It will take time to see orca numbers improve

Published 1:30 am Sunday, November 8, 2020

Julia-Grace Sanders’ article on orca recovery was well done (“Millions have been spent on orca recovery: Has it been worth it?” The Herald, Oct. 24). Indeed, it will take many years to see if the recovery is working. Habitat restoration is definitely a positive, but it is an uphill battle combined with the population influx in Western Washington.

I am a bit confused on the Tulalip story about orcas saving the Tulalip population by eating seals that eat the salmon that the tribe is dependent on. Our southern resident orcas eat salmon, not seals.

We have hatcheries. Wouldn’t it make sense to produce more salmon in these hatcheries? It would boost the recovery of these beautiful mammals, the orca!

John Gildow

Camano Island