A southern resident killer whale preys on a salmon. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries)
(CN) The Trump administration rushed through a project to expand Seattle Harbor for ultra-large container ships that would further threaten endangered Southern Resident killer whales, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.
Only 75 Southern Resident killer whales swim the Salish Sea a number that has increased since three baby whales were born in the relatively quiet waters of the pandemic. Noise from whale watching boats and ships headed to and from ports across the Pacific will increase when pandemic restrictions are lifted.
Added to that is a new worry: the underwater cacophony of ultra-large container ships that would visit Seattle Harbor, in the heart of the whales’ home waters, and the release of hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of toxic material dredged during the harbor project.
For Immediate Release, March 4, 2021
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Lawsuit Challenges Seattle Harbor Expansion’s Impacts on Endangered Orcas
Army Corps Failed to Study How Bigger, Louder Ships Will Harm Southern Resident Killer Whales
SEATTLE The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to consider the harm shipping traffic will do to critically endangered orcas when it approved plans to expand Seattle Harbor, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a federal lawsuit filed today.
The ultra-large container ships the port expansion will accommodate will exacerbate the noise and disturbance from commercial shipping in the Salish Sea. Noise disrupts orcas’ feeding because they need to echolocate salmon, their preferred prey.
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IMAGE: Endangered Southern Resident killer whales prey on salmon throughout the year, diversifying their diet when salmon presence declines. view more
Credit: Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries and reference NMFS permit number 16163
Endangered Southern Resident killer whales prey on a diversity of Chinook and other salmon. The stocks come from an enormous geographic range as far north as Alaska and as far south as California s Central Valley, a new analysis shows.
The diverse salmon stocks each have their own migration patterns and timing. They combine to provide the whales with a portfolio of prey that supports them across the entire year. The catch is that many of the salmon stocks are at risk themselves.
Salmon Conservation Key to Saving Killer Whales courthousenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from courthousenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.