killer whales Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Reducing collisions between ships and whales? There’s apps for that, but they need work

By Tom Banse November 8, 2022

A way to prevent large ships from striking and killing whales is to transmit alerts to the officers at the helm when whales are nearby.

Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often in the Pacific Northwest that ships collide with whales. But when it does, it's upsetting, tragic and the whale probably dies. Three separate teams have developed smartphone-based systems that can alert commercial mariners to watch out, slow down or change course when whales have been sighted nearby. A recent ride-along on a big Read More

Record Numbers Of Bigg’s Killer Whale Sightings And Humpback Calves In Salish Sea

By Tom Banse November 1, 2021

Salish Sea whale watchers were treated in May 2021 to humpback whale mother Slate surfacing with her young son Malachite.

Whale watchers have spotted a record number of humpback calves in inland Pacific Northwest waters this season. There was also a record streak of Bigg's killer whale sightings that just ended, according to a local whale research nonprofit. Those observations offer some good news to offset the ongoing concern about the survival of the Northwest's iconic, but critically Read More

Babies On Board! Three Endangered Northwest Killer Whales Look Very Pregnant In Aerial Photos

By Tom Banse September 15, 2021

Comparison photos captured by the research nonprofit SR3 showed endangered Pacific Northwest orca J36 is pregnant.

Research photos taken with a drone show multiple killer whales are close to giving birth in one of the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered pods. The late-stage pregnancies stirred excitement among whale watchers -- and also renewed worries about the availability of adequate food supply for the mothers and babies. Read More

New Washington Whale-Watching Boat Rules To Help Struggling Orcas Take Effect In 2021

By NWPB News December 26, 2020

An endangered female orca leaps from the water while breaching in Puget Sound west of Seattle. The orca is from one of three groups of southern resident killer whales that frequent the inland waters of Washington. CREDIT: ELAINE THOMPSON/AP

According to the rules approved by the commission last week, from July through September, commercial whale watching companies can view endangered Southern Resident orcas during two, two-hour periods daily, The Skagit Valley Herald reported. Read More

Public Invited To Clarkston-Pasco-Vancouver Workshops On Question Of Snake River Dams

By Courtney Flatt January 4, 2020

The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. CREDIT: BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

Upcoming public workshops will examine a draft report that gauges how people in Washington want to deal with the fate of the dams. At the workshops, officials will present the report’s findings, followed by a panel discussion. People can submit written and online comments on the draft report through Jan. 24. Read More

Federal Managers Propose Northwest Habitat Protections For Orcas And Humpback Whales

By Jes Burns November 11, 2019

Aerial photograph of adult female Southern Resident killer whale J16 with her calf J50 in 2015, when the calf was in its first year of life. CREDIT: JOHN DURBAN (NOAA FISHERIES), HOLLY FEARNBACH (SR3) AND LANCE BARRETT-LENNARD (VANCOUVER AQUARIUM), TAKEN BY AN UNMANNED HEXACOPTER DURING RESEARCH AUTHORIZED UNDER NMFS PERMIT #16163

One of the habitat designations is specifically for Southern Resident Killer Whales, which spend about half the year in the Salish Sea north of Seattle. They feed on salmon. There are fewer than 80 of these orcas remaining. Read More

Don’t Want Plastic With Your Seafood? Neither Do Otters And Orcas In Northwest Waters

By Tom Banse October 2, 2019

OSU masters student Katherine Lasdin separates the innards of a donated rockfish at the Port of Newport, Oregon, for later analysis to see if it ingested microplastics. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Plastics in the ocean food chain has become a hot topic for local scientists, for similar reasons city and state policy makers and activists are debating plastic bag bans and how to reduce plastic straw and bottled water usage. All are concerned that the world's oceans are awash in plastic trash and fibers. Read More

Judge Strikes Down Ballot Measure On Whale Watching Distance Rules In San Juan County

By Tom Banse August 19, 2019

Southern Resident orcas in the J pod made a rare 2019 appearance in inland waters on Thursday, August 15, near Lime Kiln State Park off of San Juan Island. (Image taken under the authority of NMFS permit No. 22141) MEGAN FARMER / KUOW

Whale watch tour companies have knocked a proposed orca protection initiative off the November ballot in San Juan County, Washington. The ballot measure would have asked voters to greatly increase the stand-off distance between boats and endangered killer whales. Read More

Group Gauges Interest In San Juan Islands Sanctuary For Retired Captive Orcas

By Tom Banse July 15, 2019

SeaWorld parks said it has no interest in turning over its captive orcas to the Whale Sanctuary Project. MIKE AGUILERA / SEAWORLD SAN DIEGO

An environmental nonprofit is gauging interest in the creation of an orca enclosure in Washington's San Juan Islands. The organization is hosting public outreach meetings over the coming week in six Western Washington locations. Continue Read More

Wildlife Managers To Northwest Seals And Sea Lions: Stop Eating So Much Salmon … Or Else

By Tom Banse April 12, 2019

Sea lions have been eating steelhead and other fish at Willamette Falls in ever greater numbers.Photo courtesy of ODFW

Politicians and wildlife managers are engaged in a fresh debate about whether to intervene in nature to save an imperiled species. The question is whether humans can get seals and sea lions to lay off Chinook salmon so there's more for killer whales to eat. Read More

Fisheries Managers Face Mixed Forecast For Northwest Salmon, Concerns Over Endangered Orca

By Jes Burns March 11, 2019

Fish trap operators can pick out the hatchery salmon for harvest and release the wild salmon so they can return to their spawning grounds. CREDIT: CASSANDRA PROFITA/OPB

About this time every year, the Pacific Northwest gets a report card from the natural world. It comes in the form of salmon run forecasts, and gives us an indication of how healthy the Pacific Ocean and our rivers and streams are. The grades are in, and here’s what you need to know about our scores. Read More

Another Puget Sound Orca Struggles, But 3 Others Are Pregnant

By John Ryan September 30, 2018

Drone photography reveals the bulging midriffs of pregnant orcas in 2015 and 2018. NOAA/SWFSC

The lean profile of the whale known as K25 is yet another sign of trouble for the region’s endangered orcas. Since last November, three members of the long-endangered population have died, most recently an emaciated young female known as J50. Continue Read More

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's orca task force met in Wenatchee this week to come up with a long-term plan to help the recovery of the orca population that spends much of its time in or around the Puget Sound. Continue Reading Can Washington Make A Plan To Save The Read More