Thursday, June 26, 2014

Along the Salish Sea

In March, we visited some friends in Whidbey Island, along the Salish Sea, less than two hours from Seattle. They sent us photographs with clues, like a treasure map, that led us to their round yurt like cottage, where we watched the sun set over the bay as we washed down hunks of fresh bread, brie and apricot jam with local beer.

I hadn’t heard of the “Salish Sea” until Max used the name. I looked it up, instantly enchanted. Wikipedia described the Salish Sea as an “intricate network of coastal waterways” between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the Washington state in the U.S. The inland waterways of the Salish Sea are separated from the open Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula.

South Whidbey Harbor, Langley
Winding roads framed by lush green woods led us to the yurt-like-cottage where Max and Liz lived. Quaint homes and farms were tucked away behind sharp turns and small bends. It rained some, but not all the time, and when it did, it wrapped the island in misty curtains that made it dreamier.

Our friends were boat captains, running whale-watching tours from South Whidbey Harbor. The cute street hugging the harbor had a gourmet grocery store, yarn shop, a record store, and the Village Pizzeria, where pizza and beer came with a gorgeous view.
Walking around Langley


That evening, as we settled down with more local brew, Max told us about Lolita.

In 1970, a young female orca was captured at Penn Cove, Whidbey Island, and taken to the Sea Aquarium in Miami. Lolita was one of seven young whales sold to marine parks around the world from this operation conducted by Don Goldsberry, a collector of SeaWorld, and Ted Griffin. Four baby whales died during the capture. To avoid public attention, the captors slit the dead calves’ bellies, filled them with rocks and drowned them. Three of the carcasses were later discovered, and SeaWorld settled in court and agreed to never again capture orcas in Washington State. Read more about Lolita's capture here.

Lolita was intended as a mate for a young male orca named Hugo. Eventually Hugo killed himself by banging his head against the wall of the aquarium where he was kept captive. He took the only way out that he could see.

Lolita is still alive. She lives in a pool that’s like a bathtub compared to her size. She still performs tricks for a cheering audience. When the show ends, Lolita bobs lifelessly in her pool. That’s all there is to her life. She could have had an ocean to live and play in. Instead, she lives in a bathtub, for our entertainment.

Max contemplated about the state of captive orcas and admitted how wondrous it was for him as a kid to have seen dolphin and orca shows in SeaWorld and its likes. But what are we really teaching our kids when we take them to these marine parks?

SeaWorld staff often misinform the audience about how happy and healthy orcas live in captivity. They even claim that in captivity these animals live longer. They don’t. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation project estimates that whales born in captivity only live for 4.5 years on average. In contrast, they live longer and richer lives in the wild, as evident in the case of “Granny”, a 103-year-old whale recently spotted off the western coast of Canada.

Orcas have emotional and social lives more complex than humans. Their brains are even more developed than ours. They live with their families and feel emotions like we do, and have a sense of identity. If we explained that to our kids, would they still want to see orcas in captivity perform back flips?

On a whale-watching tour in the rain, Whidbey Island
As of February 2014, there are 53 orcas held in captivity around the world, and Sea World owns 26 of them. Every time a trainer is injured, or worse, killed by a captive whale, marine parks have blamed the trainer for the incident. The movie Blackfish features Tilikum, a whale that has killed many times, and is still held in captivity because he is such a profit maker for SeaWorld. Whale researchers have pointed out numerous times that there have been no records of such orca attacks against humans in the wild.

Bluff Trail, Ebey's Landing
That night I dreamt being trapped in fishing nets and dragged through a busy highway that looked like the New Jersey Turnpike.

Next morning brought sunshine. We had breakfast and headed for Ebey’s Landing, named after the first non-native settler of Whidbey Island, Colonel Isaac Neff Ebey. 

We walked up the bluff trail running parallel to the shore, passing emerald green fields and woods of fir that looked like something out of an Irish travel brochure. We gazed at the Olympic Mountains rising behind the coastal waters and spotted bald eagles.

Bluff trail, Ebey's Landing

On the way back, we walked on the beach. Steve and I found a giant log perfectly balanced to become a seesaw. We collected barnacles and marveled at the curiously shaped driftwood bleached silver by the sun. I smuggled a small piece of driftwood in my luggage. When I returned to New York, April played fetch with it and gnawed at it with unadorned pleasure that dogs have mastered.
Seesaw on driftwood, Ebey's Landing
Peek-a-boo

Washington state and Seattle holds a special place in my heart. It’s a place where past and present memories play. Back in New York, alongside those pleasant memories, Lolita’s story kept coming back to me. So I found out more about her.

Lolita is a member of the “Southern Resident killer whale DPS” that’s protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Orca Network describes her present condition as: “Though a young and healthy adult, Lolita is one of the oldest orcas in captivity, kept in the oldest and smallest orca tank in the U.S.”

Ebey's Landing
“The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has objected to the Federal Government's failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act in regard to the small size of Lolita's tank. In short, the minimum horizontal dimension should, by law, be at least 48' wide in both directions. From the front wall to the wall that forms the barrier the pool is only 35' wide. Orcas swim an average of 80 miles a day. Four other infractions at the Sea Aquarium whale tank have been documented at The Orca Project. Lolita's tank is not a reasonable habitat for a whale.”

Yet, all previous attempts to free Lolita from Miami Sea Aquarium have failed.

Today, Lolita awaits a final decision that’s due in January 2015 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries that could set her free. 

In 2013, NOAA accepted a petition to include Lolita under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Her family in the wild is already covered by the ESA and the proposal entails an amendment to remove the exclusion of captive whales in the regulatory language, which would allow Lolita to be included in the endangered species list. Advocates for “Free Lolita” have proposed a safe retirement plan for her that could ultimately unite her with her family.

The issue of orcas in captivity has gained momentum in recent years. The documentary “Blackfish” released in 2013 challenged mainstream perceptions (and lack thereof) of orcas in captivity. In April 2014,  SeaWorld lost in the US Court of Appeals, which upheld the 2010 citation accusing SeaWorld of failing to ensure the safety of its orca trainers. Shortly thereafter, STA Travels, one of the world’s leading travel companies catering to young people and students, announced that it would not offer trips to SeaWorld or other tourism destinations which capitalize on the exploitation of animals.

Perhaps, these are small steps that could lead to a sea change for whales in captivity.

If you want to stay on top of the “Free Lolita” movement, check http://www.orcanetwork.org.
You can also sign this PETA petition urging for her release: https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4951 

Let’s hope 2015 brings freedom to Lolita and sets a precedence to protect whales from captivity. Ahoy!

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