There are obstacles ahead for the new plan to help save the Puget Sound orcas facing a shortage of the salmon they need to survive.
Orca L-41 is known for his ramrod straight vertical fin. His loss to starvation would be devastating. He fathered many of the calves born during his more than 40 years of roaming Puget Sound. The Orca Network says he hasn’t been seen since Jan. 24.
That's why there's a proposal to bring public-private fish hatcheries, like those pioneered in Alaska, to Washington.
Republicans are leading a bipartisan plan to establish one near the Port of Bellingham. It would be a way of raising the salmon that fishermen want and orcas need to survive.
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“The orcas are in tremendous peril, so how can we increase the numbers of salmon to support orcas is a really important question to look at,” said Mike Hogan, public affairs administrator for the Port of Bellingham.
But Friday the state Senate Natural Resources Committee heard tribal representatives warn that treaty fishing rights and the requirements of the Endangered Species Act leave little room or time for a new public-private entity.
“We don't have the capacity or the time to try to bring somebody into that realm,” said Lummi Nation Councilmember Lisa Wilson.
They (who is they) believe the way to help orcas is to focus on the state-owned hatchery system already in place.
“We've got hatcheries that have not had the money put into them for many years and so that is what we need to focus on to make sure that we apply all those funds to something that's already up and moving,” Wilson said.
Advocates of the Alaska approach point out that 17 percent of the money from the fish goes to provide stable funding for hatcheries.
“Is there room in there for increased production for the orca?” said Republican Sen. Shelly Scott, of Addy. “Maybe that’s kind of the reason that we’re looking at this.”
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