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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2018)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018 Groups want US to consider salmon fi shing impact on orcas By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE — The fed- eral government is violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to consider how salmon fi shing off the West Coast is affecting endangered killer whales, two conserva- tion groups said Tuesday as they threatened a lawsuit. The Arizona-based Cen- ter for Biological Diver- sity and the Washington state-based Wild Fish Con- servancy notifi ed President Donald Trump’s administra- tion they intend to fi le a law- suit within 60 days unless offi cials re-evaluate whether the fi shing further jeopar- dizes orcas that frequent the inland waters of the Pacifi c Northwest. “We can’t allow business as usual in the salmon fi sh- eries while southern resident killer whales are starving to death,” Julie Teel Simmonds, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release. The orcas’ plight has received much attention this year as scientists warn that they’re on the brink of extinction. There are just 74 left, the lowest number since more than 50 were captured for aquarium display in the 1970s, and no calf born in the last three years has sur- vived. One mother whale captured attention around the world this summer when she carried her dead calf on her head for 17 days in an appar- ent attempt to revive it. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson An endangered female orca leaps from the water while breaching in Puget Sound west of Seattle. Last week, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced what he called a “herculean” $1.1 billion plan to help the population recover. The Democrat said the money would go toward protect- ing and restoring habitat for salmon, especially Chinook, the orcas’ favored prey; boosting production from salmon hatcheries; stormwa- ter cleanup; and quieting ves- sel traffi c, which can inter- fere with the whales’ hunting and communication. But conservationists say more must be done. While a federal judge has ordered the government to consider boosting salmon runs by breaching four dams on the lower Snake River, that pros- pect remains highly con- troversial and Republicans in Congress have vowed to oppose it. Unlike other popula- tions of orcas, which feed on marine mammals including seals, the southern residents eat salmon — primarily Chinook. The conservation groups said Tuesday that one way to help them imme- diately would be to catch fewer salmon off the coast, where the whales spend their winters. For now, the groups are not targeting fi shing in Wash- ington state’s inland waters, including Puget Sound, where fi shing quotas are managed under a different process. According to a letter the groups sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal government has been relying on an outdated 2009 review to authorize salmon fi sher- ies up and down the West Coast. At the time of the 2009 review, there were 85 orcas in the southern resident population. Michael Milstein, a spokesman for the fi sheries service, said it did not have any immediate comment. The letter noted that more than 200,000 Chinook were caught by recreational and commercial boats off the coasts of Washington state, Oregon and California last year, which researchers esti- mate as equaling as much as one-quarter of all Chinook available. “There is now signifi cant new information not only about the alarming popula- tion decline of the southern resident killer whales, but also about the relationship between Chinook and the orcas’ reproductive success and viability,” the letter said. The Center for Biologi- cal Diversity sued to get the southern resident orcas listed as endangered in 2005 and fi led two other recent law- suits against the government — one to expand habitat pro- tections to the orcas’ forag- ing and migration areas off the West Coast, and another to establish a “whale pro- tection zone” to shield orcas from boat noise and distur- bance in Puget Sound. Wyden calls for 911-like suicide prevention number By KRISTIAN FODEN- VENCIL Oregon Public Broadcasting U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has asked the Federal Communi- cations Commission to cre- ate a three-digit phone num- ber for those thinking about taking their lives or in need of mental health support. In a recent study by Men- tal Health America, Oregon ranked behind nearly every other state in the nation because of its prevalence of mental illness and lack of access to care. There is a national sui- cide prevention number, 1-800-273-TALK, but it doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue. Wyden said a three-digit code, along the lines of 911, would solve that problem. “More needs to be done to help those in need, and to increase resources and improve access to men- tal health professionals to help those thinking of sui- cide,” the Oregon Democrat wrote the FCC. “I believe that a three -digit code num- ber, similar to 911 for emer- gencies, would most eas- ily come to mind for those in need of intervention services.” The FCC confi rmed that the agency had received Wyden’s letter, and was reviewing it. Oregon based Lines For Life is recommending 611 as the number. CEO Dwight Holton said it’s time to make it easier for people in crisis to access support. “We all know that for fi re or rescue or physical injury, we call 911. Well, we need a 911 for the brain — and that’s what a three-digit life- line will deliver,” Holton said. If the number were to change, it would likely be staffed by the current national suicide prevention hotline. 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