Prey Increase Program for Southern Resident Killer Whales

NOAA Fisheries is initiating an evaluation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of the prey increase program that produces additional hatchery fish for release into the wild to help boost the amount of prey (food) available to endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs). This new evaluation is in response to a recent court order that found NOAA Fisheries did not adequately evaluate these hatchery fish releases at a larger, more programmatic scale.

Therefore, we are now initiating a new NEPA evaluation of this funding at a programmatic level.

Opportunities for Public Involvement

NOAA Fisheries is seeking feedback from the public as we begin the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the prey increase program. We are seeking comments from the public (see the Federal Register Notice, below).

Virtual Public Meetings

Two public meetings online (via computer technology) are scheduled, to learn more about this project and to answer any questions about how to provide input to NOAA.

August 30, 2023 (Wednesday)

9am – 10:30am (PDT)
https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/j.php?MTID=mdca0e8fa521b67dbf8e4166183b8116d
Meeting number: 2764 190 0356

Join by phone
+1-415-527-5035 US Toll
Access code: 276 419 00356

August 31, 2023 (Thursday)

6pm – 7:30pm (PDT)
https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/j.php?MTID=m298ea757216246a0afd763814e6e275b
Meeting number: 2763 804 4109

Join by phone
+1-415-527-5035 US Toll
Access code: 276 380 44109

For help with attending either online meeting, contact Lance Kruzic, NMFS, 541-802-3728, lance.kruzic@noaa.gov.

More Information

Additional resources about the prey increase program and other SRKWs and salmon information can be found in our feature story on this topic.

Read more about Southern Resident Killer Whales.