Disturbance and noise impacts on Southern Resident Killer Whales

The Washington State Legislature passed Senate Bill 5577 in Spring 2019, directing the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to develop rules for commercial viewing of Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) that would minimize the impacts of vessel noise and disturbance on the whales’ ability to forage, rest, and socialize while enabling sustainable whale watching. As part of this process, WDFW asked the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) to conduct a review of the best available science on the disturbance and noise impacts to SRKW from small vessels and commercial whale watching. WSAS convened an independent panel of scientists to review the science and provide scientific input to the Advisory Committee and WDFW throughout the rulemaking process. As part of its work, the WSAS committee hosted two workshops – one to get input from the broader scientific community on the body of science around underwater acoustics and behavioral impacts to SRKW and the other with stakeholders who have relevant experience.