Endangered Puget Sound orca recovery depends on efforts to save salmon and the habitat

This is one in a series of Bellingham Herald stories looking at climate change impacts and solutions in Whatcom County.

The threat: Orca are the spiritual relative of native tribes and icon of the Northwest. They are also key to a tourism industry that was worth at least $65-$70 million in 2001, according to the Southern Resident Killer Whale Chinook Salmon Initiative.

Southern resident orca, the killer whales that call the Salish Sea their home, are an endangered species in both the U.S. and Canada. They are different, genetically and in other ways, from so-called transient orca, according to the Marine Mammal Commission.

The cause: Main threats are lack of food, toxic pollution and vessel traffic — which also causes noise pollution and can interfere with their use of echolocation to find the fish they eat, especially salmon, according to the Endangered Species Coalition.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/endangered-puget-sound-orca-recovery-depends-on-efforts-to-save-salmon-and-the-habitat/ar-BBYdSbl