Orcas’ endangered status official

SEATTLE – The listing of Washington state’s killer whale population as an endangered species – long awaited by the environmental community – takes effect today.

The southern resident orca population numbers 89 animals, down from about 125 in the 1960s, when now-banned captures for marine aquariums began.

The killer whales have been protected since 2002 as a depleted species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which requires a conservation plan.

The Endangered Species Act listing requires a more demanding recovery plan, so the National Marine Fisheries Service is upgrading the conservation plan it prepared earlier.