Photo by Sandy Buckley

Keeping killer whales out of oil spills

In the wake of the the Exxon Valdes oil spill, 33% of the fish-eating AB killer whale pod and 41% of the mammal-eating AT1 pod died. Oil and whales don’t mix, and oil spills continue to represent a major threat to the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Salish Sea.

SeaDoc worked with NOAA Fisheries and other organizations to develop a plan for keeping killer whales out of an oil spill should one occur in the Salish Sea ecosystem. These actions are now part of a Northwest Area Contingency Plan for responding to a spill.