OLYMPIA, Wash. — The fight to save southern resident orcas got an important boost from state lawmakers today.
Three new laws to protect them have passed crucial votes.
There are just 75 southern resident orcas left in Puget Sound, today's action is aimed at making sure they have enough food to survive.
One new law would require whale watching boats to stay at least 300 yards away from southern resident orcas, 400 yards when behind the whales. It requires boats to lower their speeds to 7 knots, 8 miles an hour for a thousand yards around the orcas.
These efforts are beneficial to the animals because orcas need quiet to use their sonar to locate fish.
“I think it will give the whales the protections that they need so that they have some quiet, they have the space they need to be with their family and they have the ability to fish,” said Bainbridge Island Democratic Sen. Christine Rolfes.
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Earlier talk of a whale watching moratorium was put aside, but opponents still worry about the law's effects on whale watching
“Some of things that are being proposed here could make it very difficult for them to continue,” said Addy Republican state Sen. Shelly Short.
Two other bills were designed to prevent the toxic pollution that affects orcas and the fish they eat. The House approved legislation to require that oil tankers and barges be escorted by tugs in the Rosario Strait. By a 1 vote margin, the Senate approved giving the Department of Ecology the mission of identifying and regulating toxic chemicals that effect the orcas.
“These toxins are not just contaminating our bodies of other critters including the rare and endangered southern resident killer whale,” Senator Rolfes said.
Associated Press
