News

Here’s where you’ll find news about orcas, marine mammals and the marine environment, from around the Pacific Northwest, and the world.

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Erich Hoyt – Adventures with Orcas in the North Pacific, from A1 Stubbs to Iceberg, the White Russian Buil

Join us for this rare Seattle appearance by noted author, whale researcher and marine conservationist Erich Hoyt, Saturday June 8 at the Hall at Fauntleroy in West Seattle. Buy tickets early!

White orca “Iceberg”, Commander Islands, Far East Russia. Photo by Evgeniya Lazareva, Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP, WDC). All rights reserved.

Erich Hoyt’s first killer whale expedition to Johnstone Strait sailed from Victoria, BC in June 1973, 40 years ago this June. He proceeded to spend parts of the next 10 summers with orcas, culminating in his now classic book Orca: The Whale Called Killer. He went on to study and work on conservation projects related to other whales, dolphins, sharks, deep sea creatures, ants and social insects, working in Costa Rica, Japan, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Argentina, Chile and other countries. 

 In 1999 he co-founded the Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP) to find out more about orca pods targeted for aquarium captures and to get Russian students involved in science and conservation of killer whales in Russian waters. Now in its 15th year, FEROP has recorded the Russian pods and photo-IDed some 1500 orcas off Kamchatka and in the Commander Islands — including three white orcas found so far in the study areas.
 
This is the fifth in a series of Orca Talks hosted by The Whale Trail.  The event also features updates from Robin Lindsay (Seal Sitters), and Diver Laura James (tox-ick.org and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance), and photography from Judy Lane. 
 
Erich’s books will be on sale and they can be signed.
 
About the Speaker
Erich Hoyt is a noted marine conservationist, whale researcher, lecturer and author of more than 20 books including Orca: The Whale Called Killer, The Earth Dwellers, and Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, the latter recently named as an “Outstanding Academic Title” by the journal Choice. 
 
He is an authority on marine protected areas (MPAs) and sanctuaries, and is currently Research Fellow with WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, leading its Global Critical Habitat MPA Program. He also co-directs the Far East Russia Orca Project in Kamchatka and the Russian Cetacean Habitat Project in the Commander Islands. 
 
He is as an appointed member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Cetacean Specialist Group and the World Commission on Protected Areas, and co-chairs the new IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. He is a member of the International Committee for Marine Mammal Protected Areas and has helped organize and program its world conferences in Hawaii (2009), Martinique (2011) and Australia (to be 2014).
 
A former Vannevar Bush Fellow in the Public Understanding of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and twice James Thurber Writer-in-Residence at The Thurber House, Hoyt was awarded the Mandy McMath Conservation Award in April this year by the European Cetacean Society at its annual conference for his body of work including books, papers and work on marine conservation. He is a Canadian-US dual citizen who has lived in Scotland since 1989.

PACIFIC COAST GETS FIRST WHALE TRAIL SIGN AT OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK’S KALALOCH LODGE

 Visitors to Kalaloch Lodge on the Olympic Peninsula’s Pacific Ocean shore will learn about gray whales, sea otters and endangered orcas that frequent the area, thanks to a partnership between The Whale Trail, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and Olympic National Park.

The first Whale Trail sign to be installed on the Washington outer coast will be dedicated at Kalaloch Lodge on April 11 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. The ceremony will feature a keynote address by Jefferson County Commissioner Phil Johnson, and representatives from Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park and The Whale Trail. The event is free and open to the public.

The program will also feature Hoh tribal storyteller Viola Riebe, Director of Cultural Resources. Viola was featured in the film Run to High Ground!, a Native American story about tsunamis and earthquakes, and co-author of the chapter on the Hoh Tribe in the book, Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: Who We Are.

“Whale Trail signs are simple but powerful reminders that orcas and other marine mammals live in our waters,” said Donna Sandstrom, executive director of The Whale Trail. “The Kalaloch sign encourages visitors to look at this spectacular seascape with a deeper understanding of the diversity of life it supports, and our role in protecting it.”

Twenty-nine species of marine mammals live in or pass through the waters of the sanctuary. At vantage points in the Olympic National Park, visitors might spot migratory gray whales, sea lions, harbor porpoise, harbor seals, sea otters and orcas.

“I was a commercial fisherman for 12 years,” said Jefferson County Commissioner Phil Johnson. “I had the opportunity on many occasions to observe these amazing creatures up close and spotting a pod of whales was always the high point of a trip.”

“No one walks away from an encounter with an orca or grey whale without being awestruck and hopefully eager to learn more,” said Carol Bernthal, Superintendant of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. “The health of the ocean is challenged right now by big issues like climate change and ocean acidification and it will take the political will and actions at the local and international level to make the necessary changes in policy to better protect our ocean. It starts with awareness of the need to protect these places and animals.”

“We are happy to have provided the funding and staff support for producing signs at Kalaloch, Snow Creek, and Port Angeles in partnership with The Whale Trail and Olympic National Park,” said Bernthal.

The Whale Trail sign at Kalaloch is the first sign placed within the Olympic National Park. “We are pleased to host this stop on the Whale Trail and grateful for the strong partnerships that have made this possible,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum.

The Whale Trail has also identified whale-viewing sites at La Push (Quileute Nation) and Cape Flattery (Makah Nation) and dozens of other sites on the Olympic Peninsula and in Puget Sound, http://thewhaletrail.org/sites.

Through its current signs alone, including two on every Washington State ferry, The Whale Trail reaches more than 22 million people each year.

CONTACT: Donna Sandstrom, The Whale Trail, (206) 919-5397 Kathy Steichen, Olympic National Park (360) 912-2770 Jacqueline Laverdure, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (360) 457-6622 x21

The Whale Trail Presents John Calambokidis: History and Changes in Harbor Porpoise in the Salish Sea.

Harbor porpoises were once commonly seen throughout the Salish Sea. After falling to record lows, sightings are on the increase. Is the population coming back?

Scientists recently gathered to discuss what we know – and don’t know – about these elusive animals. What is their range? What do they eat?

Like their cousins the orcas, harbor porpoise are an indicator species for the health of Puget Sound. How are they doing?

Join us for on March 28 at C&P Coffee for the next Orca Talk, featuring John Calambokidis,  founder and director of Cascadia Research. John and his colleague Jessie Huggins are leaders in the transboundary effort to assess and monitor the health of the harbor porpoise population in the Salish Sea.

John is a renown biologist who directs long-term research on the status, movements, and underwater behavior of blue, humpback, and gray whales. In 2010, John conducted the necropsy on the gray whale that stranded on Arroyo Beach in West Seattle.

What: History and Changes in Harbor Porpoise in the Salish Sea Presentation by John Calambokidis, hosted by The Whale Trail
Where:C&P Coffee Company, 5612 California Ave SW
When: Thursday March 28, 6:30 – 9
Cost: $5 suggested donation, kids free. –Tickets available at brownpapertickets.com
Contact: donna@thewhaletrail.org, 206.919.5397

Buy tickets early! Space is limited and this will likely sell out.

This is the third in a series of Orca Talks hosted by The Whale Trail in West Seattle. The event also features updates from Robin Lindsay (Seal Sitters), and Diver Laura James (tox-ick.org and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance), and photography and art from Judy Lane and Mike Russell. About the Speaker John Calambokidis is a Research Biologist and one of the founders of Cascadia Research, a non-profit research organization formed in 1979 based in Olympia, Washington. He periodically (1991-2010) serves as an Adjunct Faculty at the Evergreen State College teaching a course on marine mammals. His primary interests are the biology of marine mammals and the impacts of humans. As a Senior Research Biologist at Cascadia Research he has served as Project Director of over 100 projects. He has authored two books on marine mammals ( the award-winning Guide to Marine Mammals of Greater Puget Sound from Island Publishers, with R. Osborne and E.M. Dorsey and Blue Whales from Voyageur Press, with G.H. Steiger) as well as more than 150 publications in scientific journals and technical reports. He has conducted studies on a variety of marine mammals in the North Pacific from Central America to Alaska. He has directed long-term research on the status, movements, and underwater behavior of blue, humpback, and gray whales. His work has been covered on shows by Discovery Channel and others and is featured in a National Geographic TV special and magazine article released in March 2009.

Stormwater Runoff Story on PBS

Diver Laura James (tox-ick.org and Puget Soundkeeper’s Alliance) is featured in this PBS story about stormwater runoff and its impact on Puget Sound. Reducing volumes of and improving the quality of runoff is the key to the health of Puget Sound, which in turn is key to the survival of the southern resident orcas. The science of managing stormwater runoff is still young.  Take a look!

Watch Seattleites Make Rain Gardens to Curb Stormwater Pollution on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

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