A talk by Dr. Peter Ross of the Institute of Ocean Sciences on “British Columbia’s Endangered Killer Whales: Can We Improve the Habitat Quality for the World’s Most Contaminated Marine Mammals?”
The
Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney, British Columbia opened their doors to the public on June 20, 2009. They then started their by-donation-to-speaker series on the 23rd starting with a wonderful presentation by Dr. Peter Ross of the
Institute of Ocean Sciences. I was fortunate enough to not be out on a work rotation observing fish, and was able to attend. I, being the “whale nerd” that I am, scribbled some of the key points of Dr. Peter Ross’s talk in a notebook. These are the key elements that I believe we should all think about/take action against to help improve the habitat quality of endangered southern resident killer whales.
K21 - Member of K Pod which is part of the Southern Resident Community
The southern resident killer whales home range encompasses the Salish Sea (the water’s of Strait of Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait), which fall into two national jurisdictions. Therefore, their fate relies on the policies of the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) and the United States National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS). Three major threats have been determined to influence the fate of the southern resident killer whales: (1) prey availability, (2) noise/disturbance, and (3) toxic chemicals.
Toxic Chemicals
Toxic chemicals may have a direct or indirect impact on the endangered southern resident killer whales:
Toxic spills – might result in direct inhalation or ingestion. The
Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound demonstrated the direct impact of
direct inhalation/ingestion when nine members of a unique “transient” killer whale the
AT1s died after the March 24, 1989 spill. This pod only has seven remaining members of its initial twenty-two members.
“Food” contaminants – chemicals that might not directly impact the killer whales but have damaging impacts on their
prey, in the case of the southern resident killer whales'
Chinook Salmon. Utilization of fertilizers or chemicals that pollute or reduce oxygen quality in good fish habitat (cold, fast moving, and oxygen rich waters; spawning sites).
Chemical accumulation – persistent organic pollutants (
POPs), with twelve considered the worst offenders being referred to as the dirty dozen. POPs are chemicals which persistent in the environment, bio-accumulate in the food web, and are consider toxic to the health of humans and environment. This has had a significant impact on the Northeast Pacific killer whale populations, which feed at or near the top of the food web. The southern residents are
five times more polluted than the beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Seaway. The transient (mammal-hunting) are considered the most polluted marine mammal in the world, for they are the top of the oceanic food web.
The Three Most Significant Pieces of the Toxic Chemical Puzzle
Piece # 1: The Legacy
The persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are the most significant piece of the puzzle in the habitat of southern resident killer whales. Although, the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council started to examine the “Dirty Dozen” in 1995, the chemicals’ roles as a persistent polluter were already in effect. Now despite being “widely” banned, the POPs i.e. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) are still present in the Salish Sea and its inhabitants. The Southern resident killer whales have levels of PCBs well over the 17mg/kg lipid-1 threshold of immunotoxicity (toxins that suppress the immune system capabilities to defend against infections, etc.), witnessed in harbour seals.
The Northern resident community of killer whales will have to wait until 2030 for 95% of their population to fall to or below the 17mg/kg lipid-1 threshold, while the Southern resident community has until 2089. This will only occur if the “dirty dozen” remain banned and aren’t allowed to be traded to or utilized by developing nations. However due to the extreme bioaccumulation, in transient killer whales, the “legacy” of these banned chemicals might be around until the end of their existence.
Piece # 2: Dirty Backyards
The Southern resident killer whales utilize the waters off of Southern Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland area of British Columbia, and the waters of Puget Sound off of Seattle and Tacoma. However, these surrounding waters act as the recreational and sewage sites for approximately 8 million people, which is significant considering the Southern resident population is 86 animals (as of July 2009). This population fluctuates between 80 to 100 animals. Therefore, human impacts on the marine sensitive environment of the Salish Sea are quite significant, i.e. over 8 million flushes of the toilet each day or the chemicals washed down to clean our house, etc. This means that if 8 million people made the minor adjustments to their lifestyles, such as biodegradable cleaning products, low-flush toilets, “killer whale” friendly lawns (local plants/vegetation vs. exotic plants) or pulling of weeds instead of chemical poisoning and practicing green boating, would result in a significant improvement to the habitat of the Southern killer whales. Refer to the Earth Day 365 Blog Post for tips on environmental friendly lifestyles.
The Low Flow Toliet in my Place - 6 Litres/1.6 Gallons
Piece # 3: Global Village
We are part of a global village. Therefore, the chemicals that we utilize are readily moved around the planet through atmospheric processes, oceanic currents, and biological migrations (food web). The Chinook salmon migrates out into the open Pacific Ocean to feed prior to returning their natal spawning streams off the coast of Western Canada and the United States. The salmon is feeding in the North Pacific sink for the chemicals from Asia and then transports them back to the Salish Sea. Each individual killer whale consumes 250 kg (500 lbs) of salmon daily, which results in an increase of contaminants being ingested from other pollutant sources. However, due to the boom of eco-tourism (i.e. salmon/halibut fishing and whale watching), we have a platform for environmental/conservational message for the killer whales and other marine wildlife. It allows for education of the public (local and global tourists) about global connectivity and that individual choices do have an impact. Therefore, individuals leave with the message that they can do something in their own “backyards” wherever it is in the world and have a positive impact on the marine environment. As a result, a global change occurs and improves the habitat of the Southern resident killer whales.
\
