The Orca Task Force will recommend a moratorium on the observation of killer whales by southern residents

PUYALLUP, Wash. – The governor's working group on killer whales will likely recommend a moratorium on whale watching by the endangered killer whale located in southern Puget.

The group voted Tuesday on an action to "suspend the viewing" of the resident of the south threatened with extinction for three to five years.

This action would prohibit all Puget Sound vessels from "monitoring" marine mammals. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife will be responsible for developing rules and regulations.

The rule should be included in the final recommendations of the working group, which should be sent to the governor on 16 November. The recommendations must be approved by the governor and some of them will require legislative action.

The population of orcas residing in the south is already at its lowest for more than three decades, with only 74 people on the planet. The species was listed as Endangered in 2005, but continues to decline.

In March, Governor Jay Inslee signed a decree to form a task force tasked with making recommendations aimed at saving the species from extinction. Since the formation of the working group, three orcs have died, including a newborn calf.

At the meeting on Tuesday, a representative of the Pacific Whale Watching Association voted against the rule. Commercial whale watching groups are currently allowed to monitor southerners, as well as killer whales in transit.

A moratorium on the observation of killer whales by southern residents could affect the activities of some whale watchers, but it was not immediately clear to what extent. An appeal to the president of the Pacific Whale Watch Association was not immediately responded.

Six other representatives of the working group abstained from voting on the recommendation. Thirty-three members voted for.

A representative of the task force said that commercial groups will still be able to watch transient killer whales, even though southern residents are in Puget Sound.

Many details such as how the law will be enforced and the penalties that ships would receive by monitoring endangered orcas should be defined if the governor accepted the recommendation, said a spokesman for the task force.

This story will be updated.