A conservation group says it is asking the federal government to list as endangered a pod of killer whales whose numbers have declined by more than 15 percent in the last three decades. Calif. The center and 10 other groups said they were filing a formal petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service to have the orcas protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. Threats to the whales include overfishing of salmon, their favorite food source, and unregulated whale watching, Plater said Tuesday. Another problem is contamination, he said. Toxins, such as pesticides, accumulate higher in the food chain, because predatory fish feed on fish that already have toxins in them.
Orcas are at the top of their food chain.
Toxins that accumulate in the fat of female orcas are passed on to the pod's young in breast milk, Plater said. The toxins can damage the whales' immune and reproductive systems and cause tumors and lesions. Without greater protections for their habitat and food supply, these whales could be wiped out in 200 years, the petition said. The Fisheries Service is required to respond to the petition within 90 days, and it must decide within a year after that whether to permanently list the whale population. Agency spokesman Brian Gorman in Seattle said the petition had not been received as of Tuesday afternoon.