For those of you who know me, know that I have a Passion
for the plight of the Southern Resident Orca Whale
population. If you have been following in the news then
you know that this last year we lost 7 of our local whales.
The SRKW's have declined from nearly 100 down to near 80 in
the past decade. Some may say, that is the nature of things.
But this is not so, it is not only the local Orcas who are suffering,
our Salmon, Herring and Sand Lance are experiencing the same declines.
With diminishing Eel grass lands disappearing the sand lance have no
habitat, this is true for the herring as well. If herring and sand lance can't
reproduce then our salmon suffer. If we have fewer salmon then we have
little food for the whales, yes they will starve to death.
With that being said we must make greater efforts to replenish stocks of fish,
Youngren Hatchery is trying to do just that by participating in an international
effort called Long Live The Kings!
Youngren's Hatchery is located on the east shores of East Sound.
Above is a picture looking north up to the head of the sound towards
the town of Eastsound. The inlet of East Sound is about a mile long and starts west of Obstruction Pass.
As you can see it is a most beautiful and pristine area.
for the plight of the Southern Resident Orca Whale
population. If you have been following in the news then
you know that this last year we lost 7 of our local whales.
The SRKW's have declined from nearly 100 down to near 80 in
the past decade. Some may say, that is the nature of things.
But this is not so, it is not only the local Orcas who are suffering,
our Salmon, Herring and Sand Lance are experiencing the same declines.
With diminishing Eel grass lands disappearing the sand lance have no
habitat, this is true for the herring as well. If herring and sand lance can't
reproduce then our salmon suffer. If we have fewer salmon then we have
little food for the whales, yes they will starve to death.
With that being said we must make greater efforts to replenish stocks of fish,
Youngren Hatchery is trying to do just that by participating in an international
effort called Long Live The Kings!
Youngren's Hatchery is located on the east shores of East Sound.
Above is a picture looking north up to the head of the sound towards
the town of Eastsound. The inlet of East Sound is about a mile long and starts west of Obstruction Pass.
As you can see it is a most beautiful and pristine area.
The above picture is of the hatchery's egg holding trays. Every year they
are releasing young salmon back into the wild with great hopes of a return.
Orcas Island lays host to a wide array of special feature groups,
Youngren's Hatchery is just one of our little treasures. In the future I will
be bringing you a few more glimpse of these gems.
No comments:
Post a Comment