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SAN JUAN ISLANDS, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say a busy boating season on Washington state's Puget Sound is crowding a resident of these waters: killer whales.
The combination of boats and whales has state and federal authorities worried, especially this summer, now that the Southern Resident pod of killer whales has four new calves.
So authorities are sending out orca patrols, asking the vessels to give the sea mammals enough space.
Sgt. Russ Mullins of the Washington state department of Fish and Wildlife says his unit does 60 shifts per summer solely for whale protection.
By federal and state law, boaters are required to stay 200 yards parallel from the orcas and give them 400 yards in front. It's all part of an effort to create conditions that will help this endangered group.
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