VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH), AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES — A new report by an independent science panel calls for urgent and bold action to aid in the recovery of endangered southern resident killer whales. Despite two decades of protection under both Canadian and U.S. legislation, this unique population has declined to 73 individuals with no sign of recovery.
For the first time, scientists have proposed a road map for southern resident recovery on both sides of the Canada – U.S. border. The recommendations flow from more than three decades of scientific research on the population, its health and the factors preventing recovery.
The report is the outcome of a three-day science workshop held in Vancouver in March 2025, which brought together 31 experts from Canada, the U.S. and Europe to ask a hard question: What will it take to save this population? Participants included specialists in killer whale biology, health and behaviour, Chinook salmon ecology, underwater noise, toxicology and species conservation. Their objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of current conservation measures and identify the evidence-based actions most urgently needed to enable recovery.
These endangered killer whales face three primary threats: decline in the availability of their preferred prey (Chinook salmon), physical and acoustic disturbance from vessels and high contaminant loads in their food and habitat. The Government of Canada’s 2025 announcement of protection measures to reduce threats to these endangered killer whales largely repeats earlier approaches that have not halted their decline.
The panel’s report outlines 26 recommendations.
Key recommendations include:
- Prey: Prioritize access to, and protection of, the early runs of Chinook salmon that return to the Fraser River in the spring and early summer; establish abundance thresholds for later timed (late summer – fall) Chinook salmon that would trigger fishery closures in seasons or years of low returns; promote terminal fisheries to reduce interception of whales’ prey and help recover Chinook size; and emphasize recovery of wild Chinook over those from hatcheries.
- Noise: Finalize and implement vessel noise reduction targets that are biologically relevant to SRKWs; expand ship slowdowns both geographically and seasonally; and set mandatory noise output standards for large commercial vessels.
- Contaminants: Accelerate the phase-out of legacy chemicals like PCBs and PBDEs which still contaminate some sites and remain in some uses; strengthen regulations on emerging contaminants such as 6PPD-quinone and PFAS; and regulators should reform their review processes to consider the impacts of these chemicals on long-lived marine species like the SRKW.
While the panel acknowledged the complexities of policy implementation, it emphasized that many of the recommended actions are ready to implement immediately, without the need for further study.
The workshop report is intended as a clear path forward for governments, Indigenous Nations, conservation organizations, industry and the broader public. It is available here.
Quotes from workshop participants
“This is a chance to course-correct before it’s too late. Southern resident killer whales are more than just icons, they are ecosystem sentinels — their survival signals the health of our coast,” said Jeffery Young, senior science and policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation.
“Southern resident killer whales are a small, slow-growing population with just 73 individuals. Their population structure is fragile, we observe too few births, too many reproductive-age females without calves, and repeated losses of breeding-age females. These trends reflect long-standing threats to their survival,” said Dr. Michael Weiss, research director of the Center for Whale Research in Washington state.
“The iconic southern resident killer whales are highly contaminated with PCBs and related compounds. They are increasingly threatened by new and emerging contaminants,” said Dr. Tanya Brown, a marine mammal toxicologist with Simon Fraser University. “In order to achieve recovery, we need to eliminate persistent contaminants and target new chemical concerns using regulations, enforcement and best practices.”
“Despite coming from different fields of expertise, the level of agreement in the room was striking,” said Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, cetacean scientist at the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. “The threats are well known, the science is clear, and we know what needs to be done.”
“You cannot recover these whales without securing access to large, energy-rich Chinook salmon throughout the year,” said the U.S.-based SeaDoc Society’s Dr. Deborah Giles, an American scientist who has studied southern residents for almost two decades. “Stream-type Fraser Chinook in the spring are critical, and we have recommendations for both their habitat and their conservation.”
“Underwater vessel noise is masking the whales’ echolocation signals, causing them to spend more time searching for food and reducing their success during hunts. This effect of noise is particularly strong for females, who are foundational to growing the population,” said Dr. Jennifer Tennessen, a research scientist in the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, at the University of Washington. “We are calling for enforceable noise reduction targets that reflect the whales’ acoustic needs.”
“Rebuilding Chinook populations that have more old, large, and fat-rich salmon is critical for southern resident killer whale recovery,” said Dr. Nick Gayeski, senior scientist at the Wild Fish Conservancy in Washington state. “This can be supported by shifting from marine fisheries that catch immature Chinook to terminal area fisheries that target only mature fish, also allowing SRKW to forage before fisheries.”
“We are continuing to see declines in the body condition of Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs), with almost a third of the population recently identified to be in poor body condition, the highest number since the start of our health monitoring study in 2008. SRKWs measured to be in poor body condition have an elevated likelihood of mortality, making it imperative that the population has access to an adequate supply of prey throughout the year,” said Dr. Holly Fearnbach with SR3, SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation and Research in Washington state.
Media contacts
Lance Barrett-Lennard, PhD
Cetacean Research Program Director
Raincoast Conservation Foundation
1-604-341-4747, lance@raincoast.org
Deborah Giles, PhD
Killer Whale Scientist, The SeaDoc Society
1-916- 531-1516, dagiles@ucdavis.edu
Michael Weiss, PhD
Research Director, Centre for Whale Research
1-369- 317 3105, michael@whaleresearch.com
Tanya Brown, PhD
Marine mammal toxicologist, Simon Fraser University
1-604-404-7167, tanya_brown@sfu.ca
Nick Gayeski, PhD
Fisheries Ecologist, Wild Fish Conservancy
1-206-310-4005 Nick@wildfishconservancy.org
Jennifer Tennessen, PhD
Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, University of Washington
jtenness@uw.edu
Holly Fearnbach, PhD
Principal Marine Mammal Health
SR3, SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation and Research
1-808-281-7461, hfearnbach@sealifer3.org
Brandon Wei
Communications specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
604-732-4228 x333, bwei@davidsuzuki.org