Salmon - killer whale connections

A place to aggregate information about how Pacific salmon are connected to southern resident killer whales. The emphasis here is on bring research on predation and prey together with the human process of managing the recovery of listed species, particularly when they are tightly linked ecologically.

Predation research: What do southern residents eat (when, where)?

• Baird/Hason prey sampling, TDR data, and critter cam footage
• Stomach content references
• How do other killer whales around the world hunt fish (as well as other prey)

Prey research: What do we know about the fish that SRKWs eat?

• Salmon in general (Ken's west coast salmon synopses, including extinction map; Olseiuk's paper; TWM letter re lower Snake dams; salmon stronghold or sanctuary concept)
• Chinook salmon (Quinn telemetry, mark/recapture studies, population dynamics from fisheries data?)
• Chum salmon
• Other salmon (Quinn's telemetry paper)
• Ling cod (Anne Beaudreau SJI work)
• Dover sole
• Cabezon
• Rockfish (Eric Eisenhardt's SJI work?)

Political processes

Which conservation actions offer the best cost/benefit ratio in the recovery of our regional icons?

• Salmon recovery
  • U.S./Canada salmon treaties have never even mentioned orcas
  • Recreational fishery process (North of Falcon) never has mentioned orcas
  • 2008 Columbia River BiOp
  • Sacramento salmon BiOp that articulates jeopardy of orca recovery

• Orca recovery
  • Funding history