Orca Protection and Recovery

Although World Orca Day (and World Orca Month) is about celebrating the species, it is important that we recognise that there are orca who suffer due to being held in captivity and there is nothing to celebrate about that. I, along with the rest of the team at World Orca Day, want to recognise those individuals and state that we haven’t forgotten and we continue to advocate for them.

This infographic shows the minimum number of orca held around the world – there are potentially more in Russia and in China – but details are hard to come by. If you have recent evidence about the orca in these countries, please do contact World Orca Day. The solution for all these orca, no matter where they are currently held, is for them to be placed into genuine and authentic sanctuaries. Once there, each individual would experience a more natural way of life and can be assessed as to their suitability for rehabilitation and potential release into the wild. Despite what the captivity industry might tell you, such sanctuaries are feasible and would improve the welfare for the orca. I encourage you to endorse such sanctuaries and speak out for the orca held in captivity.

THANKS FOR JOINING THE WEBINAR....
Thanks to all those who joined the World Orca Day webinar – it was fantastic to be able to share some of my research and advocacy work. It was a shame that we didn’t get to answer all your amazing questions – I’ll try and tick some of them off in social media posts in the rest of the days of World Orca Month.
The wide range of locations that folks joined us from was fascinating – and I thought you might like to see a simplified plot map with the countries (keeping in mind that there were lots of individual locations within a country!).…. My sincere apologies if I missed your location – but please do tag in their comments, so that we are aware of your participation.
I will be posting a recording of the video and alert you to that on here when it is ready.

Wonderful Breaking News: ⁣
“White House weighs in on Lower Snake River dam breaching”⁣ -Seattle Times, this morning! ✊🏽🐟🐬⁣
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⁣The Biden administration released 2 reports finding dam removal is needed on the Lower Snake to recover salmon in the Columbia & Snake rivers & that replacing the energy produced by the Lower Snake River dams is feasible.⁣
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The 2 reports paint a picture of what it will take over the next decades to restore salmon populations, honor commitments to Tribal Nations, deliver clean power & meet the needs of stakeholders across the PNW region.⁣
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The report relied on science from the Nez Perce Tribe and state of Oregon & federal research by NOAA & US Fish and Wildlife Service scientists.⁣
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Today 13 runs of salmon and steelhead are at risk of extinction in the Columbia and Snake river. Salmon in the Snake Basin are particularly affected with only about 50 fish returning to some drainages in an area that used to produce half the Chinook salmon in the Columbia Basin.⁣
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Salmon recovery has not resulted despite efforts over decades, including habitat restoration, massive hatchery releases and passage fixes at the dams. ⁣
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The reports come as tribes and their allies are heading to Washington, D.C. this week to advocate for dam removal on the Lower Snake to boost recovery of salmon and endangered southern resident orcas, which rely on salmon for their diet.⁣
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The Nez Perce Tribe has long been at the forefront of the push for dam removal on the Lower Snake. Tribal Vice Chair Wheeler called the reports “definitely encouraging. This administration is taking the climate crisis and the salmon extinction crisis seriously,”⁣
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📰: Article by Lynda Mapes for the Seattle Times ⁣
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📷: Photograph by 💙⁣
🐬: K22 “Sekiu” spyhopping in Boundary Pass. ⁣
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Hope you can make it!
Register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4oN6tBkvTRGHF3YECPxxGg