Saving Orcas
Photo: Miles Ritter
June 2010
A newborn black and pink orca calf made headlines in February when it was spotted off Victoria’s Cadboro Bay. The calf, named L114 by scientists, will turn from pink to pearly white--if it is lucky enough to survive its first six months. (To see pictures of the newest addition to K pod, K43, click here.) Forty percent of all baby orcas die from a combination of malnutrition, inexperienced mothers and milk laced with toxic synthetic chemicals such as PCBs and PBDEs.
In February 2009, a lawsuit filed by Ecojustice on behalf of Sierra Club BC and other environmental groups compelled the federal government to give legal protection to the critical habitat of resident orca populations in BC waters. This is the first time that Canada has ever issued an order to protect critical habitat under its Species at Risk Act!
Although we welcomed the order, we were concerned that it was too limited in scope to protect the orcas. Our fear was that the order excluded protection for the biological aspects of critical habitat, including salmon prey. Southern resident orcas suffer malnutrition due to declining salmon stocks. They are also the most contaminated marine mammals in the world and are threatened by acoustic disturbances from dredging, seismic testing and military sonar.
On June 15, we returned to court. Our second lawsuit alleges that the federal government has unlawfully narrowed the Species at Risk Act to ensure legal protection only for geographical attributes of critical orca habitat. Availability of salmon prey is one of the core aspects of critical habitat; it is the overwhelming feature of these areas that makes them useful to orcas.
There are huge precedents at stake , as this is the very first order issued under the Species at Risk Act to protect the critical habitat of any listed species – and we have to get it right. The issue is that habitat is not just places, it includes features like food sources, quiet and clean water.
The hearing is now over and we are awaiting the court's decision, which could take up to six months.
Read an op-ed by the mayors of Whistler and Victoria here.
