Members of the endangered Southern Resident orca population were spotted in Puget Sound on October 5. This first autumn sighting, much anticipated by researchers and enthusiasts alike, is the first time the whales have been seen south of Admiralty Inlet since April 11th this year. 

Sighting reports received by Orca Network’s Whale Sighting Network were confirmed as members of J pod, in partnership with the Center for Whale Research. Orca Network staff confirmed the whales were heard on the Bush Point hydrophone and seen traveling between Whidbey Island and the Kitsap Peninsula.

[read full press release below]

August 11, 2022. - Courthouse News - U.S. District Judge Richard Jones accepted a magistrate judge's recommendation for summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by Wild Fish Conservancy in 2020. The recommendation revealed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries agency violated the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act by authorizing commercial salmon harvest at levels that are pushing protected both wild Chinook salmon and Puget Sound orcas to extinction.
The Washington-based nonprofit challenged the authorization of the Southeast Alaska Chinook troll fishery, which the agency approved based on vague plans to fund production of 20 million young salmon annually to increase prey for the orcas by 4 to 5%. But the agency had no plans for where to get the young fish, who would release them and where, the age of the fish at release, the juvenile-to-adult return ratio, how many fish would be needed for future broods and whether all of this would be enough to sustain the orca in the long term.

March 23, 2022 - Wednesday brought welcome news for animal activists who, for years, have been pushing for better treatment for Lolita, the 56-year-old Orca known as Toki.

Miami-Dade County announced that with the Miami Seaquarium under new ownership, by The Dolphin Company, third party veterinarians will be allowed onto the property periodically to perform an independent medical evaluation to examine the health of the famed Orca.

This means the county will have more oversight when it comes to Toki’s care, and there will also be more transparency with the public.

August 22, 2022 — U.S. Coast Guard - The Unified Command continues its response Monday following the sinking of a commercial fishing vessel resulting in a pollution incident west of San Juan Island, Washington.

Over the weekend, crews on the water and in the air monitored the site for any changes.

Daily overflights have shown the amount of sheening remains minimal. This sheening is originating from periodic venting of diesel from the fuel tanks. Crews added absorbent boom to ensure environmentally sensitive areas are protected in case any sheening moves closer to land. An additional 1,500-feet of boom has been laid along both sides of White Point Peninsula. The total amount of boom laid down is now at 4,300-feet.

The Jitney - March 21, 2022 - Formerly known as “Lolita” by the marine park, and Tokitae, or “Toki” by the staff at the park, and now Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (SKAH-lee CHUCK-ten-NUT) by Lummi elders who consider her a kidnapped relation, suddenly this orca must move out of the small tank she’s been in for almost 52 years.

Seattle Met Magazine - February 8, 2022 - A southern resident’s violent capture off Whidbey Island was the original sin of a now-defunct local industry. Decades later, a Lummi-led effort to bring her home is on the verge of an improbable breakthrough.

KNKX - March 21, 2022 - A special group of gray whales takes an annual detour from their coastal migration to feed on ghost shrimp in the tidelands of Puget Sound. They’re known locally as “the Sounders” and most often seen near Whidbey Island.

Whidbey News Times - March 18, 2022 - An elephant seal pup born in Deception Pass State Park earlier this year has a name.

KGMI - March 3, 2022 - Orca Network reports on their Facebook page that an observer snapped a picture of the new member of the Southern Residents’ J-Pod as they swam west of San Juan Island on Tuesday, March 1st.