And now, 6 tough questions about killer whale survival put to NOAA

The orcas of the Salish Sea are dying.

We first took notice when Granny, the matriarch, died in 2016 at the age of 105.

Newborn orcas were dying, too. This summer, the world tuned in as a mama killer whale carried her calf for 17 days, its body yellow and floppy. As each day passed, and she refused to let go, the number in the headlines ticked up – second day carrying her baby, third day, fourth – and humans on land became increasingly rattled. Her funeral procession became our protest.

Then came the news that the 3-year-old, nicknamed Scarlet or J-50, was in trouble. She was skinny, her head so narrow that she was dubbed a peanut head. Veterinarians, research and tribal vessels and choppers were dispatched to find her and treat her with antibiotics.

This week, officials determined that she, too, was likely dead.

The Center for Whale Research, which tracks the orcas in this region, issued a statement that read more like an obituary for the subspecies:

Watching J50 during the past three months is what extinction looks like when survival is threatened for all by food deprivation and lack of reproduction. Not only are the Southern Resident killer whales dying and unable to reproduce sufficiently, but also their scarce presence in the Salish Sea is an indication that adequate food is no longer available for them here, or along the coast.

On Sunday night, officials from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration took questions and comments from the public.

These whales need more chinook salmon. Why not reduce the harvest of chinook salmon?

When it comes to salmon harvest, salmon that start here migrate up to Alaska through Canada. Reducing harvest means you have to change a treaty that affects two or three states and two countries.

What would have happened if you HAD caught up to J-50?

NOAA scientists described how they would have done a medical exam on J50, and put her in a pool in Port Orchard if that’s what it took to save her.

But speaker after speaker said none of that would have put more salmon in the water for the whales to eat.

Erika Hansen put it this way: “I have no doubt that you love these animals. And while I appreciate that, it became clear to me last night that the bureaucracy of this organization is killing these whales as swiftly as the lack of salmon.”

Many said we need to sharply reduce the size of the chinook harvest, and breach dams on the lower Snake River.