Declaration of Dr. Deborah Giles in Southeast Alaska Chinook salmon fishery lawsuit

Dr. Giles provides a declaration with regard to Southern Resident Killer Whales prey needs for a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction in the Southeast Alaska Chinook salmon fishery.

From the declaration:
“Our research has determined that each Southern Resident needs around 20 full- bodied Chinook salmon per day to survive. In other words, just to maintain the existing population, over 525,000 fully mature Chinook salmon are needed annually for the Southern Residents to survive. To date, fisheries management decisions have not been made with the recovery of the Southern Resident killer whales in mind, fish runs are historically low, and all evidence—including increased death rates, low fecundity, and the physical appearance of the Southern Resident Killer Whales—indicate that there is a substantial lack of sufficient Chinook abundance available as prey to the Southern Resident Killer Whales.”

Click download below to read Dr. Giles’ full declaration filed with the Court.