Orca protection law goes into effect today
Email | Print Staff Report | Skagit Valley Herald
June 12, 2008 - 10:00 AM

Starting today, it is illegal for most boaters or paddlers to come within 300 feet of the state’s official marine mammal — the endangered southern resident killer whale.

House Bill 2514, sponsored by Rep. Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, passed the Legislature to protect the orca as a stopgap measure until the federal government approves regulations.

The southern residents — which swim in family groups called K, L and M pods — were declared endangered in November 2005. The endangered whales swim in Puget Sound and the straits around the San Juan Islands during the summer. Scientists consider shrinking salmon runs, pollution and vessel traffic the greatest threats to the subspecies’ survival.

The new law creates a 300-foot protection zone around orcas and prohibits vessels from remaining in the path of an orca, failing to yield to an orca and people from feeding an orca.

For information on orcas, long onto http://www.orcamonth.org or http://www.orcanetwork.org. 

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