NOAA: Focus On Conservation
Photo credit: Seattle Times
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ruled this week to include Lolita, a killer whale resident of the Miami Seaquarium, in the endangered species listing for Southern Resident Killer Whales. The Southern Resident Whales have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 2005.
Lolita is a Southern Resident Killer Whale so it’s no surprise she would be classified as one. However, this ruling changes nothing about the status of Lolita and her residency at the Miami Seaquarium.
From the February 4, 2015 NOAA press release:
Releasing a whale which has spent most of its life in captivity raises many concerns that would need to be carefully addressed. These concerns include disease transmission, the ability of released animals to adequately find food, difficulty in social integration, and that behavioral patterns developed in captivity could impact wild animals. Previous attempts to release captive killer whales and dolphins have often been unsuccessful, and some have ended tragically with the death of the released animal.”
NOAA is correct. Releasing captive whales and dolphins is not always in the best interest of the animal.
The most notable attempt to release a killer whale into the wild was the disastrous release of Keiko in 2002.
Keiko was the star of the 1993 film Free Willy.
Keiko received a lot of notoriety following the film and when it was learned he lived in a sub-standard and small aquarium in Mexico, an effort was made to release him back to the wild.
What followed was nothing short of tragic. Former SeaWorld trainer and technical advisor for Free Willy, Mark Simmons, writes in his book, Killing Keiko: The True Story of Free Willy’s Return to the Wild, that the careful, methodical transition back to the wild was hijacked by “release at all cost” activist. Simmons said that the release operation, overseen by the Humane Society of the United States and the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, was rushed.
The decision was never made in the best interest of Keiko,” said Simmons.
As a result, a frightened, lonely whale was sentenced to hunger, dehydration and death, Simmons writes.
source: PalmBeach Post
The fact of the matter is reputable and accredited aquariums, like SeaWorld, focus on the needs of the animals in their care. No killer whale at SeaWorld will ever die from malnutrition. In fact, no animal at any accredited United States facility will ever die from malnutrition.
NOAA went on to say in their release that the focus needs to be on recovering the population of the Southern Resident whales and we couldn’t agree more.
We are focusing time, resources and attention on the future of the Southern Resident killer whales population,” said Will Stelle, regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. “NOAA Fisheries and our many partners are working very hard to learn more about these endangered whales and to protect them and their habitats, which is the only way we’re going to recover this population.”
Aquariums around the United States have made conserving natural habitats a priority. SeaWorld’s Conservation Fund, for instance, has awarded over $11 million in grants to over 800 organizations.
SeaWorld even recently announced they are contributing $10 million to NOAA’s wild orca research.
So rather than focusing on public relations stunts like this petition to NOAA, PETA and other activist should focus on conservation efforts around the world and help protects our world’s oceans and marine life.
