Did you know that orcas have their own language and can live to be 90 years old just like humans? Orcas are also the second most widespread mammal in the world after humans. Despite these characteristics, orcas are endangered and their populations are decreasing around the globe. You might think there is nothing you can personally do to help orcas. But, I have good news: There are a lot of easy things anyone can do to make a difference! In this article, I will explain why orcas matter, what threats orcas face, and how you can help.

Why Orcas Matter

I am a teenager who has always wanted to be a marine biologist and marine conservation is one of my passions. However, I don’t want to wait until I am a marine biologist to raise awareness about the importance of orca conservation, which not many people know about. In fact, because orcas are huge animals that eat other animals, people might believe that orcas are not endangered and are a very healthy species. This puts them at greater risk because people view orcas as a threat rather than making efforts to protect this important species.

Orcas are the biggest dolphin species. Orcas have black backs, white chests, and small patches of white above their eyes. They also have tall triangular dorsal fins and large paddle-shaped pectoral fins. Some of these features like their coloring are only found in orcas which makes them easy to identify. Female orcas grow to approximately 23 feet in length and weigh around 5,000 pounds, while male orcas can grow to 27 feet in length and weigh around 10,000 pounds. Orcas are a beautiful animal that we need to protect so that we don’t lose them. 

There are plenty of other reasons why we should protect orcas beyond their amazing coloration and habits. One major reason is the protection of ocean ecosystems. Orcas are apex predators, which means that no other animals prey on them and they are at the top of the food chain/web. Sometimes, populations of species that orcas would normally eat could grow too large without orcas controlling their numbers. This can be very bad because those species could then consume too many of the ocean’s resources, and ecosystems could collapse.

Threats to Orcas

Many different human actions are negatively affecting orcas at this time. Some of those actions hurting orcas right now include; noise pollution, fishing nets, dams, and boat collisions, to name a few. 

Dams are hurting orca populations by cutting off the food supply. Southern resident orcas usually eat only salmon, and a few dams like the Snake River and the Lower Granite Dams can stop the migration paths of salmon. If the salmon can’t travel like they normally would between the river and the ocean, that can lead to orcas dying of starvation.

Fishing nets are another human tool that has negative impacts on orcas and other large oceanic animals, especially other mammals. Large animals like orcas can get caught in fishing nets underwater and they can drown if they are unable to get untangled soon enough. Human fishing habits can also hurt orcas through overfishing. Overfishing is when a species is fished too much to maintain a healthy population. There really are only so many things that we can do to make fishing nets 100% safe for orcas and other oceanic mammals. The best thing that we can do is not use fishing nets and switch to other fishing gear like fishing pots (fisheries.noaa.gov/national/bycatch/fishing-gear-traps-and-pots#:~:text=and%20pots%20illustration.-,Traps%20and%20pots%20are%20submerged%20three%2Ddimensional%20wire%20or%20wood,and%20re%2Dbait%20the%20traps). Fishing pots are a lot safer for orcas and other large marine animals because they have a lower chance of bycatch, which is catching a species that they were not intending to catch. 

Boat collisions are another major human action that has a big impact on orcas. When boats get too close to orcas, orcas can hit the rudders and get injured or even die. Also, boats cause noise pollution, which is when the noise that boats make affects the echolocation that orcas use for navigation. For this reason, noise pollution messes with orcas’ sense of where they are and their ability to find food. 

Myths about orcas are another big problem because they make people want to harm them, or not care about their wellbeing. One myth that people have created about orcas is the name killer whales. People have given them this name, and it creates an unfounded fear of them. In reality, there have been no recorded instances of orcas killing humans in the wild. The only tragic incidents involving humans have occurred when orcas in human care have not been kept sufficiently stimulated. 

How can you help?

There are many things that each person can do to help orcas. Here are my top three tips for every human to help orcas:

#1 Reduce your trash!

One thing that you might do is try to control the amount of waste that you produce. Did you know that the average person in the United States produces about 1.5 tons of trash a year? A certain percentage of the trash that each person produces ends up in the ocean, and it all adds up. Scientists estimate that there are about 269,000 tons of trash in the ocean right now (cbsnews.com/news/worlds-oceans-plagued-by-269000-tons-of-plastic-pollution/). 269,000 tons is heavier than eleven Statues of Liberty! Recycling is a great strategy to reduce trash and prevent waste from going into the ocean. Currently, only 9% of all things that can be recycled end up being recycled. This means that 91% of all materials that could be recycled end up not getting recycled and a portion of that gets dumped in the ocean! It’s really easy to make a difference by doing something as simple as recycling.

#2 Choose sustainable seafood!

One other thing that you can do to help orcas is to make sure that you are eating sustainable seafood. Some ways that seafood can be unsustainable is if it is damaging habitats, depleting populations of discarded species, increasing pollution, or affecting populations of other, unfished animals. Fishing can harm orcas if it takes place near orcas or if it is depleting orcas' natural food sources. It is really important that you eat sustainable seafood so that the food that you enjoy does not harm other animals. Seafood is unsustainable when it is caught illegally, if it is unreported, or if it is unregulated. To find out what seafood is sustainable, check out the seafood profiles by NOAA Fisheries, the national organization in charge of fishing in the United States (fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/sustainable-seafood/seafood-consumers). So, next time you or your family buy fish or eat fish at a restaurant, choose sustainable seafood whenever possible!

#3 Debunk orca myths!

Finally, we can all play an important role by debunking harmful myths about orcas. So, the next time you hear someone talking about “killer whales,” gently correct them by sharing a cool fact about orcas, like that they are dolphins and they need our help to survive!