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VOLUME 37, NUMBER 23 • JUNE 10, 2014
Death toll mounts for harbor porpoises By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
An uptick in harbor porpoise strandings has local biologists scratching their heads, looking for clues and wary that mid-May’s unusually high death toll may signal something other than the natural die-off of a population on the rise. “We’ve also heard there’s been an increase in the number of strandings in the (British Columbia) area,” said The Whale Museum’s Jennifer Olsen, coordinator of the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network. “But we’re not sure of what the total is or exactly where they were found. We didn’t have a single stranding a year ago in May.” A total of eight harbor
porpoise carcasses were recovered from beaches on the westside of San Juan Island between May 19 and May 29. All are similar in length, 4-6 feet, suggesting they were adults, and a series of necropsies are slated to be conducted on three bodies that were not picked apart by scavengers, beginning June 5, Olsen said. The term “stranding” applies to dead animals and to live ones that for some reason are stranded on a beach or rocks and cannot get back into the water. Although it stands as the second-highest stranding total in the month of May, since 2006, eight is not necessarily cause for alarm, not by itself (12 strandings were recorded in May 2012, the highest total for the month
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There has been an increase in local harbor porpoise strandings. Scientists are looking for clues as to why. in the last eight years). In fact, according to Dr. Joe Gaydos of the Orcas Island-based SeaDoc Society, spring is the time of year when harbor porpoise typically migrate en masse from the mouth of Juan de Fuca Strait into the heart of the Salish Sea and strandings are not uncommon at that time. Still, Gaydos, who will perform the early June necropsies, said the spate of strandings warrant examination to find out if an infectious disease or virus, such as pneumonia, may be responsible or contributed to the deaths. “Right now we really don’t know what’s going on,” he said. The smallest of marine mammals, the harbor porpoise generally stays close to coastal waters or river estuaries, tend to be solitary foragers and feed primarily on small schooling fish,
such as herring, pollock, hake, as well as squid and other cephalopods. Adults typically measure 4-6 feet in length, average between 135-170 pounds (females tend to be heavier) and have an average lifespan of about 24 years. The harbor porpoise shares the name but is an entirely different species than the somewhat larger and vastly heavier harbor seal, a far more abundant animal worldwide, and com-
mon as well in the Salish Sea. However, the population of harbor porpoise appears to be on the rise in greater Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. In fact, according to Gaydos, the cause of an exceptionally large number of harbor porpoise strandings and deaths in 2006 turned out to be largely the result of an increase in the overall population. Whether due to age, competition or
limited food supply, death is ever-present in the natural world and casualties can tend to spike in step with an increase in population, he said. “It wasn’t that they were dying from a disease” he said. “The harbor porpoise population was just increasing.” To report a stranding, call the Marine Mammal Stranding Network Hotline, 1-800-562-8832.
WSF changes ticket policy By Cali Bagby Weekly editor
After numerous complaints about Wave2Go ticket theft, Washington State Ferries has changed its policies. Beginning June 15, ticket holders will no longer be able to use the 18-digit ticket number, but must have their ticket or photocopied ticket in-hand. “It’s a relatively easy fix for us,” said Marta Coursey, WSF director of communications. According to Coursey, WSF received about half a dozen complaints from Orcas Islanders who claimed that their Wave2Go
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passes were stolen. Only about 1 percent of statewide ferry users purchase multi-use Wave2Go passes, but 5 to 10 percent of San Juan Island ferry travelers use the passes. Orcas Islander Peter Bohr purchased a five-ride ferry pass this spring and after using it only once, he was surprised when a ferry worker at the Anacortes terminal said he had zero uses left. Now Bohr is convinced that “thieves have breached the Washington State Ferries’ computer ticket system and are stealing unused rides.” Bohr said that his pass
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and purchase receipt had never been out of his possession, therefore no one could have copied his information and that someone must be infiltrating the ticket system. According to WSF, there is no evidence that someone is going into the ferry system and stealing tickets. “We can say with certainty that WSF’s credit card and IT systems have not been breached,” said Coursey. She would not speak to WSF security measures because she said it could “help someone abuse the system.” Coursey did say that WSF
does not have the ability to verify a specific person abusing the system, which is why it changed its policy to help ensure passes would not be stolen. “There could be a 100 ways to get the ticket number,” Coursey added. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office has interviewed persons of interest but no charges have been filed. Undersheriff Bruce Distler is confident that WSF’s policy change will be beneficial. “The fact that they have to present a hard copy should prevent theft if they secure their card,” said Distler.
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