Southern Resident Killer Whale Symposium

October 10-12, 2017
Vancouver, British Columbia

What We Heard Report

KEY SYMPOSIUM OUTCOMES: WHAT WE HEARD FROM PANELISTS AND DELEGATES

1. Prey Availability

Issue: The SRKW feed exclusively on fish. They forage selectively on Chinook salmon in the summer, while chum salmon are present in their diet from September to November. We do not yet understand their winter diet. Within Chinook salmon populations, abundance is declining as well as fish size and quality. Mortality of the SRKW is strongly linked to Chinook salmon abundance.

Overarching recommendation:

• Need to increase prey availability through improved productivity, increased accessibility, and reduced disturbance.

Specific recommendations:

• Fraser River is a primary source of Chinook salmon during the summer season. A critical element for Chinook salmon production is the protection and restoration of freshwater habitats, principally the lower Fraser River, wetlands, and estuary. Joint research efforts between the NOAA and DFO concluded that increased natural production of Chinook salmon and its habitat is key. Prime forage locations for the SRKW overlap with recreational fishing of Chinook salmon. Consider implementing closures at specific fishing locations and time-periods to minimize disturbance during feeding, yet still allow for fishing opportunities elsewhere.
• Explicitly account for the needs of the SRKW in fisheries management decisions, particularly at lower survival rates (years of poor Chinook salmon abundance). A zero fishery harvest is possible, but it requires transparency and extensive consultation.
• Invest in increased research on the feeding effectiveness of the SRKW (e.g. the harvest rate of the SRKW at different Chinook salmon abundance levels and with different feeding conditions).
• Invest in increased research on the winter diet of the SRKW.
• Invest in increased research on the impact of competition for Chinook salmon with other marine mammals (e.g. Harbour seals, Steller sea lions).
• Engage First Nations in stewardship and the annual Chinook salmon assessment.

2. Contaminants and the Food Web

Issue: Contaminants can affect the SRKW through acute or chronic exposure, or they may affect their prey.

Overarching recommendations:

• Consider long-lived, top of the food chain species in chemical and waste-management decisions.
• Consider the SRKW, their food web, and their large habitat needs, using a watershed approach within the Salish Sea.

Specific recommendations:

• Improve regional and national Environmental Quality Guidelines and site-specific objectives. Existing guidelines fail to protect high trophic level species.
• Strengthen the chemical screening process using the precautionary approach. The current process for looking at new chemicals entering the Canadian market does not adequately consider long-term effects on species.
• Establish two multi-organizational working groups to:
  • Research and information sharing in the Salish Sea; and
  • Harmonize regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions.
• Establish a transparent registry for all high-production/high-potency chemicals. We do not know what is out there and we are often behind the chemical release. We need to know what is being used and in what quantities (e.g. pesticides).
• Establish a fund to support priority research and mitigation actions to protect the SRKW, their prey and their habitat.
• Implement proven remediation options to reduce the release of priority pollutants. Many novel technologies can reduce the release and impact of pollutants.
• Improve the enforcement of existing legislation.

3. Noise and Physical Disturbance

Issue: The SRKW vocalize to communicate and socialize with each other, find food and navigate. Noise generated by human activities, whether chronic (e.g. shipping noise, ferry operations, whale-watching etc.) or acute (e.g. pile driving, blasting, seismic surveys, military sonar etc.), can interfere with the ability of the SRKW to conduct these essential life processes. It is estimated that ambient (background) underwater noise levels have increased an average of 15 dB in the past 50 years throughout the world's oceans (a 3dB increase represents a doubling of noise levels).

Overarching recommendations:

• We have enough information to act now to reduce the impacts of noise and disturbance on the SRKW.

Specific recommendations:

• Physical disturbance from small boats, recreational fishers and whale watching boats plays a larger role in conjunction with underwater noise than originally thought. A combination of disturbance regulations (or minimum standoff regulations) with education and enforcement is required.
• Continue to test, monitor and adapt options to mitigate the impacts of underwater noise, taking into consideration the shifting patterns of whale movement, changes in salmon and foraging fish abundance, as well as changing ocean conditions.
• Implement metrics and milestones to measure success. The recent work to establish metrics for how underwater noise is characterized has been recognized and it will be important to quantify and monitor the impact of reduced noise on the SRKW recovery.
• It is important to address echo-location masking noise in areas known to be important for foraging, such as the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Western shore of San Juan Island.

4. Integrative Action on Threats

Issue: To date, threats to the SRKW have been discussed and managed in silos. The symposium was convened to help break down those silos and identify opportunities to address multiple threats simultaneously.

Existing gaps and potential solutions:

• Collaboration and coordination amongst all stakeholders, particularly between the U.S. and Canada, on all threats to the SRKW is essential to recovery. An entity similar to the Pacific Salmon Treaty or a working group should be considered. Local governments could also be very useful. Governance needs to be clear to tackle harmonizing regulations and solutions to limit interception fisheries.
• Assess threats along the entire food web (e.g. noise impacts on prey, not only on the SRKW).
• Conduct research to understand the winter prey of the SRKW and the relative importance of Chinook salmon to their winter diet.
• Understand the percentage of impact for different types of effects (noise, pollution, prey availability, etc.) in order to focus efforts appropriately. Access to prey is the key, and noise, disturbance and contamination exacerbate this challenge (noise/disturbance makes already scarce prey harder to find; less food means more reliance on blubber that includes bioaccumulated toxins).
• We need to coordinate monitoring activities by making efficient use of opportunities to collect data (e.g. simultaneously collecting information on prey, noise and contaminants).
• We need to harmonize measures for vessel management, retrofits, guidelines etc. across all vessels (commercial/shipping, fishing, whale watching, etc.).
• Municipalities could be leaders for integrating solutions (e.g. wastewater management, whale watching, education and awareness, etc.).
• We need to clearly state measures or metrics of success to implement effective management actions.
• It is critical to implement early actions even as scientific understanding evolves, and use adaptive management to adjust actions as more is learned. It is also important to focus on longer-term strategies.