The federal government finalized a new rule Friday which expands critical habitat protection along the West Coast for endangered killer whales as far south as Monterey County.
The National Marine Fisheries Service designated nearly 16-thousand square miles of new critical habitat for orcas that spans across the coast of Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
The new habitat covers important foraging areas, river mouths and migratory pathways for marine life.
Julie Simmonds is a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity in the Oceans Program. She said orcas have been listed as endangered since 2005 and there are only 74 left along the West Coast.
Simmonds told KCBX News this new habitat designation can go a long way to support the protection of the species.
“They travel all the way from Alaska all the way down to Monterey Bay and we have to protect that habitat as well, especially in light of all the threats to salmon,” Simmonds said.
Simmonds said a holistic protection method is necessary to help the orcas rebound.
The whales’ primary food source is salmon and Simmonds said protecting the waters where they live from things like pollution, noise, harassment and habitat degradation can give the whales a chance to boost their population.
“We really gotta address this issue from an ecosystem perspective and think about all the river runs and how they fit together when it comes to saving these really important predators and keystone species like orcas,” Simmonds said.
According to Simmonds, the killer whale population on the West Coast is declining — but biologists are hopeful that will change.
“What we want to see is an increase in that population of a rate at about 2.3% per year would help us feel confident that they’re meeting that recovery standard. So not just holding on for their lives.”
Simmonds said orcas spend much of the summer season along the Washington coast but they travel extensively during the winter and early spring to feed.
Whale watching brings in significant tourism revenue for the Central Coast. A representative from Monterey Bay Whale Watch told KCBX News their killer whale season is April and May, when they have sightings almost every day. But they can be seen during other times of the year as well.
