Recovery efforts for endangered killer whales

2022 marked the fourth year of collaborative efforts by NGOs, First Nations, stakeholders, and the federal government to implement recovery measures for endangered Southern Resident killer whales. The overarching problem for these whales is they are nutritionally stressed due to both reduced salmon abundance and the underwater vessel noise that interferes with their foraging.

The measures implemented to date have resulted in less whale watching traffic following them, slower ships as they move through their critical habitat, and designated areas with less competition from fishing vessels for Chinook salmon. This has given whales more space to forage with less noise, disturbance, and competition. All good things.

Despite these measures, the population of whales has not improved in the last few years, even with new births. An outstanding issue affecting food supply is the ongoing harvesting of Chinook salmon along their migration routes to the Salish Sea, especially in years when salmon abundance is low.

Raincoast continues to work toward an ocean that provides healthy, abundant salmon and is quiet enough for hunting and feeding.

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.