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Sea Quest Kayak Tours guides call for all aquariums to release their captive orca whales back into the wild.

Having considered the scientific facts, studied the orca whales firsthand for several decades on our sea kayak tours in the San Juan Islands, and using our accumulated knowledge as scientists, educators, and naturalists, we find the evidence to be overwhelming that orca whales are unsuited for captivity and maintaining them in aquariums is unethical.

Consider the following:

• Orca whales swim up to 100 miles a day in the ocean compared to less than 1 mile in captivity. Their massive trademark dorsal fins limply droop over in captivity from the lack of activity.
• Orca whales are acoustic creatures and see their world largely in patterns of sound. In captivity they are forced to live in echo chambers, similar to techniques used by interrogators on prisoners.
• Orca whales live their entire lives with the family pod of their birth and have a rich and complicated social life. Captives are stolen from families while juveniles and forced to live with strange whales that do not even share the same vocalizations.
• Orca whales live to be as old as humans in the wild, but in captivity they rarely live more than 20 years. Orca calves born in captivity rarely survive to adulthood.
• Wild orca whales have never harmed a human or been observed injuring other orcas. Captive orca whales have killed humans on several occasions and severely attacked other orcas, too.

Unknown to most whale watchers and kayak tour participants, killer whales in the San Juan Islands occur in two very different species. The two orca whale species in Washington are currently known as “Resident Killer Whales” and “Transient Killer Whales” until better names are decided on. Both species of orca whales in the San Juans apparently live throughout the world but more study is needed to confirm this.

Here are the main differences:

Resident Orca Whales – Live in large matriarchal pods of up to 50 whales, feed almost exclusively on fish, males are about 1 to 2 meters shorter, are very talkative, and relaxed in the presence of kayak tours and whale watchers.

Transient Killer Whales – Live alone or in small pods of less than 10 whales, feed mostly on marine mammals such as seals and sea lions, adults are about 1 to 2 meters longer with taller/sharper dorsal fins, and are much quieter (perhaps because their prey is so intelligent). This is the orca that people think of when they hear the words "killer whale" as they are the largest killers of warm-blooded prey in the world!

The good news is the most recent orca whale born in our primary kayaking in the San Juan Islands looks robust healthy. The bad news is this baby orca is the first-born of a very inexperienced mother, only 12 years old, who will need help from her aunt and grandmother.

More alarming is that in recent decades most first born orca babies die within a year. The prime suspect is a heavy dose of toxic chemicals that the mother passes to the calf via milk. Orca whales in Washington's Puget Sound accumulate man-made poisons such as PCBs throughout their lives and the only way to eliminate it is through milk production. First-born orcas get the biggest dose while later siblings get progressively smaller doses of toxins and have better survival rates.

If you are looking for some hot birding action in Washington, the winter bird population is hitting its peak in the San Juan Islands right now. The marine birds are especially abundant at this time of year and enjoying them from a sea kayak is a very relaxing and rewarding way of bird-watching in the San Juans.

Loons, grebes, cormorants, scoters, mergansers, harlequin & long-tailed ducks, shorebirds, murres, murrelets, guillemots, and gulls abound with each family represented by many species. Bald Eagles are at their annual mid-winter high of around 300 individuals in the San Juan Islands of Washington. Kayaking among this unique bird diversity is a special experience.

Much of this mid and late winter bird abundance is due to an influx of adult herring migrating through the San Juan Islands enroute to their spawning areas. The marine birds feast on both the adults and their roe once it is deposited in the shallows.

Another bonus of winter sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands is the quietude and lack of boating activity at this time of year. Although the orca whales are not often seen in the winter, sea lions are at their peak numbers, harbor seals are everywhere, and the river otters are easily seen during daylight hours.

The first baby orca of 2010 has been born to J pod on January 3, boosting an endangered population of killer whales that needs every birth it can get. The orca calf's mother is only 12 years old, raising concern for the survival of both the mother and her calf. Killer whales don't usually become reproductive until the age of 15.

In 2009 there were five births and three deaths among the “southern resident” orca families of Washington. Three of the new babies were born into J pod, the family of killer whales that we kayak with most often in the San Juan Islands. We are optimistic that this ‘baby boom’ in J pod represents a comeback for our local orca whales.

Look carefully at the photo and you will see new-born foetal folds and the distinctive orange color of a baby orca whale.

Amazingly enough, the National Marine Fisheries Service has a plan to ban kayaking on the west side of San Juan Island in the heart of the orca whale watching zone. Without the backing of any scientific studies that show kayaking with killer whales has any negative effect on the orcas, NMFS was planning to shut down kayaking on the west side of San Juan Island this year. Fortunately, they have delayed a decision as they are finally starting to understand the true facts now.

Jumbo Squid, also called Humboldt Squid, are invading Washington's Salish Sea and their effects on orca whales is being questioned. These swift predators grow 7 feet long, live in huge schools, and could have a major impact on the San Juan Islands' orca whales if they become permanently established. The "Diablo Rojo" eats everything from tiny fish up to large sharks that are attacked in swarms. They can grow up to 100 pounds in a single year!

Amazing photographs taken by Ingrid Visser of killer whales attacking and killing a mako shark have recently been published. Although Ingrid's studies take place in New Zealand, the hunting techniques she describes are very similar to those used by killer whales pursuing seals in the San Juan Islands of Washington: cooperative herding, surpise attacks, and powerful blows from the flukes to deal the death blow.

Our San Juan Islands birding tour on August 28, 2009 found a real rarity for our part of Washington. Among approximately 3000 marine birds of various species feeding on the Salmon Bank were several dozen Sooty Shearwaters as shown in the picture below. This species is usually restricted to open ocean waters and seldom penetrates into inland waters. We think some recent heavy sea fog and strong onshore winds created the conditions to drive the shearwaters into the San Juan Islands.

A total of seven different local organizations will receive more than $1.4 million in funding to improve salmon habitat in the San Juan Islands of Washington, our main sea kayaking base. This is great news for our orca whales as their most important food source are salmon, especially locally bred chinook. All five species of Pacific salmon are now on the endangered species list in the lower 48 states, a situation that threatens our entire marine ecosystem with collapse.

It should not be surprising that the resident-type killer whales living in the same region are also officially listed as endangered. Current trends, if not reversed, could see orcas disappear from the Pacific Northest's Salish Sea sometime between 40 to 200 years. Sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands will never be the same if our killer whales aren't there to share the waters with. Much of the excitement and mystery of a San Juan Island kayak tour will vanish with the orca whales.