Scientist Robin Baird from Cascadia Research Collective joins the Whale Scout podcast as we dive deep into the waters of Hawaii to explore a different species of resident toothed-whales: False killer whales. Learn about their negative interactions with fisheries and what’s being done to protect them.
Learn more online and in this incredible book.
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Executive Director of Sound Action, Amy Carey, explains why orcas need soft shorelines in Puget Sound. House Bill 1579, if passed, will protect shorelines through the revision of HPA (hydraulic project approval) process for construction in waters.
Sound Action has spent countless hours watchdogging every marine HPA and fighting to ensure shorelines are protected. This fix in permitting could make significant improvements for fish and orcas.
Want to learn more about this work? Watch Shorelines of Stone.
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Beginning in January 2019, many of the recommendations from the Orca Task force will enter a new process in Olympia. Many recommendations need funding in order to be implemented, others need legislative approval. Your voice is needed in order for important measures to actually move forward to protect endangered Southern Resident killer whales and the salmon they depend on. Read the handy, simplified guide created by the BOLD team and learn how to contact your representatives. The orcas can’t wait, so act today!
BOLD team: Cindy Hansen, Orca Network, Susan Marie Andersson, Salish SEA, Monika Wieland-Shields, Orca Behavior Institute, Whitney Neugebauer, Whale Scout.
Learn about the biggest issues facing endangered Southern Resident killer whales from Dr. Deborah Giles, Science Advisor for the Orca Salmon Alliance. We talk about challenging issues such as dam removal, fisheries management, and also learn how Giles manages working “on behalf of the Southern Resident killer whales” as an advocate and scientist. Plus, learn how does Giles copes with the devastating losses suffered by the whales this past summer.
Giles also holds positions with Wild Orca, Conservation Canines, Friday Harbor Labs, and serves on the Orca Task Force’s Prey and Vessels working groups.
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Now that the first year of the two-year Washington State Orca Task Force has completed their final list of recommendations, and Governor Inslee announced a proposed 1.1 BILLION dollar budget for recovering endangered killer whales, we ask David Bain, killer whale biologist and Whale Scout Program Advisor, to evaluate the results. Did the Orca Task Force move in the right direction to benefit the whales? Find out in the podcast!
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Governor Inslee’s proposed budget announcement
Executive Director Whitney Neugebauer discusses the details of Inslee’s budget proposal on the Canadian Skaana podcast
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Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announces is budget and plans to save endangered Southern Resident killer whales. The 1.1 Billion dollar packaged surprised many, but take a closer look at where the money will be spent. Whitney and Monika will break down the major line items and how those choices may impact orcas. Inslee’s proposed budget will still need to go through the legislature and gain support from Washingtonians, but would it be money well spent for orcas? We were surprised to hear that nearly a third of this budget would go to culvert replacement. While important in it’s own right for many reasons, replacing culverts won’t be the most efficient action to help Chinook and therefore orcas. Plus, Inslee decided to include a whale watching moratorium and increase the approach distance from 200 yards to 400 yards. Monika also shares some of her recently published work with Orca Behavior Institute on transient killer whale predation on pinnipeds. Could future policies endanger the healthy population of transient killer whales in Puget Sound? Learn more!
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Jacques White is the Executive Director of Long Live the Kings, a group with the mission to restore wild salmon and steelhead and to support sustainable fishing. On this episode of the Whale Scout Podcast we discuss his experience serving on the Orca Task Force, whether or not the recommendations go far enough to save endangered Southern Resident killer whales, and how hatcheries, Snake River dams, and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) are connected to the larger ecosystem interactions that impact whales.
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