Ships slowing in busy channel to protect endangered orcas

SEATTLE (AP) — Ships moving through a busy channel off Washington state’s San Juan Island are slowing down this summer as part of a study to determine whether that can reduce noise and benefit a small, endangered population of killer whales.
The Puget Sound orcas spend summer months in a major shipping channel in the Salish Sea that is critical habitat for the whales.
The trial, led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, is trying to understand whether reducing commercial vessel spe