SRKW emergency

Photo credit: Melanie Schuening 

The fact that the federal Cabinet decided against issuing an Emergency Order to protect the Southern Resident Killer Whales doesn’t mean there’s no emergency: that much is clear. If anyone doubted that the whales’ plight was manageable if managers were so inclined, a new report by our colleagues in SRKW work sets the record straight. If these whales become extinct, it will be because the government failed to take reasonable and available measures to protect them. 

Over 30 international experts were convened to review the efficacy and limitations of Canada’s existing threat reduction strategies and propose new or revised measures. Their expertise was broad, encompassing both killer whale and Chinook salmon health, behaviour and habitat as well as underwater noise, toxicology and conservation science. 

The primary concern is managing salmon fisheries to ensure enough of the large Chinook required by SRKW are available to them. In turn, under-sea noise can interfere with the ability of SRKW to find Chinook, so a second set of recommendations deal with setting biologically relevant noise reduction targets and implementing mandatory measures to achieve them. 

Exposure to extremely high levels of contaminants is a third threat faced by the whales. New regulations and source control strategies are required to eliminate toxic chemicals, including PCBs still used in some industries. Reducing pollution in both the fresh water habitat of Chinook and the Salish Sea is required in order to lower the toxic load carried by SRKW. 

Most of the measures required to address these threats could be implemented immediately, if the federal government were to concentrate on the cross-departmental co-operation that is needed. Sadly, that sort of co-operation is difficult to achieve within government and usually fails to attract budget priority. 

As the report makes clear, there is no excuse for failing to take the measures required by the Species at Risk Act to recover these amazing animals. The consequence of failure will be extinction that we could have prevented. We will continue to work with colleagues to shine a light on the path forward—and on any government that fails to follow it.