Originally published Monday, May 7, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Reducing fishermen's catch of Chinook salmon may not increase the availability of prey for endangered Puget Sound orcas, a panel of U.S. and Canadian scientists have found.
SEATTLE ?
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Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island said it is clear that Chinook have declined from historical populations, so nobody can say the shortage of salmon has not affected the whales. "But the general feeling I'm getting from these fishery guys is that they are working as hard as they can," he told the newspaper.
Balcomb agrees with the panel's preliminary recommendations to better determine where the orcas go in winter and what they are eating during those lean times.
Information from: Kitsap Sun,
http://www.kitsapsun.com/
