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Southern Resident Killer Whale ESA Recovery Plan Implementation - Oil Spills
Oil spills have been identified as a risk to killer whales and other marine mammals. Preventing an oil spill is the best way to protect whales and the environment. In the event of a spill, however, it’s important for us to be prepared for a response that will minimize impacts. The recovery plan includes actions to minimize the risk of oil spills, including developing strategies to deter whales from entering spilled oil.
2.1 Minimize the risk of oil spills:
2.1.1 Prevent oil spills.
2.1.2 Prepare for and respond to oil spills to minimize their effects on Southern Resident killer whales.
2.1.3 Develop strategies to deter killer whales from entering spilled oil.
The Northwest Area Contingency Plan is the guidance document for spill response in the Northwest. Under it, the Wildlife Branch coordinates all personnel working with wildlife, including federal, state and local agencies, and commercial and non-profit organizations. This oil spill response plan has been updated to include information on tools and techniques that could be used to minimize exposure of killer whales to spilled oil. It is designed to inform the Wildlife Branch, in coordination with NOAA, about options for monitoring and hazing whales during an oil spill response. See Chapter 9970 of the Northwest Area Contingency Plan. Supporting information for the killer whale section of the Northwest Wildlife Response Plan is available from NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration.
The original killer whale response plan was drafted from information gathered at an October 2007 meeting jointly hosted by NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Region and the SeaDoc Society, a program of the University of California-Davis Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine. Detailed meeting notes, including literature cited, are available on the SeaDoc Society website. The draft plan (PDF 50KB) was released for review and comments were incorporated.
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