LUMMI INDIAN BUSINESS COUNCIL
2665 KWINA ROAD BELUNCHAM, WASHINGTON

B226 (360) 312-2000

DEPARTMENT

DIRECT NO.

January 16, 2019
Kristin Wilkinson
NOAA Fisheries, Protected Resources Division
West Coast Region, Based in Seattle
Regional Stranding Coordinator. Washington and Oregon
Dear Ms. Wilkinson,
We are writing you about an emergency regarding our relatives the qwe i/to! mechtcn (killer
whales). We must act noit if we are to save two of our ailing relatives in the Southern Resident
Killer Whale (SRKW) population. The loss of these two relatives would be a devastating blow
to our relatives and would cascade through the SRKW families.
News of the quickly deteriorating health condition of two SRKW relatives (K25 and J17)
arrived at a challenging time. The current federal government shutdown has halted an urgently
needed emergency response to this situation. The loss of these two relatives is more than the loss
of two individuals. K25 is an adult male whose mother, 1(13, died in 2017. The current decline
in his health began after loosing his mother, the family unit’s matriarch. Matriarchs like KI 3
play a crucial role in the care of the other members in tight knit family groups via both prey and
knowledge sharing. Research on kin directed prey sharing clearly shows the vital role that
matriarchs (even post-menopausal females) play in the health and survivability of their family
groups. Sons like K25 are hit particularly hard when their mothers die. His decline in health
exemplifies not only the ecological pressures on these critically endangered animals, but also the
strength of the social bonds within the family groups and how critical these bonds are to survival.
J17, an adult female, is an important matriarch within i-Pod. With five other whales in her
family unit, Jl7s survival could very realistically impact the sun’iva! of 8% of the entire SRKW
population (currently only 74 animals potentially 75 if the new L-Pod calf survives). Her
family unit includes three of her children and two of her grandchildren. J17s nearly 10 year old
son, J44, and her nearly 4 year old daughter, J53, would be particularly vulnerable should she
perish.
—

During the summer of 2018, the Lummi Nation partnered with NOAA, local researchers, marine
mammal veterinarians, state and county agencies, and NGOs to establish a precedent for direct
intervention with ailing wild southern resident killer whales. Protocols and procedures
established and tested during the attempted intervention for the compromised 4 year old female,
J50, established methods for delivering Chinook salmon to wild whales as a method for shorttern nutritional supplementation as a tool with which to potentially deliver oral medications.
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 Additional methods of deploying medication were deve’oped and successfiuly implemented,
such as injectable delivery via dart. Medications such as anti-parasitic drugs can be highly
beneficial to nutritionally compromised animals, since parasites often thrive and multiply in
compromised animals, thus exasperating the starvation. This collaborative effort created a
template for emergency response to ailing SRKW, a template that can and should be used and
built upon moving forward.
Many of the current solutions we are discussing at the state level for thture management of the
SRKW, such as the recommendations of the SRKW Task Force, aim to yield long-term (and
ideally sustainable) outcomes for this fragile population. However, in a situation as challenging
as the one we are currently in with this population, long-term sustainable solutions can only
successthlly work when paired with short-term immediate actions. The emergency response for
J50 during the summer of 2018 represents a model for such an action, and we are in a critical
moment to take such action again.
We are faced with the loss of two more relatives in the SRKW and know that the loss of K25 and
J 17 will likely lead to additional losses. We all have a sacred obligation to take action, now, and
we need your help and support to save our relatives.
Respectftilly yours,

Lawrence Solomon. Secretary
Lummi Nation

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