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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060405/ap_on_sc/northwest_orcas">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060405/ap_on_sc/northwest_orcas</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><b><font size=6 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>Researchers
Link Chinook, Orca Populations<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>By PEGGY ANDERSEN,
Associated Press Writer <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Tue Apr 4, 10:36 PM
ET</span></i> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>SEATTLE</span></font></st1:place></st1:City> - The
killer whales that chase salmon in this region's inland waters feed almost
exclusively on chinook, to the extent that the orca population ebbs and flows
right along with that of the West Coast's largest and longest-lived salmon,
researchers said Tuesday. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The whales settle
for chum salmon for six to eight weeks in the fall, when most of the chinook
are gone, John Ford of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans said at the
2006 Symposium on Southern Resident Killer Whales, a joint effort of his agency
and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Between 1996 and
2001, Ford said, sharp drops in the region's chinook runs correlated with declines
in the northern and southern resident orca populations, as the inland killer
whales of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region> and the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
are called.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Orca mortality was
300 percent higher than expected, Ford said, and difficult to link to other
known stressors.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"It was a bit
of a surprise to us," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Both the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
Canadian orca populations have been declared endangered, and the findings
suggest salmon managers may want to set aside some chinook for the whales, he
said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"Chinook are
what drive these animals," Ford said, even when other seemingly adequate
salmon species may be far more abundant.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Many of the
region's salmon runs are also considered endangered.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Killer whales may
have come to prefer chinook over the centuries because the runs extend from
April through October, he said. They spawn at different ages, and non-migratory
chinook can be found in the area year-round. Chinook live as long as six years,
longer than other salmon species, and can weigh up to 70 pounds. They also are
fattier than other salmon species.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"I came in
here today thinking killer whales would eat the salmon that were most abundant,
but I'm finding that's not the case," said salmon researcher Jeff Haymes
of the Washington state Department of Fish and Game, who also spoke about
chinook populations at the second day of the three-day conference.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Longtime orca
researcher Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research addressed the mystery
of where the resident orcas spend the winter months. The southern residents
have been seen as far south as <st1:City w:st="on">Monterey</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Calif.</st1:State>, and as far north as <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>'s
<st1:place w:st="on">Queen Charlotte Islands</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"Now I know
they hang around the core area till the chum run out ... and then go work
chinook out on the coast," he said, laughing.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Defining orca
habitat for protection is one of the tasks faced by NMFS under the Endangered
Species Act.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"It's a
moving target," Balcomb said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>When chinook
numbers are down, orcas work harder to find them, said <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Washington</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
researcher Shannon McCluskey, who studied orca movements and population in relation
to salmon populations.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In the late 1990s,
when runs were down, orcas spread out beyond the <st1:place w:st="on">San Juan
Islands</st1:place>, where the state's three resident orca pods are based. In
the early '90s, when chinook numbers were up, they stayed closer to home.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Orcas, actually a
kind of dolphin found in all the world's oceans, feed on 200 prey species, Ford
said. Transient orcas, which live along the coast, prefer marine mammals.
Offshore orcas mostly eat fish, including sharks.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Other researchers
spoke about pollution threats from toxins such as long-lasting PCBs, or
polychlorinated biphenyls, which have been banned since the 1970s but persist
in orcas and other top predators; and fire-retardant PBDEs, polybrominated
diphenyl ethers, which are still produced. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The impact of
vessel traffic also was addressed. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>___ <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On the Internet: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Fisheries <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>: <a
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sc/storytext/northwest_orcas/18624368/SIG=10ubmbb3f/*http:/www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca">http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>National Marine
Fisheries Service: <a
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sc/storytext/northwest_orcas/18624368/SIG=10q7k9ip7/*http:/www.nwr.noaa.gov/">http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Orca Network: <a
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sc/storytext/northwest_orcas/18624368/SIG=10svdve2g/*http:/www.orcanetwork.org">http://www.orcanetwork.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><b><font size=6 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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