(04.06 HC)
Resident orcas live in coastal waters, while offshore orcas live in the open ocean
and have a larger geographic range. The table below shows the top three threats
to orca populations.
Table 1. Factors considered in listing and potentially affecting recovery of
Southern Resident killer whales.
Threat
Listing Factors
Severity Likelihood
Feasibility of
Mitigation
Prey
availability
Habitat
High
High
High, many
salmon
recovery efforts
underway
Contaminants
Habitat,
Inadequacy of
Existing
Regulations
High
High
Medium, Puget
Sound clean-up
efforts
underway
Vessel effects
(commercial,
recreational
whale watch)
Habitat,
Overutilization,
Inadequacy of
Existing
Regulations
High, whale
watching
guidelines and
outreach
underway,
NOAA
evaluating
regulations
High
High