Monday November 28, 2022
The Chronicle —
The Pacific Fishery Management Council has decreased the number of chinook salmon it allocates each year to feed Southern Resident orca whales.
The number is important because added conservation measures to ensure adequate food for the Southern Residents can only be put in place if that number is not reached.
The council manages the commercial, recreational and tribal fisheries for about 119 species in federal waters off the West Coast.
The number of chinook allocated for the Southern Residents in 2021 was 966,000. That number has been lowered to 623,000 due to new modeling, said Robin Ehlke, council staff member responsible for handling salmon fishery management issues.
The threatened Puget Sound chinook are the largest part of the diet for the endangered Southern Residents.