NOAA can capture J50 if left by J Pod; public meeting Sept. 15 at Friday Harbor



[ad_1]

The state of J50 in recent weeks has highlighted the urgency of recovering the population of southern resident killer whales. NOAA Fisheries and its partners have studied and taken steps to save J50 because of its importance as an active member of this population, and in particular J Pod.

J50 near the island of San Juan on September 7, 2018.

Photo of Katy Foster / NOAA Fisheries, under license 18786-03.

The public has an interest in the J50 response and recovery of southern resident killer whales, and NOAA understands that many people are concerned. NOAA wants to know what people in the region are thinking about this effort and these potential measures to hold two public meetings in Washington State to hear the public's views:

San Juan Island: at 19 'o clock. Saturday, September 15th at Friday Harbor High School

Seattle: at 1 pm. Sunday September 16th at the University of Washington, Haggett Hall Waterfall Hall

J50 follows his mother, J16, on August 18, 2018.

Photo by Katy Foster / NOAA Fisheries, under license 18786

The state of J50 has decreased in recent months, to the point where she is emaciated and often late for her family. The field treatment has not improved its condition and veterinarians feel they have exhausted all reasonable options for remote treatment and its survival is unlikely.

The next steps could include other interventions, such as a rescue operation and a hands-on physical examination. This could lead to more in-depth diagnoses, prompt treatment and return to water or short-term rehabilitation and care to improve survival chances, the ultimate goal being to reunite with his family.

Two objectives will determine any other intervention to help J50:

Provide appropriate medical conservation actions for J50 to protect its potential contribution to the recovery of the population, and

Avoid harming the rest of J Pod and the resident population south of 75 whales.

No rescue operation will continue while J50 stays with J Pod and his family group. Intervention teams would only act to rescue J50 if it got stuck or separated from the rest of J Pod, so that the possible risks of intervention for the rest of J Pod are minimized.

The top priority of any rescue operation would be to assess, treat and rehabilitate the J50 in a manner that would allow it to have the greatest chance of survival while ensuring its return and reunification with its family as soon as possible. possible. recovery of the population.

If veterinarians and other experts who evaluate the J50 in the field determine that she can not be treated or rehabilitated, the teams would quickly bring her back to J Pod to spend the rest of her life with her family.

J50 is a three-year-old orc, a member of the southern resident killer whale population, an endangered species. His condition did not improve after two doses of antibiotics. A fish feeding trial was also conducted to see if this could be a way to provide drugs in the future. J50 was not observed eating fish.

A Lummi Nation vessel releases live salmon before D50 during a feeding trial on August 12, 2018. Photo by Candace Emmons / NOAA Fisheries, under license 18786

For more details on the efforts to rescue J50 and the response, please visit our J50 webpage on the NOAA Fisheries website bit.ly/NOAAJ50J35.

In the meantime, the public can submit questions and comments to the NOAA fisheries by sending an email to [email protected].

[ad_2]
Source link