Blog

Jun 21, 2023

Science

Sound Action does not oppose kelp farming. But given the imperiled status of southern resident orcas whales, we must get this right. Last week the Beachcomber published a story exploring two

Sound Action does not oppose kelp farming. But given the imperiled status of southern resident orcas whales, we must get this right.

Last week the Beachcomber published a story exploring two commercial kelp farming projects proposed for Vashon Island. We applaud Leslie Brown’s work tackling a complex issue and wanted to provide more detail on why we reluctantly appealed the King County permit for the farm proposed for the Southwest corner of Vashon.

Sound Action has no goal of blocking kelp farming. However, given the imperiled status of the southern resident orcas whales and the entanglement impacts outlined below, we must be certain to get this right.

Kelp farming uses longline ropes set horizontally and vertically across a large area in the water. These ropes are seeded with kelp. Depending on the array, a 10-acre farm would be expected to have two to three miles of rope line installed when considering the cumulative total of all lines.

There is no question the introduction of longlines creates whale entanglement risk, something multiple wild orca and cetacean experts testified to during our recent appeal hearing.

The site and immediate vicinity for the proposed kelp farm at the south end of the island is documented to be one of the highest whale use areas in inland Puget Sound. The Southern Resident orcas regularly spend hours there in the fall and winter months, and individual humpback whales commonly spend weeks to months there. Transient orcas are also regular visitors. Whale use of the farm proposed near Fern Cove is different but still substantive.

When Sound Action first learned of the kelp farm proposals, we met with each applicant to share information on whale use and our entanglement concerns. We also provided detailed information to federal agencies and King County, including an entanglement comment letter and included reports from environmental and orca advocacy organizations.

The review process for these permits was troubling. At the federal level, ESA review was conducted by a third-party contractor recently hired to support aquaculture permit processing. Before this, they had no professional environmental work experience.

During review of the south-end project, the consultant accepted applicant-provided information regarding orcas that was clearly incorrect. The applicants said that the area was part of the summer core area for resident orcas, when, in fact, orcas are here in the fall and winter, not summer. Stunningly, they completely failed to recognize humpback use of the site.

The County review process was also flawed. We were stunned to learn both proposals were pulled to the front of the review line after top management in the permit department received a communication, sent on behalf of the County Executive, to share he had become interested in kelp farming and was requesting a status update and information on the expected timing for permit issuance.

That communication came just days after staff from the Executive’s office met with the applicants, their joint consultants and legal teams.

The County also failed to evaluate the entanglement impact appropriately, so much so that a consultant hired by the County testified the entanglement information from orca and environmental organizations was not even provided to her. Instead, the County relied on the same incorrect whale information and flawed federal agency review.

Science-based decision-making is critical to bring the southern residents back from the brink.

There is no evidence showing orcas would or could use echolocation to determine rope covered with kelp as an object to avoid. During the appeal hearing, orca experts with decades of experience testified that orcas do not continually echolocate, and most significantly, there is nothing to indicate they would view rope lines covered with kelp as a threat.

And, of course, humpback whales do not echolocate.

Further, orcas and humpbacks are attracted to kelp and often play with and interact with the vegetation. This behavior has been observed so frequently that it has been dubbed “kelping.”

Both the permitting agencies and the applicants have pointed to a lack of any reported entanglement with aquaculture longlines in Puget Sound as evidence of low entanglement risk.

However, they fail to recognize that except for a small footprint experimental farm near the Hood Canal bridge — which is not in a common cetacean use area — there are no floating longline aquaculture arrays in southern resident use areas or at tidal levels accessible to whales in Puget Sound.

They also point to a lack of reported entanglement with kelp farming on the East Coast. But farms in that area are generally required to be located outside whale critical habitat and use areas. With this, an absence of reported whale entanglements from kelp farming in the United States does not reflect a lack of entanglement risk or likelihood. Rather, it reflects that farms are commonly located outside of whale areas.

Orcas can and do become entangled in rope similar to what would be used in commercial kelp aquaculture farms. As recently as last month, a transient orca was found entangled in rope off Camano Island, a repeat of a June 2023 entanglement event off Whidbey Island.

That entanglement of humpback and orca are often related to crab pot lines, fixed fishery longlines, or rope and buoy lines where the origin could not be confirmed does not negate or minimize the risk kelp farming presents.

A NOAA memorandum evaluating marine aquaculture interactions outlined that this type of gear was similar or analogous to aquaculture lines and that it would be appropriate to draw similarities as proxies when determining risks to marine mammals to inform regulatory and management decisions concerning aquaculture.

There has also been a suggestion that using tight lines will address entanglement, but this practice is a minimization measure at best and does not avoid the impact. Further, even if a taut line were a mechanism to prevent entanglement, there is no pathway for the rope to remain tight.

Longlines are designed to be taut at high water and significantly loosen at lower water levels, meaning there is slack in the lines at anything less than high tide. Additionally, even when “tight,” the lines are free floating and held up in the water column with buoys. A cetacean instantly creates slack by lightly pressing down or pulling the rope.

Shortly after learning of these and other proposals, Sound Action began developing our “Hold the Line” solution as a pathway to address whale entanglement while simultaneously charting a course to support kelp farming as it emerges.

In a nutshell, there are financially and physically feasible solutions to prevent entanglement.

These include the use of non-entangling composite fiberglass lines instead of rope or the installation of sequenced sections of weak-link breaking points, placing growing arrays in shallower water areas outside of cetacean range, and using on or near-bottom cultivation instead of floating arrays.

Each practice is viable, and these breaking line/weak-link supplies are readily available and inexpensive — something we confirmed by talking to all the manufacturers and ordering the products.

Last week, during a discussion with a community member who is a kelp farm advocate, they shared that they could not understand why kelp farm proponents would not embrace these whale protections.

We agree, and moving forward, it is our hope this win-win approach to create a unique opportunity for collaboration rather than conflict is brought to life on Vashon and that all the parties’ time in the courtroom comes to an end.

As the executive director of Sound Action, Amy Carey helps to protect vital nearshore habitat and species — including wild salmon and orca — across the Puget Sound region.