I tied up to a blackcod boat in Kodiac Ak and learned they had changed from longline to traps since killer whales had learned to strip their gear as they hauled. The whales would jog at the flagpole waiting for the boat to haul the gear. A halibut longliner had to leave the Cape St James area as killer whales had learned the easy pickings of the halibut coming up.
These orcas are smart and aren't called killer whales by accident. Our SRKW mainly eat spring salmon and the experts say they are starving because of lack of food?
pink salmon are here in millions in odd years,herring in the thousands of tons from Oct-March,sockeye,coho,chum salmon,hake are in the Gulf of Georgia.100,000 seals,100,000 sealions here as well and none are skinny.
In the SRKW ,K pod (18 whales) and L pod (35 whales) go S except for 2-3 months in summer,with one of those pods in decline. I wonder if the feces of these whales are examined as they swim to Calif to see if they consume King salmon all the way S?
The experts claim the SRKW are starving even with all these fish and tasty pinnipeds around.
Is this a made in BC/Washington problem as J pod (23 whales) are here for most of the year? I look forward to Dr. Trites talk Feb 5.