John,
There are only 74 Southern Resident orcas left in the Pacific Northwest, and they are starving, struggling to catch enough food in an increasingly loud, overfished, and polluted ocean.
Take action for this critically endangered orca population.
Southern Residents use distinct sounds — clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls — to talk to each other and navigate. But noisy ships and boats drown them out, interfere with their echolocation, and make it harder for them to hunt Chinook salmon, their preferred food.
NOAA Fisheries designated critical habitat for Southern Residents in 2006 — but nearly 20 years later it still hasn't limited noise pollution within these areas.
Thankfully, there's a lot NOAA Fisheries can do for these beloved orcas. Slowing vessels, requiring routine maintenance, and changing vessel routes could keep the noise from human-made machines away from orca habitat and help these animals thrive again — the agency just needs a push to act.
June is Orca Action Month. Join us in telling NOAA Fisheries to limit noise pollution in Southern Resident orca critical habitat.
