Federal Government admits Southern Resident killer whales face imminent threat to survival

VANCOUVER/UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH), and səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES:  Conservation groups are calling on federal ministers to recommend that Cabinet issue an emergency order immediately to protect Southern Resident killer whales. According to a November 29 assessment by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), these whales face imminent threats to their survival and recovery despite existing protective measures.

Despite measures introduced since 2018, the critically endangered population of whales continues to decline. Without immediate and aggressive action, the Southern Resident killer whales are at risk of being lost forever. In the six months since Ecojustice submitted a petition for an emergency order, an adult male and a calf have died, leaving the population at 72 individuals.

“Recommending emergency protection is not just an option — it is a requirement under the Species at Risk Act, (SARA) in the face of an imminent threat,” said Imalka Nilmalgoda, staff lawyer at Ecojustice. “The Ministers must recommend emergency protection in this case, and Cabinet should act swiftly to implement that recommendation. Anything less jeopardizes the whales’ survival.”

Conservation groups emphasize that science clearly supports more robust measures to reduce the compounded threats of underwater noise, depleted prey availability, and the risk of oil spills from increased tanker traffic in critical habitats. The emergency order should include measures to:

• Expand SRKW vessel approach distance to 1,000 metres to harmonize with Washington State laws.
• Establish and implement meaningful underwater noise reduction targets for the Salish Sea
• Limit the approval of proposed developments that would increase vessel traffic until a long overdue regional cumulative effects management plan has been implemented as recommended by Canada’s Energy Regulator.
• Implement Chinook salmon recovery strategies to ensure the whales’ primary food source is abundant and accessible.

An emergency order would empower the federal government to create comprehensive measures to protect and recover the species.  Conservation groups insist governmental action is long overdue.

Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, said: “November’s Imminent Threat Assessment found that federal measures implemented to date have not been enough to stop the decline in Southern Resident killer whales. Ottawa has an obligation to implement the difficult measures it has avoided to date.  The longer we wait, the more we lose the potential to reverse the extinction trajectory that is unfolding .”

Karen Wristen, Executive Director at Living Oceans, said: “Despite measures taken since 2018, underwater noise continues to increase as the predicted sevenfold rise in tanker traffic from the Trans Mountain Expansion project begins to materialize. Noise pollution will continue to increase with the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 and Tilbury LNG projects. Voluntary measures just aren’t going to be enough to mitigate this threat.”

Jeffery Young, Senior Science and Policy Analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation, said: “The federal government made a key but overdue decision: Salish Sea orcas are on the brink, and current measures don’t meet their plight. Instead of continuing to approve industrial expansion in the Salish Sea, it’s now incumbent on ministers to recommend emergency protections for the orcas and their prey that will actually give them a chance at survival and recovery.”

Hussein Alidina, lead specialist for marine conservation at World Wildlife Fund Canada, said: “With confirmation of the imminent threat facing Southern Resident killer whales, it is even clearer that existing measures to recover this population are insufficient and that their population will continue declining. It is the federal government’s responsibility under SARA to institute emergency measures mandating more targeted actions for threat reduction. Without emergency interventions, the 72 remaining SRKWs are headed for extinction.”

Michael Jasny, director of Marine Mammal Protection at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said: “When the government approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline, it made a promise—to all of BC—that it would take the steps necessary to sustain and recover our beloved orcas. It’s clear from the new findings that what has been done so far isn’t enough. The government has the opportunity to change things for the whales; it needs to seize that opportunity.”

Beatice Frank, Executive Director at Georgia Strait Alliance, said:The Salish Sea is getting much noisier and cumulative threats are growing exponentially, aggravating impacts of vessel disturbance and strikes, toxic pollution, and prey scarcity for Southern Resident orcas. We’re counting on Ottawa to make the right decision as it is ‘now or never’ for these orcas, an apex predator that maintains the health of marine ecosystems, and from which a myriad of other living beings, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, are tied to and greatly rely on. In line with the latest imminent threat assessment, Ottawa must immediately implement new protections – a much-needed lifeline to Southern Resident orcas’ survival.

More information on the case can be found here.