Beam Reach

Today (3/14/18) in Seattle, Governor Jay Inslee signed Executive Order 18:02, setting the stage for Washington State agencies to implement immediate actions to benefit the southern resident killer whales, (aka SRKWs) — an endangered population of salmon-eating orcas. The order also creates a SRKW Task Force which will guide “implementation of a longer-term action plan.” A […]

On Tuesday December 12, 2017, the Washington Maritime Blue initiative was launched at Bell Harbor conference center in Seattle. Overlooking Elliott Bay on a crisp winter day, the State unveiled the new 21-member Maritime Innovation Advisory Council. In a nutshell this appears to be an effort by local experts to generate a strategic plan for […]

Listening for whales A discussion of hydrophone networks — past and future — with an emphasis on the Salish Sea (Washington State, USA; and British Columbia, Canada) Talk and discussion hosted by the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society (Facebook event) January 18, 2017 at the Phinney Ridge Community Center in Seattle The […]

With transient killer whales in the area and the whereabouts of J and L pods (and their many newborns!) unknown, we were concerned to hear that active sonar was utilized late in the morning on Wednesday, January 13, in Haro Strait — critical habitat for species in both Canada and the U.S.  At the same […]

NOTE: Due to new information provided by the Canadian Navy, this post has been archived. A new version with the most up-to-date and accurate information is available here — http://www.beamreach.org/2016/01/14/navy-starts-2016-pinging-in-the-pool   With transient killer whales in the area and the whereabouts of J and L pods (and their many newborns!) unknown, we were concerned to […]