Final ESA Listing Decision for Killer Whales
Nov. 15, 2005: We announced our decision to list the Southern Resident killer whales as endangered under the ESA. See the links to the left for details.
Dec. 16, 2004: We announced a proposal to list (PDF 90KB) the Southern Resident killer whale distinct population segment (DPS) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Fisheries Service had already been working diligently to conserve these whales.
May 2003: We designated these whales depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which started the public process to identify site-specific measures to address the potential factors for decline and include the Southern Residents in a conservation plan.
