Oil tankers put killer whales at risk
canada goose outlet usa The 29thanniversary of theExxon Valdezdisaster quietly came and went a few weeks ago. The lack of fanfare was ironic since the canada goose coats on sale spectre of cheap Canada Goose Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion and accompanying increase in oil tanker traffic looms over the canada goose uk shop Southern Resident killer whales like the Grim Reaper. canada goose outlet usa
canada goose outlet online To gain insight into what the Southern Residents would face if a catastrophic oil spill were to occur canada goose store in the Salish Sea, one Canada Goose online only needs to look back at the miserable deaths suffered by Alaska’s killer whales almost three decades ago after the Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef, spilling more than 41 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. canada goose outlet online
canada goose parka outlet Following theExxon Canada Goose Outlet Valdezoil spill, the mortality rate in two pods of Prince William Sound’s killer whales skyrocketed. While33 per cent of the AB resident population and 41 per cent of AT1 transient population disappeared within a year of the spill, most of the carcasses of the 22 missing whales were never accounted for. Both buy canada goose jacket resident and transient pods were documented surfacing in the oiled waters. The AT1 transients were photographed at the stern of buy canada goose jacket cheap theExxon Valdezwhile it was still leaking oil. canada goose parka outlet
canada goose outlet location The timing and magnitude of missing whales directly following canadian goose jacket the spill, plus the known exposure, suggests that canada goose clearance oil was the cause of death. Scientists have hypothesizedthat these whales died from inhaling toxic oil vapours as they swam through and surfaced in the spilled oil. Unfortunately, many of the mortalities were Canada Goose Parka breeding or young female whales. In the case of the transient population, the loss of the females has meant no new births Canada Goose Coats On Sale in nearly three decades. The transient pod is considered functionally uk canada goose outlet extinct, as it will be gone canada goose coats when the remaining individuals die. canada goose outlet location
canada goose outlet reviews Southern Resident killer whales are already threatened by declining salmon stocks, physical and acoustic disturbance from vessel traffic, high toxic contaminant accumulation and continued federal inaction. Like Prince William Sound’s whales, this small population is now more vulnerable to extinction. When small cheap canada goose uk populations experience random events such as food shortages, disease or oil uk canada goose spills, the loss of individuals, especially reproductive females, can have dire consequences. canada goose outlet reviews
canada goose outlet mall In the Raincoast Conservation Foundation report, Our Threatened Coast: Nature and Benefits in the Salish Sea, we overlaid the Southern Residents’ critical habitat areas where they hunt, feed and raise their young with the results of Kinder Morgan’s oil spill scenario near Turn Point at the northern end of Haro Strait. Kinder Morgan’s model is based on fall conditions and only runs for 15 days. Notably, experience from theExxon Valdezoil spill was that oil travelled away from canada goose uk outlet the accident site at Bligh Reef for Canada Goose Online at least 56 days. canada goose outlet mall
canada goose outlet eu A large spill near thecanadagooseoutlet Turn Point has a 95 per cent chance of exposing resident killer whales if canada goose they are anywhere near Haro Strait or the eastern end of the Juan de Fuca while oil contaminates the water. canada goose outlet There is a 60 per cent chance of surface oiling within a 3,800 square kilometre area centered on Haro Strait after a spill at canada goose clearance sale Turn Point. canada goose outlet eu
canada goose outlet in uk As expert interveners, Raincoast provided evidence to the National Energy Board on Canada Goose sale the substantial threats that the Trans Mountain expansion presents to killer whales. Our evidence included a population viability analysis, which not only looked at oil spill risk, but examined the effects of increased noise from oil tankers on the ability of the whale to catch their prey. The study found that even without an oil spill, the noise from increased tanker traffic Canada Goose Jackets amplified the likelihood of extinction. Significantly, none of the parties presenting evidence to the NEB disputed this. Kinder Morgan, the canada goose factory sale NEB and the federal canada goose black friday sale government agreed that even without a spill, tanker noise presents significant and unmitigable adverse effects to the whales. canada goose outlet in uk
canada goose outlet 2015 Chris Genovali is executive director of Raincoast Conservation Foundation, where Misty MacDuffee is the canada goose uk black friday wild salmon program director and Paul Paquet is a senior scientist canada goose outlet 2015.