Thanks to humans, Salish Sea waters are too noisy for resident orcas to hunt successfully

The Salish Sea—the inland coastal waters of Washington and British Columbia—is home to two unique populations of fish-eating orcas, the northern resident and the southern resident orcas. Human activity over much of the 20th century, including reducing salmon runs and capturing orcas for entertainment purposes, decimated their numbers. This century, the northern resident population has steadily grown to more than 300 individuals, but the southern resident population has plateaued at around 75. They remain critically endangered.