Overview

• A workshop of 31 international experts released a cross-border recovery roadmap for southern resident orcas that includes 26 actionable science-based measures.
• The plan urges limits on chinook salmon fisheries, elimination of key toxins and enforceable standards to curb vessel noise in critical habitats.
• With just 73 individuals remaining, the population faces a high probability of extinction without stronger intervention.
• Ottawa and Washington agencies declined an emergency protection order this spring in favor of incremental actions despite imminent threats.
• Officials have not announced formal responses to the recommendations and acknowledge that biological improvements may take decades to manifest.