Orcasphere

10:00 Lynne Barre, NWFSC

Critical habitat can be modified.  A future step is designating habitat outside of the inland waters of WA.
Recovery plan implementation was started in 2003, well before the endangered listing in 2005.
Proposed regulations are under review… no date given for when rule-making will occur.
Consultations regarding potential impacts result in letters of concurrence or [...]

Interesting that the WA sea otters (a transient orca food source?) may be expanding their range from the NW coast of the Olympic Peninsula. Though the Salish Sea habitat is certainly appropriate for them, they apparently are rarely seen east of a line between Port Angeles and Race Rocks. Reference http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/whc/seadoc/pdfs/VanBlaricom01.pdf

clipped [...]

Persistent organic pollutants as chemical tracers for Puget Sound marine biota, Gina Ylitalo
Chemical tracers can be used to determine geographic ranges.  Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like PCBs and PDBEs in Salish Sea herring (3 yr old males collected ‘99 and ‘04) showed elevated levels in Puget Sound relative to Georgia Strait, though difference was small [...]

Changes in marine mammal populations of the Salish Sea: What will the future look like?
Pinnipeds

Harbor seal populations have stabilized — probably at historical levels –  in all areas of Washington after rising from lows of the 70s and 80s, often generating (old) conflicts with human fishers…
Many haulout areas were actually dynamited, so artificial areas are [...]