OLYMPIA, Wash. — In some good news for Puget Sound Southern Resident Orcas, a link in their food chain is flourishing.
KIRO reports the anchovy population in the south Sound is booming.
Anchovies are eaten by chinook salmon, which are the orcas’ favorite food.
Department of Ecology oceanographer Christopher Krembs says it’s an important development as they haven’t seen an increase in other forage fish like herring.
Another challenge is that the chinook compete with sea lions and transient killer whales that also like the anchovy.
“This [anchovy] prey base is going to be critical to have a healthy stock of forage fish in order to have the recovery goals met for both salmon and orcas,” says Phillip Dionne with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.