New census data shows Southern Resident Killer Whale population once again in decline

L86 and new calf L125 are shown: Feb. 17, 2021 (Dave Ellifrit/Center for Whale Research)

In the waters off Vancouver Island, the population of the Southern Resident Killer Whales is still dwindling.

"Between July 1, 2023, and the same date in 2024, we had a decline in the population of two individuals total,” said Dr. Michael Weiss, research director at the Washington-based Center for Whale Research.

Those were adult orcas. There was one birth recorded over that period, but unfortunately that male calf didn’t survive.

"We just cannot seem to get multiple years in a row of the population growing,” said Weiss. “Every time we get growth, we get a decline following it."

The Center for Whale Research says there are three factors colliding with one another causing the species to struggle.

"(Those factors are) a lack of their primary prey, the Chinook salmon, noise and vessel disturbance and toxic chemicals in their environment,” said the research director.

When the whales are not well fed, those toxins are released into their bloodstream as they process their blubber to feed their metabolism. The noise makes it hard to hunt Chinook salmon, which are also in decline in some areas of the Pacific Northwest.

"Where we are now with this population is that we're really into the 11th hour,” said Misty MacDuffee, wild salmon program director with Raincoast Conservation Foundation. “From salmon alone we could halt the decline."

MacDuffee says it’s not solely about the declining Chinook stocks, but also how those stocks are being harvested.

"What if we changed the way we fish Chinook salmon?” said MacDuffee. “What if we stop fishing them in the marine environment and only fish them once they reach the rivers?"

She says resident killer whales have evolved to hunt large Chinook, which are no long as plentiful in the ocean. Changing our fisheries from migration routes to rivers and the mouths of those rivers would allow Chinook salmon to mature in their marine environment.

"We have to have more big, old Chinook,” said MacDuffee.

Both scientists agree this recent census data isn’t good news for the Southern Resident Killer Whales, but that’s not to say it’s too late.

"They are adaptable, they are resilient,” said Weiss. “Given a chance, they will bounce back.”

If that chance isn’t given, Weiss says we face loosing the entire population over the next few decades.