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PROTECT the ORCAS!!!!
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Date Posted: 05:08:45 06/27/02 Thu
Author Host/IP: 67.24.225.48
Dumbassesss!
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced that it will not list southern resident orca whales as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), despite the whales’ precipitous decline from 98 to 79 in the past six years, the salmon they feed on becoming scarce and, the high levels of toxic chemicals found in their fat.
Ironically, less than two weeks ago, NMFS coordinated the dramatic rescue of the ailing orphan orca, Springer who was living off the shore of Vashon Island. Yet now, though the agency agrees the whales face possible extinction, they will not step up to the job of taking the necessary steps to ensure the whales’ recovery by invoking the protections of the ESA.
The NMFS announcement was riddled with contradictions. The decision hinged on a technicality that even their own scientific experts were divided on whether the southern residents are a distinct population segment. NMFS does agree that they are a distinct population. They breed only within the community; they speak a distinct dialect; and they occupy a distinct geography. What NMFS is saying is that this distinct group is not "significant" enough, in other words that there are other similar whales in British Columbia and Alaska. Interestingly, Canada has listed both the Southern and Northern residents under their Endangered Species Act, making NMFS' suggestion that the Northern community could repopulate our area should the Southern become extinct all that much more ludicrous. The administrator himself called the whales “rare and precious and fragile” saying they are in “serious trouble.” Why is he unwilling to use the best tool he has--the Endangered Species Act?
And, while NMFS cited the Marine Mammal Protection Act as the tool it will use to protect whales, this law does not require the agency to address issues such as contamination from the build up of dangerous toxic chemicals such as PCBs even though they agree that this is likely a significant cause of problems for the whales. Apparently NMFS intends to wait for more research and zero in on whale watching rather than dealing with the problems that are known to be killing the whales.
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As evidenced by the rapt attention paid to the Springer rescue, orca whales have reached iconic status in the Northwest. The decision by NMFS not to grant them ESA protection despite overwhelming scientific evidence of their peril and uniqueness flies in the face of the law and public sentiment.
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Orcas ARE an Endangered Species