SeaWolf’s initial charter was developed as a response to the dramatic decline, in the last decade, of the southern resident orca (killer) whale population - a genetically distinct subspecies of killer whale that has played a historically important role in the very fabric of the northwest identity. The local orca whale populations feature centrally in the myths and legends of the west coast Native tribes, and the food cycle that these whales reign over is a vital one to the entire salmon industry, the west coast economy, and the health of the entire coastal ecosystem. Orcas here in the Pacific are the proverbial ‘canary in a coal mine’; when the population collapses, it indicates that something is indeed happening to the entire Pacific ecosystem.  

And something did indeed start happening around 1999. At the end of the last decade, the local orca population declined a dramatic 15%. Out of a previously stable 100-whale population, numbers declined (in less than three years) to 85 - and ultimately 81 whales. Robust adult animals were found dead on local beaches, and necropsies showed significant toxic poison accumulations in their tissues. The northwest resident orca whales are still declining, and some researchers speculate we may ultimately see the extinction of this particular sub-stock in less than 30 years.

To address this issue, SeaWolf initiated a consortium of local and national groups to develop a lengthy petition process, and asked the federal government to consider adding the southern resident orcas to the federal ‘Endangered Species’ list.  

Correspondingly, in 2000, in order to ‘encourage’ State support for our efforts, SeaWolf also approached two major television affiliates in Seattle (KIRO/CBS and KOMO/ABC) with a script idea for documentaries about the ‘collapse of the orca population’ in the northwest.  Concurrently, we independently started the process of seeking a Washington State legislature listing of the same status, since it was unlikely that we would obtain a federal ruling for an ESA listing.

The federal government turned down our request for a listing, while we were successful on the state level, and the battle for federal ESA recognition of this decline continued. In 2002, our consortium sued the federal government in order to pursue this listing. Finally, in November of 2005, the federal government announced a major change in their position on the southern resident orca whales.  After continued pressure from our consortium of groups, the whales would receive a federal ‘endangered species’ listing.

Today, the population remains at 84 whales, and SeaWolf considers the work we contributed to obtaining this listing was among our most notable achievements.  We continue to be interested in the welfare and status of this population on an ongoing bases.