August 4, 2021 — The federal government Monday expanded its critical habitat area for the endangered southern killer whale population that now includes all of Monterey Bay and a portion of the waters off the Big Sur coast.
The new critical habitat designation also added a large portion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary down to Point Sur, about 25 miles south of Monterey. The new designation takes effect on Sept. 1.
The demise of what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, calls the Southern Resident population of killer whales is the result of a number of factors, including the lack of its primary food source: chinook salmon