Wow - We and the whales have received an incredible Earth Day gift from the Dept. of Natural Resources this afternoon! We received word from Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy this afternoon that DNR contacted him to say they are suspending the commercial harvest of ghost shrimp in Saratoga Passage beginning March 23, 2014! This comes after exchanges of letters and information to DNR from a committee the Mayor put together, including Orca Network board members who have been working on this issue for many years. The ghost shrimp in the tidelands of Saratoga Passage is the prey the N. Puget Sound gray whales are here for three months of every year, and we have noticed a marked change in the feeding patterns of the whales the past 5 - 10 years. Recently they have not been feeding in their usual Saratoga Passage areas, but instead are feeding off Hat Island and the Everett area (the Everett area is in one of the most toxic bays in the state). The harvesting usually happens while the whales are here, and our suspicion is that the harvesting is depleting the usual whale feeding areas, and the whales are having to find other places to feed. We commend Peter Goldmark and his staff for their attention to our concerns and their swift action to help protect this important food source for our special population of N. Puget Sound Gray whales ~ HAPPY WHALE DAY! HAPPY EARTH DAY!!
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 01:23:01 +0000
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