Seattle’s PCC market to stop selling certain chinook to help orcas

SEATTLE – Seattle-based PCC Community Markets says it will stop selling all chinook salmon products caught in Northwest waters to help critically endangered orcas.

The whales that spend time in the waters of Washington state have struggled because of lack of chinook salmon. They also face threats from pollution and vessel noise that can interfere with their ability to forage and communicate.

PCC’s Brenna Davis said in a statement Monday that the image of a mother orca pushing her dead calf in the water for days this summer prompted the co-op to think about what it could do.

Other restaurants in Seattle have also said they’ll pull chinook, also known as king salmon, from menus.

PCC said Monday it won’t sell fresh, frozen and smoked salmon caught in the waters of Washington, Oregon or British Columbia. It will replace its supply with chinook from Alaska.