West Seattle, Washington
02 Monday
(March photo by David Hutchinson, Southern Residents seen from Constellation Park)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
News of what’s believed to be a newborn Southern Resident Killer Whale didn’t emerge until after The Whale Trail‘s summer gathering four nights ago.
Nonetheless, it was an optimistic, even jubilant gathering just the same, with an update on the resident orcas from their spring visits and the new laws meant to “give them space” on the water.
The gathering filled C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) last Thursday night, with The Whale Trail’s founder/executive director Donna Sandstrom first providing an update on her organization, which is now educating people from California to Canada about the orcas (and other sea life) with more than 130 interpretive signs installed so far, including four in West Seattle, “to connect people more deeply to the place they’re at.” Almost half those signs are in British Columbia, where the newest one – in Saturna – was just dedicated, with a special audio feature so that visitors can hear local First Nations people’s songs about the whales.
4:10 PM: Just in from Kersti Muul, word of northbound orcas off West Seattle’s western shore – seen off Lincoln Park.
4:21 PM: Kersti says some are now in view off Constellation Park.
3:41 PM: Just reported by Kersti Muul, southbound transient orcas are coming into view from West Seattle, headed across the mouth of Elliott Bay toward Alki Point.
3:59 PM: Update from Kersti – “First group has rounded Alki Point; a second group still back, super close to shore.”
8:05 PM: Thanks to Robin Sinner for sending photos!
ALSO ADDED: Photos from Jamie Kinney (you can see more here):
If this downpour ends any time soon, might be evening whale-watching again tonight – Kersti Muul reports there’s one, maybe two humpbacks in Elliott Bay right now.
Thanks to Jamie Kinney for sharing photos from orcas’ visit to the area before sunset. He says these were taken from Alki, looking toward Manchester.
These were transient killer whales, according to Orca Network reports. (Reminder – you can hear about the southern residents at The Whale Trail‘s summer gathering Thursday.)
2:21 PM: Two whale reports from Kersti Muul: First, southbound orcas off Bainbridge Island, visible from Alki, within this past hour; second, a humpback whale off Blake Island. Let us know if you see any of the above!
5:15 PM: Update from Kersti – the humpback is in Elliott Bay, headed toward Duwamish Head.
5:33 PM: From there, Kersti says, the humpback is heading toward downtown.
(J51 porpoising, photographed by Mark Sears, Permit 21348)
We haven’t seen them in West Seattle waters lately, but the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales are never far from many people’s hearts. Get updates and information at the Summer Gathering just announced by The Whale Trail:
Celebrate summer and the passage of a new law to protect the endangered southern resident orcas! The Washington State Legislature recently passed a bill requiring all boaters to stay 1,000 yards away from J, K, and L pods, starting in 2025. This milestone legislation will give the whales the space they need to find and catch their prey.
Join us for a special presentation by Dr. Julie Watson (Killer Whale Policy Lead, WDFW) and Captain Alan Myers (WDFW Enforcement). Learn more about background and need for the law, next steps, and how boaters in Puget Sound can help orcas today.
Featured speakers also include orca heroes House Majority Leader Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon and researchers Mark and Maya Sears. Mark and Maya will share updates about recent orca encounters in central Puget Sound, including rare encounters with J pod in April!
Hope to see you there! Get tickets now, before they sell out!
What: Whale Trail Summer Gathering: Celebrate Give them Space!
When: Thursday June 22, 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Where: C&P Coffee Company, 5612 California Ave SW
Cost: $5, Kids under 12 get in for free.
Advance tickets: brownpapertickets.com
4:21 PM: Thanks to Kersti Muul for the report: Transient killer whales are northbound, headed through the Southworth ferry lane at last report, visible from West Seattle (through whitecaps, since it’s a breezy afternoon).
4:55 PM: Now visible north of Blake Island, Kersti reports in comments.
Evening whale-watching, anyone? Kersti Muul tells us that as of 6:30, orcas were northbound off The Arroyos, east in the channel.
11:50 AM: Just got word from Kersti Muul that a group of transient killer whales is heading northbound, approaching the Fauntleroy ferry lane at last report, but trending toward the west side of the channel, so you definitely need binoculars. Let us know if you see them!
12:56 PM: Kersti says in comments that another group is headed this way from Burien.
11:34 AM: Transient killer whales are back in Elliott Bay right now, reports Kersti Muul. They’re in view off the promenade – we were just briefly in the area and while we didn’t see the whales, we did see the boats watching them.
5:31 PM: Thanks to Robin Sinner for the photos! Robin says, “Orca Network identified male orca T87, Harbeson, born 1962. Oldest known male Biggs transient orca.”
Another orca visit today – Kersti Muul reports whales are in view “straight out from Alki Point to the north”; they’ve been in the area a few hours and are engaged in a “predation event.”
10:13 AM: Transient orcas are back in nearby waters, southbound off south Bainbridge Island, reports Kersti Muul, “mid to east in the channel.” Let us know if you see them!
10:46 AM: As Kersti commented, they’re past Blake Island now, still southbound. (Watch comments for other updates.)
More wildlife news from Alki – Kersti Muul reports transient killer whales are southbound and in view from Alki. Let us know if you see them!
9:23 AM: For a third day, transient orcas are off Seattle shores – just got word from Kersti Muul that the same groups are southbound, already past Discovery Park on the north side of Elliott Bay. Let us know if you see them!
9:27 AM: Kersti adds that they’re visible from Luna/Anchor Park, and the water’s calm, so the viewing conditions are good.
After Saturday’s visit to Elliott Bay, Kersti Muul reports, orcas are back in the area – seen heading southbound off Discovery Park a little over an hour ago. Let us know if you see them!
5:45 PM: Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip: “Transients are on the edge of Elliott Bay. Southbound, visible from Alki. Mid-to-east in channel.” Let us know if you see them!
5:57 PM: Kersti says orcas are now “milling” off 64th/Alki.
6:03 PM: Another texter sees them from 62nd/Alki and says they seem to be moving east in the bay. (Texted photo added – thank you!)
ADDED 8:32 PM: And two more photos just in, courtesy of Robin Sinner, who explains: “The 2 orcas were off 64th and Alki at 5:45 pm. Walked fast to Constellation and caught a close pass at 5:53pm. Could hear them breathing! This was most likely T123 pod of 3. Big Male is T123a Stanley.”
Just a refresher – transients are not endangered, and eat other marine mammals, particularly seals and sea lions. They’re an entirely separate population from the Southern Resident Killer Whales, who ARE endangered and primarily eat fish, especially salmon.
10:47 AM: Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip. Orcas are in our area again – northbound in Elliott Bay shipping lanes, at last report. Whether these are transients or southern residents, that’s not known yet. Let us know if you see them!
11:35 AM: Update from Kersti, after she posted in comments that they were southbound – Washington State Ferries’ M/V Kittitas reports it’s seeing “at least two adult females and two juvenile orcas” right in front of the Fauntleroy dock.
(WSB photo – 2017 Alki march supporting freedom for Lolita)
It’s been two and a half weeks since news that the last surviving Southern Resident Killer Whale from the captures half a century ago might be able to come home after all. But will a homecoming really happen for the 57-year-old orca Lolita/Tokitae? As this report from Florida explores, there’s some controversy and confusion on that side of the country, and even if plans can be worked out, the whale’s move could be years away. In today’s Seattle Times, West Seattle-based The Whale Trail executive director Donna Sandstrom writes about lessons learned in an orca reunion with which she was involved, that of Springer, the Northern Resident orca who got lost down here. We had asked Sandstrom recently for her thoughts on the Lolita/Tokitae announcement, and here’s what she told us:
The big news in the recent release is that the Miami Seaquarium is on board, and they have found a committed funder. However, returning an orca is not as simple as the stories make it sound. Having secured these major commitments, I’d encourage the organizers to take the next most critical step and start talking with NOAA.
Based on my experience working on the Lolita project in the mid-1990s, and as a community organizer on the successful effort to return Springer to her pod in 2002, here are some things to consider.
1. If Lolita is going to be moved to a net pen in Puget Sound, NOAA Fisheries will be the decision-maker, and have ultimate authority and responsibility for the project, in consultation with other key stakeholders like Washington State and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
2. Before permitting a reintroduction or relocation to a new facility such as a net pen, NOAA and their teams will consider the benefits compared to the risk – for Lolita, for her endangered family, and for the marine ecosystem here. It’s a complex set of conditions with no easy answers. For example:
-How healthy is Lolita? Will she be able to survive the stress of the relocation, and re-adapt to life in Puget Sound?
-The southern resident orcas are critically endangered. The organizers propose to put Lolita in an open-sided net pen in Puget Sound. What is the risk of disease transmission between them and Lolita, and vice versa? Or between Lolita and other marine mammals?
-In 2017 a net pen catastrophically collapsed in Puget Sound, not far from where they propose to put Lolita. As the impacts of global warming accelerate, including increasing high tides and severe storms, how can the structural integrity of the pen, and Lolita’s safety, be ensured for as long as she might live?
-If a reintroduction is not possible, and she is “retired” permanently to a net pen in SRKW range, what would it do to her to be able to hear her family and not join them? What would that do to her family (L pod)?
For Springer, NOAA determined that there was a high likelihood of success and that it was a risk worth taking. I am not sure where that analysis will land for Lolita. But it is in everyone’s best interest – especially Lolita’s – to get that conversation going.
The federal agency made one key ruling on Lolita/Tokitae’s behalf eight years ago – ruling that she would be included in the listing of the Southern Resident Killer Whales as endangered. That announcement noted that “any future plan to move or release Lolita would require a permit from NOAA Fisheries and would undergo rigorous scientific review.”
(J44 [Moby] and J53 [Kiki] – photo by Mark Sears, permit #21348)
Back in January, we reported on legislation to require that endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales be given more space. Now, a milestone on the journey to becoming law – here’s what Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail, who worked on the governor’s orca task force, reports a key bill is almost all the way through the Legislature:
Good news! The bill to establish a 1,000-yard buffer around the southern residents passed the House yesterday (read the House announcement here.) It won’t take effect until January 2025, which was a disappointment, but it will be mandatory for all boaters – a big win for the whales.
The bill also requires Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a working group focused on boater solutions, so recreational boaters have the tools they need to know when southern residents are in the area, and how to estimate 1,000 yards at sea.
SB 5371 implemented a recommendation from WDFW in a recent adaptive management report, and is based on best available science showing that vessel approaches closer than 1000 yards significantly reduce the whales’ ability to find and catch their prey. The harmful impacts of noise and disturbance are more pronounced on females: female southern resident orcas abandon hunts when vessels approach closer than 400 yards.
Even though the distance requirement won’t be mandatory until 2025, there’s no reason to wait to give the whales the space they need. Boaters can take the voluntary pledge at givethemspace.org, to 1,000 yards away. Download the free app Whale Alert and learn when southern residents are in the area, so you can watch them from shore, or avoid them at sea.
Special thanks to House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon and Senator Joe Nguyen, who supported this bill every step of the way. Also to other legislative champions, WDFW, our fellow organizers in the Give them Space campaign, and the many people and organizations who stepped up for the orcas this session. A sea change is underway, against great odds.
This bill is the outcome of public process that began on the Governor’s Task Force. On the long road to recover the orcas, this is a big next step. We can’t wait to tell J pod!
Donna adds that the bill isn’t final yet – there’s one more “step in the Legislative process before the bill achieves final passage. Because the House bill is different than the bill that passed the Senate, representatives from both bodies will meet to reconcile the difference, a process known as concurrence.”
11:16 AM: Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip – she reports that J-Pod orcas are headed southbound, slowly, from the Bainbridge ferry lanes, mid-to-east in the channel. Let us know if you see them!
11:47 AM: We’ve also heard from Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail, who also reports the orcas are headed this way and adds, “We’ll be at the Whale Trail sign at Charles Richey Sr Viewpoint with binoculars to share around noon. Bundle up!” (That’s also known as Constellation Park, Beach Drive between Alki Avenue and 63rd.)
1:21 PM: Both Kersti and Donna report the whales have turned around and are headed back northbound.
7:59 AM: Kersti Muul tells us orcas are in the area again – in Elliott Bay. Transients this time, currently by the central downtown waterfront.
10:50 AM: See updates in comments – J-Pod residents are back in the area too.
12:50 PM: Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail just called to say the whales are now southbound in the Bainbridge/Seattle ferry lanes, visible from here.
10:43 AM: Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip – orcas are in the area again and this time it’s Southern Residents – J-Pod. She says they’re southbound in view from Constellation Park right now, “spread out,” some toward Blake, at least one trailing through the Bainbridge/Seattle ferry lane. The whales in the area this past week have been transients so the residents’ visit is “a surprise,” she says. Let us know if you see them!
1:36 PM: Thanks for the updates in comments! Both Kersti via comments and Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail via phone report the orcas have turned and are headed NB; Donna says as of a few minutes ago they were in view from Constellation Park (Beach Drive between Alki Avenue and 63rd SW).
3:06 PM: Thanks to David Hutchinson for sending the photos above and below, from the northbound swing, when they were in view from Constellation Park.
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