L pod visits Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove, an infamous capture site, for the first time in more than 50 years. Photo: Kat MartinBy Christopher Dunagan
November 7, 2024
Southern Resident killer whales have been hanging out in Puget Sound much longer than normal this fall, probably because of an unusually large run of chum salmon coming into Central and South Puget Sound, experts say.
As of today, J pod has remained in Puget Sound for 19 straight days with the exception of a two-day excursion into Canadian waters this past weekend, according to Howard Garrett of Orca Network. K and L pods also have been around, with L pod making a surprising visit to the infamous orca-capture grounds in Penn Cove for what may be the first time in more than 50 years.
On a much sadder note, K26, a 31-year-old orca named Lobo has been reported missing and likely deceased by the Center for Whale Research. Also, there have been no further signs of an emaciated calf, designated L128 (Our Water Ways, Oct. 11). These two deaths would bring the Southern Resident population down to 72, matching the record low for this orca population, which has been the focus of unsuccessful recovery efforts.
In a typical year, the fish-eating Southern Residents come and go, feeding on fall chum that arrive in Puget Sound after chinook salmon — their favored food — become less available. This occurs as spring and summer Chinook runs decline in northern Puget Sound and British Columbia.
This year, J pod seems to have settled in, generally hanging out in feeding grounds within the so-called Possession Triangle south of Whidbey Island and north of a line between Kingston and Edmonds. In this area, they are able to catch and consume fish bound for streams farther south.
“By all indications, there has been a lot of foraging,” Howie told me. “We’ve had reports from the water of chum jumping.”
Fisheries biologists with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently doubled their estimates of the number of chum that will return to streams in Central and South Puget Sound. The preseason forecast, used to set fishing seasons, anticipated a return of 486,562 chum to Central/South streams. That’s more than half of the total Puget Sound chum run, estimated early this year at 818,793. The 10-year average is 1.2 million.
The latest estimate just for Central/South is 900,000 chum, based largely on “test fisheries” conducted near Kingston. Meanwhile, Hood Canal, originally estimated at 254,900 chum, has been updated to 1.04 million. That Hood Canal estimate alone exceeds the entire preseason estimate for all of Puget Sound, and that waterway alone falls just short of the 10-year average for the entire Sound.
The reasons for the increased numbers of chum are not well understood, but are likely the result of cooler ocean waters, increased food supply and other favorable conditions after the fish leave their natal streams. A La Niña phase in the oceanic cycle, called the El Ñino Southern Oscillation, has been reported as favorable to salmon growing to size in the ocean from August 2020 to January 2023, according to experts who thought they had already accounted for those conditions.
“While we are getting a better understanding of what variables to look at when doing forecasts, we still have a lot to learn,” noted Kyle Adicks, intergovernmental salmon manager for WDFW, “and there are still a lot of short and long-term oscillations in salmon survival, abundance, productivity, etc., that we don’t have a handle on.”
Increased numbers of chum have been seen moving upstream throughout the region, thanks to recent rains. As more fish home in on their natal streams, we could see the whales moving farther south. More salmon in the streams suggests that this is a good time for humans to go out and watch salmon swimming and spawning at public-viewing locations throughout the region. WDFW has produced a webpage that offers viewing tips and a map of Puget Sound with locations where salmon can be seen.
Jon Oleyar, a biologist with the Suquamish Tribe who counts fish in the streams, confirmed that this year’s chum run is surprisingly large. Chico Creek, perhaps the largest chum stream in Puget Sound, has good numbers of fish in the mainstem and far up into most of its tributaries, he said. This may turn out to be the largest run on record.
It appears from various accounts that the number of coho salmon also are up this year. Coho often enter the streams about the same time as chum, but they may go upstream earlier or later depending on streamflows, to which they seem to respond more readily than chum.
While resident killer whales prefer Chinook salmon, studies have shown that they will eat chum and coho when these fish are plentiful. So far, the whales seem to be finding enough salmon in the Possession Triangle, although J pod made at least one trip as far south as Seattle in October. In past years, the whales have been known to go south in search of food, occasionally passing under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge into South Puget Sound.
To watch the whales from shore, check out reports on Orca Network Community Group, which gathers sighting information from all sorts of observers. Locations to view whales when present are shown on the sighting map.
Orca observers were pleased and somewhat amazed this past Sunday when L pod went up Saratoga Passage and entered Penn Cove near the Whidbey Island town of Coupeville. This is where seven orcas were captured for the aquarium trade in 1970, with an additional three captured there in 1971. Among them was a young whale named Lolita or Tokitae, who was taken to an aquarium in Miami, where she died last year. She was the last of the many Puget Sound whales in captivity.
Until Sunday, the whales had never returned to Penn Cove, as far as anyone knows, although they have been seen in nearly every other bay and inlet throughout Puget Sound, according to Howie, who noticed that L pod’s behavior in Penn Cove was noticeably different from the foraging activity of J pod in the Possession Triangle.
“L pod seemed to be exploring Penn Cove in large groups with multiple spy hops and breaches, and high speed porpoising from place to place.” Howie wrote on Orca Network’s Facebook page. “Typical foraging behavior wasn’t reported or photographed.”
Among the L pod whales was L25, a female named Ocean Sun estimated to be 96 years old. She is said to be the only orca still alive who could have been among the whales that were rounded up in Penn Cove years ago.
“So, I wonder,” Howie continued, “what were they doing there? Did L25 share her memories of those traumatic chases with bombs into Penn Cove and the many nets and removal of their young, never to be seen again? Were the others, all of whom were born after 1971, aware that those terrible events happened there? We can only wonder.”
Kat Martin, who photographed the whales from shore, said she was happy to witness history in the making. Watch a video she made of the experience on YouTube.
“For the first time in over 50 years, the southern resident orcas made their way into Penn Cove,” she wrote on Facebook. “L Pod gave us a lovely look as they came in. We were all in complete shock with each minute that passed with them inside the cove… We will never forget this! Nearly one year ago to the day, I was watching J Pod travel through Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon Island, another place the whales are not known to travel to. How incredible that I got to witness history once again!”
After Sunday’s visit to Penn Cove, the L pod whales returned on Tuesday, according to observers. As of this morning, a number of J pod whales left the Possession Triangle, swam south past Kingston and were off Bainbridge Island, where they were seen from the shore and from at least two state ferries.
