Have been offline for several days now, dealing with a back problem...
Lots has gone on and I am sorry to have missed so much.
I am thankful to NOAA for posting updates on their FB page: NOAA Fisheries West Coast regarding Scarlet J-50.
There is also a web page: http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/
Also the Center for Whale Research reported the day that Tahlequah J-35 and the rest of J Pod returned after being out toward the outer coast for a few days, that on that return, they stated that she had let go of her calf and was seen with a few others and looking well.
I came across this, that I had posted a long time ago. I can only hope that more and more people are...
A message from a concerned whale watcher - me
...if you watch or watched the whales from
land or sea and you continue to use harmful, to the environment, chemicals
and other harmful products then you just didn't 'get' the whales...
...if
you watch or watched the whales and have gone home asking yourself the things
that you could do differently and are making changes then 'the whales got you'...
Which is it for you? I
hope 'the whales got you', because it will change how you look at
everything from now on, and that is something that is sorely needed for
the environment now and into the future.
Thank you.
..and for this whale watcher...no more stress, no more worry, slow down and enjoy every moment, because when your back says, "No more!" ouch!...it really hurts.
If everyone would pull together, everyone acknowledge their part, or what could be their part, in the struggles regarding the SRKWs, and if everyone would agree (that's a tough one), then just maybe we all could turn this corner for a brighter future, not only for the SRKWs, but for the eco-system (ours, yours, and the whales), and the salmon who sustain it all.
After all:
Salmon are the backbone of the Salish Sea and the Pacific Northwest.
Monday, August 6th
Even before moving here in 2004, I had heard that the SRKWs were referred to 'as like the canary in the coal mine'.
-And now they are the 'canary'.
The SRKWs had been demonstrating, by their travel patterns and locations, that the wild salmon were declining, but it seems that little attention was paid to the plight of the whales.
-After all, they were still showing up in these waters.
In 2010, the sockeye preseason predictions were for a 'moderate return' of 3,000,000 sockeye. Three months later it had proved to be the largest sockeye return in 97 years - the number? 34,000,000. (The whales were here over 120 consecutive days.) It was anticipated that with a 4-year cycle, the 2014 could be even larger.
-But it wasn't. It was below the lowest predicted return numbers.
Then Dec 2014-Dec 2015 there were several babies born into the SRKW Community...and 'all of a sudden' everything was 'just fine'.
-But everything wasn't 'just fine'.
Now the SRKWs are barely in their core-summer-habitat.
-There isn't enough food.
Wild salmon are the Backbone of the Salish Sea.
-Waiting to make decisions is NOT a viable working model.
Waiting, begets more loss, more decline...and now on the road to extinction for the SRKWs?
The Salish Sea is broken.
It's broken in Canadian waters.
It's broken in U.S. waters.
It needs to be fixed before it's too late.
Too late for the SRKWs.
Too late for the wild salmon.
Too late for all other marine life.
Too late for humans.
What about YOU?
What are you willing to do everyday to make changes that will help planet earth heal?The government isn't doing it, so it's up to each of us.
You've seen the lists, links, about things you can do. Start doing them and do more.
Vote - It matters.
Vote for those who see the value in thinking into the future while actively fixing the present.
Here is an image taken of Slick J-16 with Scarlet J-50 by her side, as they passed Lime Kiln lighthouse, on July 23rd. I thank them for giving us this look, a look that will not reveal just how bad Scarlet is.
