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Orca researcher, advocate Ken Balcomb dies

Ken Balcomb, who was responsible for pioneering orca identification research in the Salish Sea, has died.

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — Pioneering orca researcher Ken Balcomb has died. He was 82.

Balcomb, who was the founder of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, died Dec. 15, according to the center.

“He was the North Star, a guiding light,” the center said in a press release. “Over half a century of whale research and advocacy, he lit a path for tens of thousands to follow.”

Balcomb's son, Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, said his dad had a passion for whales his whole life, as far as he could remember.

Balcomb earned his Bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of California, Davis in 1963 and did his graduate studies at UC Santa Cruz where he conducted humpback whale research in the North Atlantic, according to the center.

In his early career, Balcomb worked as a field biologist with the U.S. government and as a U.S. Navy pilot and oceanographic specialist during the Vietnam era. However, Balcomb spent most of his career studying and documenting the Southern Resident killer whales in the Salish Sea.

“He was a scientist with a deep-rooted love and connection to the whales and their ocean habitat,” the center said. “He inspired others to appreciate both as much as he did.”

In 1976, Balcomb started the center’s orca survey, which is a long-term photo-identification study. It came on the tail of orca capture in the late 1960s to mid-1970s when killer whales were taken for display at marine parks.

The survey, under contract to the National Marine Fisheries Service, launched to determine how many Southern Residents were left after capture.

The center has conducted the annual survey for over 45 years, providing information about the population’s demographics, health, social structure and life histories.

In the early years of the survey, scientists discovered that killer whales could be identified by a saddle patch on their backs and their dorsal fins, which often display nicks. This technique of individual cetacean photo identification is now considered a standard research method worldwide, according to the center.

"His legacy is bringing the Southern Resident killer whales to the world and the attention of the world," Balcomb-Bartok said.

In 1985, Balcomb founded the nonprofit Center for Whale Research.

As the southern resident population has come under threat from a decline in food, pollution and boat noise, Balcomb has been a loud voice for conservation and protection of the population.

Howard Garrett, Balcomb's brother, said Balcomb was able to recognize over 20 years ago that the main problem leading to the population's decline was the lack of salmon.

“I’m not going to count them to zero, at least not quietly,” the center reported Balcomb said frequently.

In 2019, Balcomb told KING 5 that this work was his passion.

"I feel privileged and honored that the whales have chosen me to be their agent on this," Balcomb said. "I love the whales. I feel like I'm one of them."

    

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