Southern Resident killer whales are a unique population of orcas that ranges in the Salish Sea and the West Coast. These whales eat fish and depend heavily on Chinook salmon for food. In the late-1990s, Southern Resident killer whales experienced a dramatic decline. The combination of a precarious food supply and threats from pollution, vessel traffic, and noise continues to jeopardize their survival. As a result, they are federally listed as endangered.

The status of the Southern Resident killer whale population remains fragile. In 2010, the Partnership’s baseline reference, the census reported 86 individuals, and every year since then the population size has been smaller, except in 2011. Given recent population projections, this population will not meet the 2020 target.

• The July 2019 census led by the Center for Whale Research reported 73 whales, down from 75 in 2017 and 77 whales in 2016.
• Only two calves were born since the 2018 census (one was first seen after the 2019 July census). Before that, the last time a whale was born and survived was in November 2015. That was the year of a “baby boom”, when 5 calves were recorded born alive.
• The population status of this endangered population continues to signal struggle for survival. K pod, the smallest of the pods, has not had a calf born since 2011. A significant level of unsuccessful pregnancies (75% on average) point to lack of adequate food as a main stressor. Finally, nearly half of the calves do not survive to maturity.
• Recovery of the population depends on increasing availability and access to its main prey—Chinook salmon populations in the Salish Sea and along the West Coast. Puget Sound Chinook salmon is also a threatened population and the subject of many recovery actions. Contaminants in juvenile and adult Chinook salmon are other key indicators for Puget Sound as well as estuary and floodplain habitat restoration.