Reducing vessel noise increases foraging in endangered killer whales

Disturbance from underwater noise is one of the primary threats to the critically endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKWs). Previous studies have demonstrated that SRKWs spend less time feeding when vessels are present. In 2018, we measured the effects of a voluntary vessel slowdown action in SRKW critical habitat to assess whether ship speed (and related source level) affects foraging behaviour. Observations of SRKWs and ships were collected from land-based sites on San Juan Island, WA, USA, overlooking the Haro Strait slow-down area. Exploratory analyses found little support for a linear relationship between ship speed and SRKW behaviour, but strong support between received noise level from ships and the probability of SRKWs engaging in foraging activity. Reducing ship speed, and therefore ship noise amplitude will help decrease the probability of ship noise disrupting SRKW foraging activity and may help to increase the proportion of accessible salmon.

Automated summary

The study found limited impact of ship speed on foraging behavior of southern resident killer whales (SRKWs), but a strong correlation between received noise level from ships and the likelihood of SRKWs engaging in foraging activity. Reducing ship speed and noise amplitude can help decrease the disruption of SRKW foraging activity caused by ship noise.