.

He was the animal that opened my eyes to the fascinating research taking place among these highly intelligent creatures. I still recall taking Kelley Balcomb-Bartok over to Red and Donna Gay Boyle’s house in Tracyton (“Whale Central”) to see a bunch of killer whales swimming back and forth in Dyes Inlet — something that had not happened in that location for 40 years or more.

Kelley, son of Ken Balcomb, grew up around these whales. Here’s how I described it in my two-part series marking the 10th anniversary of that remarkable period:

When Kelley first arrived at Whale Central, he dragged out a long pair of binoculars and aimed them at the darkening water. He spotted a tall dorsal fin with an angled tip.

“That’s L-57,” he announced, describing the 20-year-old male. Then he turned to meet Donna Gay.

Kelley, 34, whose dark hair hung in a long pony tail, told her he didn’t know why the whales were staying in Dyes Inlet. If it was for food, why wouldn’t they be exploring other areas as well?

“If this is a place they don’t know well, it could give them problems,” Kelley said.

Donna Gay described how, over the past three days, the whales had swum to the edge of Dyes Inlet and even entered the Port Washington Narrows, but then turned back each time.

“We need to get the word out,” Kelley said. “If they make an effort to move out, then people can’t get in their way.”

Kelley realized that excitement was spreading like wind upon water. State law enforcement officers had already issued warnings to people for chasing the whales in boats to get pictures.

Kelley took another look toward the water, noting high-speed and circular swimming patterns.

“It’s seriously possible these animals may be stressed. We need to watch them, but if this goes on much longer, I’d have to say they’re stuck.”

I was impressed then, as I have been ever since, that one can get to know individual whales and their behaviors, which are coordinated with the larger group. One can tell when orcas are calm, when they’re stressed, when they’re feeling free and when they’re feeling threatened.

Male killer whales can live into their 50s and sometimes beyond, and L-57 seemed to an active whale in the prime of his life. If he has died, we may never know the cause. Given how loaded these whales are with toxic chemicals, a good guess is that he succumbed to a disease or cancer.

I would welcome further thoughts.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

If you listen to National Public Radio, you’ve probably heard of Ari Shapiro, an independent radio producer who often provides special reports to the network.

What I was surprised to find out in a report this morning is that Shapiro spent years as a killer whale researcher before changing careers. He names as a colleague Volker Deecke, who is well known among killer whale biologists.

It’s probably just a hole in my knowledge. A Google search of “Ari Shapiro” along with “killer whales” produced 168 results. “Ari Shapiro” and “whales” produced another 350 or so. And I learned from this search that Shapiro, while working at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, studied the effects of Navy sonar on beaked and pilot whales.

But that’s not why I wanted to write this entry. I wanted to go back to a reader comment about killer whales made last week and the response I gave. A person who calls himself Cynic essentially said we should applaud the decline in Puget Sound’s killer whale population because it means greater protection for their prey, Puget Sound chinook, another endangered population.

I was thinking of population dynamics and the food web when I suggested that the loss of the killer whales in Puget Sound bodes ill for the entire ecosystem, including humans. And, of course, it does. But I was hoping that someone else would point out how important these animals are to the people who live in this region. Having orcas around enriches the lives of many people. The importance of these animals goes beyond the science.

That’s why I was thrilled with Ari Shapiro’s piece on NPR this morning. It reminds me that field biologists are sometimes uncomfortable with the affection they feel for their research subjects. Is there a risk that researchers will lose their scientific objectivity when they become emotionally attached? Shapiro seems to dismiss the very notion.

You should listen to the entire piece, but I especially liked these comments from Shapiro:

“Day after day, while we stood there looking for whales and not seeing any, there were often tourists and locals observing us, trying to make out why we watched the waters around us so intently, so hopefully.

“As killer whale biologists, we wait weeks for a glimpse of a black fin on light water — for the moment when we can observe and describe what the animals let us see.

“It takes a kind of love to maintain that kind of relationship, because we’re pretty sure the killer whales don’t feel the same way about us. It’s not like they’re waiting for us to show up. But it doesn’t matter. We’re drawn to them.”

One last observation. As a reporter, I’ve learned to look at things from many viewpoints, trying on one perspective after another. How does this person feel? How does that person feel? How the heck do the whales feel? In the end, news stories are built upon a foundation of facts, as best we can figure them out. And it seems to be a fact that a large number of people really care about the killer whales.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post