PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Friday to protect southern resident orca whales by officially listing them as endangered under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
The move to protect the whales responds to a 2023 petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
The listing decision requires Oregon to develop an endangered species management plan for the whales. Under this plan, state agencies will be required to develop concrete actions addressing the primary threats to Orcas in Oregon — including pollution, which was added as a threat to Orcas today by the commission. Recent estimates have placed their population at only around 73 total whales.
“I’m feeling more confident about the southern resident orcas’ recovery now that Oregon is joining this critical all-hands-on-deck effort,” said Brady Bradshaw, oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These struggling whales need the entire Pacific Northwest to work together to bring back a healthy wild Chinook salmon population and strengthen the marine ecosystem. With Oregon at the table, the real work can begin.”
The southern resident orcas, also known as the southern resident killer whales, are the smallest of four communities of the exclusively fish-eating ecotype of orca in the northeast Pacific Ocean. The southern resident orcas form a closed society with no emigration or dispersal of individuals, and no gene flow with other orca populations. Scientists studying the whales discovered they communicate in their own dialects and culture, with distinctions between groups, known as pods.
The Lummi Nation in Washington has had a relationship with the whales in the Salish Sea for thousands of years, and considers them to be sacred kin. The tribe sometimes feeds them in ceremonies, and has pressured the government to protect the whales.
The whales live in Puget Sound and in the waters off of the coast of Washington, but southern resident orcas also spend time feeding off of the coasts of Oregon and California. The mouth of the Columbia River on Oregon’s northern border with Washington is a crucial feeding zone for the whales because the whales feed almost exclusively on Chinook salmon; more than half of the salmon the whales consume come from the Columbia Basin.
“Southern resident orcas’ survival as a species depends on Oregon’s inland waterways and resources. At the same time, the residents of Oregon depend on the ecological role whales play in keeping the ocean healthy,” said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director at Whale and Dolphin Conservation. “Ensuring this iconic species is protected in Oregon is truly a win-win.”
The federal Endangered Species Act has classified these whales as endangered since 2005, as has the Washington State Endangered Species Act.
Despite those protections, the southern resident orca has continued to decline, according to the petitioners. The whales’ fate is intertwined with the Chinook salmon they feed on. The Chinook salmon is also facing population declines because of damming, habitat loss, pollution and more. Groups have petitioned to get the salmon federal protection status.
“The Oregon ESA listing is a meaningful step toward stronger southern resident orca recovery in the Pacific Northwest,” said Kathleen Callaghy, a Defenders of Wildlife Northwest representative. “Now the real work begins. State agencies will be taking on an important responsibility and it's the public's job to both support and hold them accountable.”
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