When seven resident killer whales that frequent inland waters of Washington vanished this year, there was no shortage of suspects.
Are the orcas starving because of dwindling salmon runs? Is a toxic brew of oil, sewage and pollutants putting them at risk? Or is vessel noise disrupting their ability to find food?
"We're losing animals and we don't exactly understand why," said Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service.
Scientists are turning to new techniques to solve the question of the endangered species' decline, using satellite tracking and analyzing whale scat, breath samples and fish scales.
For the first time, the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island will tag the southern resident population of killer whales to track their winter migration.
While the region's signature whales have been studied for more than three decades, it's a mystery where they go and what they eat when they leave the Puget Sound.
Starting next year, researchers will attach 2-inch satellite tags on the dorsal fins of the orcas - two from each of the J, K and L pods, or families.
What risk factors do they face in the open ocean? What else is limiting their population? wonders Balcomb, the center's senior scientist.
For the past seven years, the K and L pods have been showing up in Central California, an indication they may be foraging farther for salmon.
"We've got to think bigger about the whole food issue," said Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian and regional director of the SeaDoc Society.
What the whales eat when they leave Puget Sound has implications for salmon harvest in other areas like California and Alaska, he said.
University of Washington researchers analyzing whale scat have found signs that the mammals were "nutritionally stressed" this year.
Using a trained dog to sniff for poop and a 2-liter bottle on a telescoping pole, they've been collecting and analyzing stress hormones and toxins in the whales.
After three years of study, UW researchers have found a link between whale mortality and low levels of thyroid hormone, which partly controls metabolism. When whale deaths are up, thyroid levels are down, suggesting that the whales are starving.
The results are still preliminary and unpublished, but Sam Wasser, director of the UW Center for Conservation Biology, said they show a consistent nutritional problem.
When whales don't eat much, they draw down their fat reserves, where toxins are stored, said Katherine Ayres, a graduate student doing work under Wasser. When that happens, toxins enter the circulation system and could cause health problems, she said.
It's unclear whether the whales are strictly starving or whether they're becoming more susceptible to disease, but it all goes back to food, she said.
"The future for the fisheries is grim, and it's going to get worse," Balcomb said. "I expect that we'll have a worsening of the whale situation."
The resident Puget Sound orca population now stands at 83. Particularly troubling is the loss this year of two female whales of reproductive age among the seven presumed dead.
Studies show orcas prefer Chinook salmon, a species listed as threatened or endangered in several waterways in the northwest, including Puget Sound and the Columbia River.
Scientists are trying to better understand which salmon runs are important to the orcas.
"We're taking a long hard look at which runs correlate with births and deaths," Hanson said. "That has tremendous implication for our ability to improve conservation."
Once they've collected fish scales and other remains the orcas leave behind after feeding, Hanson and others run it through a genetic database that allows them to identify the species in a way they weren't able to a few years ago.
The lack of prey may not be the only barrier to orca feeding. Vessel noise may disrupt the mammal's ability to find food.
To date, four citations have been issued under a new state law designed to keep vessels farther away from whales. Among the offenders were two different Canada-based whale-watching operations ticketed for coming within 300 feet of the orcas, said Sgt. Russ Mullins with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
NOAA Fisheries is also writing new rules for vessels operating in federal waters.
Lack of food leads to other problems, including increased susceptibility to disease, said J.Pete Schroeder, a marine mammal veterinarian and director of research with Global Research and Rescue.
Schroeder and others have been capturing the breath droplets the whales emit from their blowholes.
They're studying potentially harmful organisms in the thin sea surface layer of the Puget Sound and in the breath samples of the orcas.
The researchers ride alongside the whales and swing petri dishes attached to long poles to capture air droplets from the blowhole.
Schroeder found that the orcas carry at least 13 antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Pathogens normally live in blowholes and upper respiratory tracts without causing disease, but whales with a suppressed immune system can become infected.
"There are diseases out there that can wipe out this population," Gaydos said.
All of this collective research will enable scientists to build a health assessment profile for the individual whales, Schroeder said.
Advocates argue that the orcas' problems should be seen as a call to action to clean up Puget Sound because the whales' decline means something far greater that losing the species itself.
"It means that the whole habitat is losing its ability to sustain life," said Howard Garrett, director of the Orca Network.
zondag 28 december 2008
vrijdag 26 december 2008
Photographer times it right as orca cause stir off Tahunanui
Aspiring photographer Matt Hayes couldn't believe his luck when he took his new camera to the beach for the first time, just as a pod of orca made its way up the Blind Channel, at the end of Tahunanui Beach.
Matt, 17, of Nelson, said he was walking along the beach, planning to take photographs of kite surfers, when a woman told him that there were orca in the channel.
Most kite surfers left the water perhaps wary of the "killer whale" reputation of the mammals, but others remained in the water, with at least one kite surfer claiming he had almost hit one of them, Matt said.
He said the "pretty big" orca, of which there were at least three, had been going up and down the channel and, as he arrived, they started to make their way out to sea.
Matt snapped one photograph of a swimmer attempting to reach the orca on their way out of the channel but said the man did not make it to within 10 metres of the pod.
He said he got the camera for his birthday about two months ago but had been reluctant to take it to the beach until yesterday for fear of getting sand in it.
The Nelson College student was taking photography when he returned for Year 13 after the summer break.
When a pod of orca visited Nelson earlier this year, Department of Conservation marine specialist Andrew Baxter said they were frequent visitors to the region.
They were more commonly seen in the summer months from November onwards, but could be seen at any time of year.
About 200 orca were believed to live around New Zealand, with some coming to Nelson on a regular basis, Mr Baxter said. Orca could travel 100km to 150km a day.
Matt, 17, of Nelson, said he was walking along the beach, planning to take photographs of kite surfers, when a woman told him that there were orca in the channel.
Most kite surfers left the water perhaps wary of the "killer whale" reputation of the mammals, but others remained in the water, with at least one kite surfer claiming he had almost hit one of them, Matt said.
He said the "pretty big" orca, of which there were at least three, had been going up and down the channel and, as he arrived, they started to make their way out to sea.
Matt snapped one photograph of a swimmer attempting to reach the orca on their way out of the channel but said the man did not make it to within 10 metres of the pod.
He said he got the camera for his birthday about two months ago but had been reluctant to take it to the beach until yesterday for fear of getting sand in it.
The Nelson College student was taking photography when he returned for Year 13 after the summer break.
When a pod of orca visited Nelson earlier this year, Department of Conservation marine specialist Andrew Baxter said they were frequent visitors to the region.
They were more commonly seen in the summer months from November onwards, but could be seen at any time of year.
About 200 orca were believed to live around New Zealand, with some coming to Nelson on a regular basis, Mr Baxter said. Orca could travel 100km to 150km a day.
zaterdag 20 december 2008
Researchers probe scat for clues to orca decline
Using a trained dog to sniff for poop and petri dishes attached to long poles, scientists are analyzing killer whales' scat and breath samples in the hopes of solving the mystery of Puget Sound's dwindling orca population.
Seven resident killer whales that frequent the inland waters of Washington went missing this year and are presumed dead, and researchers want an explanation.
"We're losing animals and we don't exactly understand why," said Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service.
University of Washington researchers analyzing stress hormones and toxins from scat of the remaining 83 orcas have found signs suggesting the mammals may be starving, possibly due to dwindling salmon runs.
A different team of scientists from Global Research and Rescue is riding alongside the whales, using petri dishes on poles to capture air droplets from the blowholes. The breath samples are being studied for potentially harmful organisms.
Other theories as to the orcas' demise include ocean pollutants such as oil and sewage, or vessel noise disrupting their ability to find food.
The Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island plans to tag the southern resident population of killer whales next year to track their winter migration. While the region's signature whales have been studied for more than three decades, it's a mystery where they go and what they eat when they leave the Puget Sound.
Starting next year, researchers will attach two-inch satellite tags on the dorsal fins of six of the orcas. For the past seven years, two of the pods have been showing up in central California, an indication they may be foraging farther for salmon.
"We've got to think bigger about the whole food issue," said Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian and regional director of the SeaDoc Society.
What the whales eat when they leave Puget Sound has implications for salmon harvest in other areas like California and Alaska, he said.
UW researchers who use a 2-liter bottle on a telescoping pole to collect whale scat for analysis have found a link between whale mortality and low levels of thyroid hormone, which partly controls metabolism. When whale deaths are up, thyroid levels are down, suggesting that the whales are starving.
The results are still preliminary and unpublished, but Sam Wasser, director of the UW Center for Conservation Biology, said they show a consistent nutritional problem.
When whales don't eat much, they draw down their fat reserves, where toxins are stored, said Katherine Ayres, a graduate student doing work under Wasser. When that happens, toxins enter the circulation system and could cause health problems, she said.
It's unclear whether the whales are strictly starving or whether they're becoming more susceptible to disease, but it all goes back to food, she said.
"The future for the fisheries is grim, and it's going to get worse," Balcomb said. "I expect that we'll have a worsening of the whale situation."
Studies show orcas prefer Chinook salmon, a species listed as threatened or endangered in several waterways in the northwest, including Puget Sound and the Columbia River.
Scientists are trying to better understand which salmon runs are important to the orcas.
"We're taking a long hard look at which runs correlate with births and deaths," Hanson said. "That has tremendous implication for our ability to improve conservation."
Once they've collected fish scales and other remains the orcas leave behind after feeding, Hanson and others run it through a genetic database that allows them to identify the species in a way they weren't able to a few years ago.
The lack of prey may not be the only barrier to orca feeding. Vessel noise may disrupt the mammal's ability to find food.
To date, four citations have been issued under a new state law designed to keep vessels farther away from whales. Among the offenders were two different Canada-based whale-watching operations ticketed for coming within 300 feet of the orcas, said Sgt. Russ Mullins with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
NOAA Fisheries is also writing new rules for vessels operating in federal waters.
Lack of food leads to other problems, including increased susceptibility to disease, said J.Pete Schroeder, a marine mammal veterinarian and director of research with Global Research and Rescue.
Schroeder and others have been capturing the breath droplets the whales emit from their blowholes.
They're studying potentially harmful organisms in the thin sea surface layer of the Puget Sound and in the breath samples of the orcas.
Schroeder found that the orcas carry at least 13 antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Pathogens normally live in blowholes and upper respiratory tracts without causing disease, but whales with a suppressed immune system can become infected.
"There are diseases out there that can wipe out this population," Gaydos said.
All of this collective research will enable scientists to build a health assessment profile for the individual whales, Schroeder said.
Advocates argue that the orcas' problems should be seen as a call to action to clean up Puget Sound because the whales' decline means something far greater that losing the species itself.
"It means that the whole habitat is losing its ability to sustain life," said Howard Garrett, director of the Orca Network.
Seven resident killer whales that frequent the inland waters of Washington went missing this year and are presumed dead, and researchers want an explanation.
"We're losing animals and we don't exactly understand why," said Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service.
University of Washington researchers analyzing stress hormones and toxins from scat of the remaining 83 orcas have found signs suggesting the mammals may be starving, possibly due to dwindling salmon runs.
A different team of scientists from Global Research and Rescue is riding alongside the whales, using petri dishes on poles to capture air droplets from the blowholes. The breath samples are being studied for potentially harmful organisms.
Other theories as to the orcas' demise include ocean pollutants such as oil and sewage, or vessel noise disrupting their ability to find food.
The Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island plans to tag the southern resident population of killer whales next year to track their winter migration. While the region's signature whales have been studied for more than three decades, it's a mystery where they go and what they eat when they leave the Puget Sound.
Starting next year, researchers will attach two-inch satellite tags on the dorsal fins of six of the orcas. For the past seven years, two of the pods have been showing up in central California, an indication they may be foraging farther for salmon.
"We've got to think bigger about the whole food issue," said Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian and regional director of the SeaDoc Society.
What the whales eat when they leave Puget Sound has implications for salmon harvest in other areas like California and Alaska, he said.
UW researchers who use a 2-liter bottle on a telescoping pole to collect whale scat for analysis have found a link between whale mortality and low levels of thyroid hormone, which partly controls metabolism. When whale deaths are up, thyroid levels are down, suggesting that the whales are starving.
The results are still preliminary and unpublished, but Sam Wasser, director of the UW Center for Conservation Biology, said they show a consistent nutritional problem.
When whales don't eat much, they draw down their fat reserves, where toxins are stored, said Katherine Ayres, a graduate student doing work under Wasser. When that happens, toxins enter the circulation system and could cause health problems, she said.
It's unclear whether the whales are strictly starving or whether they're becoming more susceptible to disease, but it all goes back to food, she said.
"The future for the fisheries is grim, and it's going to get worse," Balcomb said. "I expect that we'll have a worsening of the whale situation."
Studies show orcas prefer Chinook salmon, a species listed as threatened or endangered in several waterways in the northwest, including Puget Sound and the Columbia River.
Scientists are trying to better understand which salmon runs are important to the orcas.
"We're taking a long hard look at which runs correlate with births and deaths," Hanson said. "That has tremendous implication for our ability to improve conservation."
Once they've collected fish scales and other remains the orcas leave behind after feeding, Hanson and others run it through a genetic database that allows them to identify the species in a way they weren't able to a few years ago.
The lack of prey may not be the only barrier to orca feeding. Vessel noise may disrupt the mammal's ability to find food.
To date, four citations have been issued under a new state law designed to keep vessels farther away from whales. Among the offenders were two different Canada-based whale-watching operations ticketed for coming within 300 feet of the orcas, said Sgt. Russ Mullins with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
NOAA Fisheries is also writing new rules for vessels operating in federal waters.
Lack of food leads to other problems, including increased susceptibility to disease, said J.Pete Schroeder, a marine mammal veterinarian and director of research with Global Research and Rescue.
Schroeder and others have been capturing the breath droplets the whales emit from their blowholes.
They're studying potentially harmful organisms in the thin sea surface layer of the Puget Sound and in the breath samples of the orcas.
Schroeder found that the orcas carry at least 13 antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Pathogens normally live in blowholes and upper respiratory tracts without causing disease, but whales with a suppressed immune system can become infected.
"There are diseases out there that can wipe out this population," Gaydos said.
All of this collective research will enable scientists to build a health assessment profile for the individual whales, Schroeder said.
Advocates argue that the orcas' problems should be seen as a call to action to clean up Puget Sound because the whales' decline means something far greater that losing the species itself.
"It means that the whole habitat is losing its ability to sustain life," said Howard Garrett, director of the Orca Network.
donderdag 18 december 2008
Picture of Chopfin
Photo: Chopfin and his frequent companion, CA216, who is identifiable by the narrow black streak on her saddle, cruise the Monterey coastline in 2007. Credit: Cody Martin
I received the accompanying photo of Chopfin the killer whale after an item I posted Tuesday on the recent sightings locally of Chopfin and his frequent companion, an adult female cataloged as CA216.
So I thought I'd share. The photo was taken by Cody Martin in Monterey Bay on Aug. 26, 2007. (Chopfin is a transient killer whale that feeds on marine mammals and has been documented preying on gray whales off Monterey.)
I had the pleasure of meeting Martin, a budding marine biologist from El Segundo, on an all-day whale-watch trip last March. He was 12 at the time and it was a rare sighting in itself: a kid actually enjoying the great outdoors.
"It's just such a mystery; you never know what you're going to see," Martin said on a day during which we saw very few whales.
Anyway, Outposts thanks Cody for taking an interest, and for sharing this great photo.
--Pete Thomas
dinsdag 16 december 2008
Whale watchers should be on the lookout for Chopfin, the transient orca
When the storms clear out and the ocean is again calm and navigable, marine mammal enthusiasts will venture out in search of Pacific gray whales migrating south to Mexico.
What they might encounter, though, are killer whales that have been seen sporadically in recent weeks off Orange County and Los Angeles. These "transient" orcas prey almost exclusively on marine mammals and perhaps are taking advantage of an abundant California sea lion population in the San Pedro Channel.
The most prominent member of this small sub-pod of transients is "Chopfin," who has a severely damaged dorsal fin.
In all, 150 transient killer whales have been photo-cataloged by researchers Alisa Schulman-Janiger and Nancy Black. None is as easily identifiable or as mobile as Chopfin, who is catalogued as CA217.
So if you're heading out anytime soon, definitely keep an eye peeled for Chopfin and his posse.
The first known sighting of Chopfin, or CA217, was in 1998 on the backside of Santa Catalina Island. He was with four other orcas, including an adult female cataloged as CA216.
CA216 is Chopfin's frequent companion. In 1999 they were seen together off Monterey, a new calf by their side. CA216 had another calf early in 2007, so it is quite the family group milling off our coast.
Chopfin, though lucky in love, is unlucky when it comes to his dorsal fin. His original injury was possibly caused by a fishing net. His fin "flopped to the right and completely collapsed," Schulman-Janiger said. "We called this whale 'Willy II' after Keiko the killer whale of 'Free Willy' fame."
Chopfin was seen with fresh wounds to his dorsal -- which is now essentially a stump -- in 2007 off Westport, Wash.
But Chopfin, the only known transient to have been seen as far south as Dana Point, endures.
He and CA216, and at least two other unidentifiable transients, were spotted from a distance by Schulman-Janiger and her husband, David, on Nov. 29, five miles beyond L.A. Harbor. But it was a fleeting glimpse.
"We searched for the killer whales: up the coast, in close to shore, and back offshore down the coast to where we had first seen them," Schulman-Janiger said. "Although we covered many miles in this area for over four hours, we never did spot these killer whales again."
They may still be in the vicinity. Schulman-Janiger requests that whale watchers tote cameras and try to get profile photos for her identification project. She can be reached via e-mail at janiger@bcf.usc.edu, or by phone at (310) 519-8963.
What they might encounter, though, are killer whales that have been seen sporadically in recent weeks off Orange County and Los Angeles. These "transient" orcas prey almost exclusively on marine mammals and perhaps are taking advantage of an abundant California sea lion population in the San Pedro Channel.
The most prominent member of this small sub-pod of transients is "Chopfin," who has a severely damaged dorsal fin.
In all, 150 transient killer whales have been photo-cataloged by researchers Alisa Schulman-Janiger and Nancy Black. None is as easily identifiable or as mobile as Chopfin, who is catalogued as CA217.
So if you're heading out anytime soon, definitely keep an eye peeled for Chopfin and his posse.
The first known sighting of Chopfin, or CA217, was in 1998 on the backside of Santa Catalina Island. He was with four other orcas, including an adult female cataloged as CA216.
CA216 is Chopfin's frequent companion. In 1999 they were seen together off Monterey, a new calf by their side. CA216 had another calf early in 2007, so it is quite the family group milling off our coast.
Chopfin, though lucky in love, is unlucky when it comes to his dorsal fin. His original injury was possibly caused by a fishing net. His fin "flopped to the right and completely collapsed," Schulman-Janiger said. "We called this whale 'Willy II' after Keiko the killer whale of 'Free Willy' fame."
Chopfin was seen with fresh wounds to his dorsal -- which is now essentially a stump -- in 2007 off Westport, Wash.
But Chopfin, the only known transient to have been seen as far south as Dana Point, endures.
He and CA216, and at least two other unidentifiable transients, were spotted from a distance by Schulman-Janiger and her husband, David, on Nov. 29, five miles beyond L.A. Harbor. But it was a fleeting glimpse.
"We searched for the killer whales: up the coast, in close to shore, and back offshore down the coast to where we had first seen them," Schulman-Janiger said. "Although we covered many miles in this area for over four hours, we never did spot these killer whales again."
They may still be in the vicinity. Schulman-Janiger requests that whale watchers tote cameras and try to get profile photos for her identification project. She can be reached via e-mail at janiger@bcf.usc.edu, or by phone at (310) 519-8963.
zondag 14 december 2008
Man recalls orca's capture
Every year on the anniversary of Corky's capture off Vancouver Island, Paul Spong thinks about the "sad tale" of how six wild whales were turned into captives.
Spong burns a candle every Dec. 11 at his whale research station on Hanson Island to show he is thinking about the day in 1969 when six killer whales from northern resident pods were captured and sold to aquariums.
Five died within the first few years of captivity. But Corky -- five years old when she was caught -- survived these 39 years, and has been known since her capture as Shamu to SeaWorld San Diego visitors.
"Her story is a sad tale and sorry commentary on how our relationship with nature can be bent and distorted for self-gain," said Spong, who has led an unsuccessful campaign to have Corky freed.
Even though Corky continues to circle endlessly around her concrete tank, the efforts have not been in vain, Spong said.
"Thousands have acted on her behalf during protests," he said. "It has been an amazing effort in the face of her captors' continued intransigence." Although Corky is old for a captive orca, she is not old for an orca in the wild. "If she was put in the ocean, where she could hear the sounds of her family, it might give her a new lease on life," he said.
SeaWorld spokesmen could not be reached for comment. Earlier this year, it said releasing Corky would expose her to tremendous risks. "The plan would almost certainly end in her death," the centre said.
Spong burns a candle every Dec. 11 at his whale research station on Hanson Island to show he is thinking about the day in 1969 when six killer whales from northern resident pods were captured and sold to aquariums.
Five died within the first few years of captivity. But Corky -- five years old when she was caught -- survived these 39 years, and has been known since her capture as Shamu to SeaWorld San Diego visitors.
"Her story is a sad tale and sorry commentary on how our relationship with nature can be bent and distorted for self-gain," said Spong, who has led an unsuccessful campaign to have Corky freed.
Even though Corky continues to circle endlessly around her concrete tank, the efforts have not been in vain, Spong said.
"Thousands have acted on her behalf during protests," he said. "It has been an amazing effort in the face of her captors' continued intransigence." Although Corky is old for a captive orca, she is not old for an orca in the wild. "If she was put in the ocean, where she could hear the sounds of her family, it might give her a new lease on life," he said.
SeaWorld spokesmen could not be reached for comment. Earlier this year, it said releasing Corky would expose her to tremendous risks. "The plan would almost certainly end in her death," the centre said.
vrijdag 5 december 2008
Killer Whales in the Gulf of Mexico
About 60 miles south of Orange Beach, a fishing trip for tuna caught the unexpected instead. "I was like a five year old with the best present in the world on Christmas day when I saw the whales, it was like wow!"
Veteran charter boat captain Eddie Hall thought he'd seen just about everything. "Lot's of cool stuff everything from submarines to ships to every kind of shark you can think of, never a killer whale. Never ever thought about seeing a killer whale in my lifetime in the Gulf."
Hall says for a while they forgot they had a video camera on board. His first phone call after returning home was to his good friend, outdoors man Gary Finch. "For a sighting like this to happen for thirty minutes to an hour and get it on videotape is pretty extraordinary."
It has happened before. Biologist Keith Mullin says there have been 17 sightings of Orca's in the Gulf, but not like this. "Ten to 15 in a pod that's the most we've ever seen or really even gotten reports of."
Just to give you an idea how big some of these whales were, the back of the charter boat Shady Lady is 18 feet across. Some of the whales were that long and some, even longer.
A killer whale encounter in the Gulf of Mexico, it's something boat owner Shawn Clemons won't soon forget. "For them to come up, no hesitation. Basically we could have jumped off the boat onto their backs, it was breathtaking."
It's one fish tale they'll be talking about for years to come.
According to the National Marine Fishery Service there are at least 20 species of whales and dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico.
Before this sighting the population of killer whales in the Gulf was thought to be around 150.
Veteran charter boat captain Eddie Hall thought he'd seen just about everything. "Lot's of cool stuff everything from submarines to ships to every kind of shark you can think of, never a killer whale. Never ever thought about seeing a killer whale in my lifetime in the Gulf."
Hall says for a while they forgot they had a video camera on board. His first phone call after returning home was to his good friend, outdoors man Gary Finch. "For a sighting like this to happen for thirty minutes to an hour and get it on videotape is pretty extraordinary."
It has happened before. Biologist Keith Mullin says there have been 17 sightings of Orca's in the Gulf, but not like this. "Ten to 15 in a pod that's the most we've ever seen or really even gotten reports of."
Just to give you an idea how big some of these whales were, the back of the charter boat Shady Lady is 18 feet across. Some of the whales were that long and some, even longer.
A killer whale encounter in the Gulf of Mexico, it's something boat owner Shawn Clemons won't soon forget. "For them to come up, no hesitation. Basically we could have jumped off the boat onto their backs, it was breathtaking."
It's one fish tale they'll be talking about for years to come.
According to the National Marine Fishery Service there are at least 20 species of whales and dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico.
Before this sighting the population of killer whales in the Gulf was thought to be around 150.
zaterdag 29 november 2008
Loss of seven salmon-dependant whales a wakeup call
Only days before the cinematic release of a documentary about Luna - the killer whale that captivated the public before its death in Nootka Sound in 2006 - biologists are coming to terms with the loss of seven whales from the salmon-dependent southern resident population, including Luna's mother and younger brother.
"It's significant, a serious situation," Lance Barrett-Lennard, a killer whale scientist at the Vancouver Aquarium, said in an interview Tuesday. "But I don't think it's the death knell. It's a wake-up call to think about the fate of salmon stocks and the way we run our fisheries."
A total of seven killer whales are thought to have died since last fall, reducing the population of endangered southern residents to just 83 in three pods. That's up from 71 in 1973, but down from 100 in 1996.
Two of the seven were old females past their average life expectancy - K7, Lummi, estimated to be 98, and L21, Ankh, age 58.
Two others were newborn calves - L111 and J43 - thought to have a 50-per-cent chance of survival.
Most troubling for scientists is the loss of the remaining three, especially two breeding females - Luna's mother, L67, known as Splash, age 33, and J11, Blossom, about 36.
"This is of concern," said John Ford, a whale researcher with the federal fisheries department in Nanaimo. "Those two females were in the prime of their reproductive years. They normally have high survival."
Luna's younger brother, six-year-old L101, Aurora, is also thought to be dead.
Luna was an orphaned member of the southern residents who turned up in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island and adopted boaters as his new family. After years of controversy over what should be done with Luna, the six-year-old male whale died in a collision with a tug's propeller.
Declining runs of chinook salmon, the favourite prey of resident killer whales, are thought to be playing a role in the whales' decline in the shared waters of the Strait of Georgia and Washington's Puget Sound.
As the southern residents decline, they are also at increased risk from inbreeding, oil spills and contaminants such as PCBs, ship noise and collisions, and whale watchers.
Ford noted that not all the news is bad: the latest census suggests the population of threatened northern resident killer whales has increased to about 250 animals from 120 in the early 1970s.
Saving Luna is an award-winning documentary directed by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit that is scheduled to open in Vancouver Dec. 5 at the Ridge Theatre, in Victoria on Jan. 16 and Toronto on Jan. 23.
A special screening will be held this Sunday, 10 a.m., at the Park Theatre, 3440 Cambie, to conclude The Vancouver Sun Film Series, with both directors as well as Barrett-Lennard in attendance to answer audience questions.
"It's significant, a serious situation," Lance Barrett-Lennard, a killer whale scientist at the Vancouver Aquarium, said in an interview Tuesday. "But I don't think it's the death knell. It's a wake-up call to think about the fate of salmon stocks and the way we run our fisheries."
A total of seven killer whales are thought to have died since last fall, reducing the population of endangered southern residents to just 83 in three pods. That's up from 71 in 1973, but down from 100 in 1996.
Two of the seven were old females past their average life expectancy - K7, Lummi, estimated to be 98, and L21, Ankh, age 58.
Two others were newborn calves - L111 and J43 - thought to have a 50-per-cent chance of survival.
Most troubling for scientists is the loss of the remaining three, especially two breeding females - Luna's mother, L67, known as Splash, age 33, and J11, Blossom, about 36.
"This is of concern," said John Ford, a whale researcher with the federal fisheries department in Nanaimo. "Those two females were in the prime of their reproductive years. They normally have high survival."
Luna's younger brother, six-year-old L101, Aurora, is also thought to be dead.
Luna was an orphaned member of the southern residents who turned up in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island and adopted boaters as his new family. After years of controversy over what should be done with Luna, the six-year-old male whale died in a collision with a tug's propeller.
Declining runs of chinook salmon, the favourite prey of resident killer whales, are thought to be playing a role in the whales' decline in the shared waters of the Strait of Georgia and Washington's Puget Sound.
As the southern residents decline, they are also at increased risk from inbreeding, oil spills and contaminants such as PCBs, ship noise and collisions, and whale watchers.
Ford noted that not all the news is bad: the latest census suggests the population of threatened northern resident killer whales has increased to about 250 animals from 120 in the early 1970s.
Saving Luna is an award-winning documentary directed by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit that is scheduled to open in Vancouver Dec. 5 at the Ridge Theatre, in Victoria on Jan. 16 and Toronto on Jan. 23.
A special screening will be held this Sunday, 10 a.m., at the Park Theatre, 3440 Cambie, to conclude The Vancouver Sun Film Series, with both directors as well as Barrett-Lennard in attendance to answer audience questions.
donderdag 20 november 2008
Dog's nose for whale poop big help to B.C. orca researchers
Killer whale poop, sniffed out by a specially trained, excitable Labrador-cross, is showing that endangered southern resident orcas may not be finding enough to eat.
Researchers from the University of Washington's Center for Conservation Biology have just completed their third season testing whale scat around Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound, looking for clues to why the population is shrinking.
"What pops out right away is that there are lower thyroid hormone levels in the years when there are higher rates of mortality," said Katherine Ayres, a graduate student who is working on the whale project with Sam Wasser, director of the centre.
"This suggests they are experiencing nutritional deficits. We can tell, according to the thyroid hormone, they are not doing as well this year as the year before," Ayres said.
This year seven members of the three southern resident pods have died, including two breeding age females, bringing the population to 83. The recent population high was 97 in 1996.
"Alarm bells are going off. It is pretty devastating for such a small population," Ayres said.
Lack of chinook salmon - the food favoured by resident killer whales - noise from marine traffic and toxins have been identified in previous studies as probable causes of the decline.
If funding allows, the Center for Conservation Biology hopes to expand its research to look at toxins and the effects of boat traffic.
"With these studies we can start giving answers before the animals die and we can take mitigation measures," Ayres said.
The slimy, green excrement is found by Tucker, a four-year-old Lab who stands on the bow of the center's research boat and goes into paroxysms of excitement when he smells whale poop, which means it can be scooped by researchers.
Last year, researchers tried following the pods more closely and scooping poop without Tucker's help, but it was found everything worked better with a dog.
"It was more a human learning curve than a dog learning curve," said Ayres, who believes Tucker is incredibly good at his job.
Program co-ordinator Heath Smith identified Tucker's talents. Tucker had already failed as a house pet and been rejected for police work.
"I went to look at him and I knew he would be good at scat work. We haven't had a dog that has caught on quicker. He just knew this was what he wanted to do."
Before the whale project started, the centre was using dogs to sniff out scat from other animals, from grizzly bears to giant armadillos. Samples are used to test stress, exposure to toxins and diet.
When Tucker came to work for the centre it was not known he would be put on the whale project. But, then it was discovered he was afraid of water.
"We wanted a dog that was not so focused on getting in the water," Smith said.
"He still doesn't like it at all. If he does jump overboard we know there's scat in the water," he said.
Tucker is supposed to be pure Lab, but, with brindle feet and a huge head, Smith doubts his pedigreed. "He's adorable. He's part of the family," he said.
Researchers from the University of Washington's Center for Conservation Biology have just completed their third season testing whale scat around Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound, looking for clues to why the population is shrinking.
"What pops out right away is that there are lower thyroid hormone levels in the years when there are higher rates of mortality," said Katherine Ayres, a graduate student who is working on the whale project with Sam Wasser, director of the centre.
"This suggests they are experiencing nutritional deficits. We can tell, according to the thyroid hormone, they are not doing as well this year as the year before," Ayres said.
This year seven members of the three southern resident pods have died, including two breeding age females, bringing the population to 83. The recent population high was 97 in 1996.
"Alarm bells are going off. It is pretty devastating for such a small population," Ayres said.
Lack of chinook salmon - the food favoured by resident killer whales - noise from marine traffic and toxins have been identified in previous studies as probable causes of the decline.
If funding allows, the Center for Conservation Biology hopes to expand its research to look at toxins and the effects of boat traffic.
"With these studies we can start giving answers before the animals die and we can take mitigation measures," Ayres said.
The slimy, green excrement is found by Tucker, a four-year-old Lab who stands on the bow of the center's research boat and goes into paroxysms of excitement when he smells whale poop, which means it can be scooped by researchers.
Last year, researchers tried following the pods more closely and scooping poop without Tucker's help, but it was found everything worked better with a dog.
"It was more a human learning curve than a dog learning curve," said Ayres, who believes Tucker is incredibly good at his job.
Program co-ordinator Heath Smith identified Tucker's talents. Tucker had already failed as a house pet and been rejected for police work.
"I went to look at him and I knew he would be good at scat work. We haven't had a dog that has caught on quicker. He just knew this was what he wanted to do."
Before the whale project started, the centre was using dogs to sniff out scat from other animals, from grizzly bears to giant armadillos. Samples are used to test stress, exposure to toxins and diet.
When Tucker came to work for the centre it was not known he would be put on the whale project. But, then it was discovered he was afraid of water.
"We wanted a dog that was not so focused on getting in the water," Smith said.
"He still doesn't like it at all. If he does jump overboard we know there's scat in the water," he said.
Tucker is supposed to be pure Lab, but, with brindle feet and a huge head, Smith doubts his pedigreed. "He's adorable. He's part of the family," he said.
Deadly bacteria found on orcas
Researchers studying droplets emitted from orca blow holes have found drug-resistant bacteria.
They could be a sign of pollution and a risk to the killer whale population in Puget Sound, which is apparently in decline.
The Kitsap Sun says the independent research by biologist David Bain and veterinarian Pete Schroeder was presented at a Tuesday meeting in Friday Harbor on orca health.
Schroeder says the bacteria may come from human sources such as untreated sewage or stormwater.
Seven Puget Sound orcas are missing and presumed dead, bringing the population to 83, the fewest in five years.
They could be a sign of pollution and a risk to the killer whale population in Puget Sound, which is apparently in decline.
The Kitsap Sun says the independent research by biologist David Bain and veterinarian Pete Schroeder was presented at a Tuesday meeting in Friday Harbor on orca health.
Schroeder says the bacteria may come from human sources such as untreated sewage or stormwater.
Seven Puget Sound orcas are missing and presumed dead, bringing the population to 83, the fewest in five years.
woensdag 12 november 2008
Sounds Like My Favorite Fish
Some of the killer whales off the coast of Washington state are picky eaters, preferring Chinook salmon even though the coho and sockeye varieties are much more plentiful. Researchers report that the whales seem to be able to tell the three species apart by the sonar echoes bouncing off their swim bladders. The discovery should help efforts to protect these intelligent mammals and maybe someday lead to the design of new devices that could identify individual fish species remotely.
Sorting the three salmon species isn't easy even after you've landed them, but certain pods of Orcinus orca can discriminate between individual fish as they move around the dark and turbulent waters of the southern Puget Sound. Researchers suspected that the whales prefer Chinook salmon because they carry more fat and therefore provide more calories. "The whales get more bang for the bite," says marine ecologist John Horne of the University of Washington, Seattle. Horne and colleagues understood generally how the whales found their prey: by reading the echoes from their built-in sonar. But no one knew what acoustic characteristics could help the orcas tell one salmon species from another.
So Horne and colleagues bounced digital replicas of the orcas' clicks off live but immobilized specimens of the three salmon species. Their analysis showed that one characteristic--the structure of the echoing sound waves--differed among the coho, sockeye, and Chinook salmon. As bioacoustician and team member Whitlow Au of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, reported Tuesday at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Miami, Florida, further study showed that the salmon swim bladders vary considerably in size. The Chinook's bladder is only half as large as those of the other two species. That's important, Horne explains, because the swim bladder is responsible for 90% of the reflected sound energy. "It acts almost like a wall," he says. The team concluded that the echoes from the three species differ enough for orcas to detect and discriminate single Chinook at distances of 100 meters or more. The remaining question, Horne says, is how killer whales process these signals. But even if that remains a mystery, the research could lead to the development of sonar devices or analytical techniques that could classify and identify individual fish species, making it easier to take a population census. "That would be the Holy Grail of fisheries acoustics," he says.
The findings are important, says killer whale biologist John Ford of the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, Canada. "The question we've been stewing on for some time is how the whales differentiate among the salmon," he says. The research answers that question, but it poses another issue, Ford explains. The whales have evolved to feed on the Chinook, whose population is in decline, so it is essential that their access remain unrestricted. These findings mean we need to determine how much "underwater vessel noise might interfere with their ability to detect salmon in their critical habitats," he says.
Sorting the three salmon species isn't easy even after you've landed them, but certain pods of Orcinus orca can discriminate between individual fish as they move around the dark and turbulent waters of the southern Puget Sound. Researchers suspected that the whales prefer Chinook salmon because they carry more fat and therefore provide more calories. "The whales get more bang for the bite," says marine ecologist John Horne of the University of Washington, Seattle. Horne and colleagues understood generally how the whales found their prey: by reading the echoes from their built-in sonar. But no one knew what acoustic characteristics could help the orcas tell one salmon species from another.
So Horne and colleagues bounced digital replicas of the orcas' clicks off live but immobilized specimens of the three salmon species. Their analysis showed that one characteristic--the structure of the echoing sound waves--differed among the coho, sockeye, and Chinook salmon. As bioacoustician and team member Whitlow Au of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, reported Tuesday at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Miami, Florida, further study showed that the salmon swim bladders vary considerably in size. The Chinook's bladder is only half as large as those of the other two species. That's important, Horne explains, because the swim bladder is responsible for 90% of the reflected sound energy. "It acts almost like a wall," he says. The team concluded that the echoes from the three species differ enough for orcas to detect and discriminate single Chinook at distances of 100 meters or more. The remaining question, Horne says, is how killer whales process these signals. But even if that remains a mystery, the research could lead to the development of sonar devices or analytical techniques that could classify and identify individual fish species, making it easier to take a population census. "That would be the Holy Grail of fisheries acoustics," he says.
The findings are important, says killer whale biologist John Ford of the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, Canada. "The question we've been stewing on for some time is how the whales differentiate among the salmon," he says. The research answers that question, but it poses another issue, Ford explains. The whales have evolved to feed on the Chinook, whose population is in decline, so it is essential that their access remain unrestricted. These findings mean we need to determine how much "underwater vessel noise might interfere with their ability to detect salmon in their critical habitats," he says.
maandag 10 november 2008
Kite surfer's orca encounter
A chance encounter with a pod of orca whales provided a special thrill for Raglan kite surfer Matt Taggart last weekend.
A normal Saturday afternoon turned into a memorable moment for Mr Taggart when a pod of five or six orcas, including a mother and calf, came close to shore in search of stingray.
"A couple of the local guys, Olly and Keith, noticed them and said `come on, get back out there' ... to be honest I was bricking it. I know them as killer whales and I thought no way am I going out there with killer whales," Mr Taggart said.
"But I went out and was taking it quite carefully when the mother popped up right in front of me.
"I never thought I would ever do that ... it was crazily intense. She was literally metres away."
Mr Taggart was out on the water with the orcas for about 15 minutes, but lack of wind meant it was difficult to stay with them.
"I was just trying to enjoy the moment. I was absolutely blown away.
"They came through so quickly ... I guess I was fortunate to be there at the right moment."
Locals had told him orcas came in close to shore to flush out stingray before circling and eating them.
"I'm chuffed. I'm stoked I got out there. It would have been easy not to, but I'm glad I did."
Originally from England, Mr Taggart has made his home in Raglan since January after marrying a Kiwi girl.
He is the manager of Raglan-based Ozone Kites/Kitesurf Ltd.
"We make and design kites of all forms - land, snow, water, for families.
"We're setting up our whole base here, I love it. For kiting it is amazing."
zondag 9 november 2008
Killer whales up for risk assessment
An independent Canadian advisory panel will meet later this month to assess the status of one of the ocean’s top predators: the killer whale.
But whale experts suggest the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, known as COSEWIC, is unlikely to recommend sweeping changes to the species-at-risk designations of five distinct orca populations.
The designation of so-called "southern residents," a population of 83 whales found in Puget Sound and the southern end of the Strait of Georgia, is unlikely to change, said Lance Barrett-Lennard, an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and co-chair of a federally-appointed orca recovery team.
The southern residents are currently designated as "endangered," the most serious risk assessment.
"They’re in pretty rough shape. At the time of the last COSEWIC assessment, they were given an endangered listing. Their situation hasn’t really improved since then," Barrett-Lennard said.
"That population, at 83 animals, is just hanging on by the skin of its teeth. If it was any other species, we’d think that they were very likely to be goners."
Barrett-Lennard co-wrote a paper to be presented at COSEWIC’s meetings in Ottawa Nov. 25-28, where the arm’s-length scientific body will assess the status of killer whales.
His paper will shape COSEWIC’s final report to Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who can accept the recommendations, reject them or send them back to the panel for further study.
Barrett-Lennard wouldn’t divulge his paper’s findings. However, he and other whale experts say it’s doubtful COSEWIC will recommend changes to the status of southern residents.
Watchers of the southern residents have reported declining birth rates, a loss of blubber and the onset of a condition known as "peanut head," a sign of starvation possibly resulting from a shortage of salmon the orcas feed on.
Seven of the southern residents recently disappeared off the north coast of Washington and southern British Columbia and are presumed dead.
The killer whales suffered a 20 per cent decline in population between 1993 and 2003 before recovering slightly. But some worry they are perilously close to extinction. "Pretty soon you’re getting to the point where there aren’t enough to significantly add to the population, or have any potential for adding (to the population). It would eventually die out, just natural mortality," said Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash.
"It’s quite critical. We have about a dozen females now, and we had just lost two, so we’re down to a dozen. If we lost two a year for the next five years, we’re basically out of reproductive whales."
Eight environmental groups have taken Ottawa to court, demanding the government invoke the federal Species at Risk Act to protect the southern residents’ habitat. The environmentalists want the federal government to make some areas off-limits to vessel traffic and close some salmon fisheries to preserve fish stocks.
COSEWIC may also recommend Ottawa upgrade another pod of about 200 orcas, found in the coastal waters of northern B.C. and southeastern Alaska, from "threatened" to the more serious "endangered" designation.
But whale experts suggest the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, known as COSEWIC, is unlikely to recommend sweeping changes to the species-at-risk designations of five distinct orca populations.
The designation of so-called "southern residents," a population of 83 whales found in Puget Sound and the southern end of the Strait of Georgia, is unlikely to change, said Lance Barrett-Lennard, an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and co-chair of a federally-appointed orca recovery team.
The southern residents are currently designated as "endangered," the most serious risk assessment.
"They’re in pretty rough shape. At the time of the last COSEWIC assessment, they were given an endangered listing. Their situation hasn’t really improved since then," Barrett-Lennard said.
"That population, at 83 animals, is just hanging on by the skin of its teeth. If it was any other species, we’d think that they were very likely to be goners."
Barrett-Lennard co-wrote a paper to be presented at COSEWIC’s meetings in Ottawa Nov. 25-28, where the arm’s-length scientific body will assess the status of killer whales.
His paper will shape COSEWIC’s final report to Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who can accept the recommendations, reject them or send them back to the panel for further study.
Barrett-Lennard wouldn’t divulge his paper’s findings. However, he and other whale experts say it’s doubtful COSEWIC will recommend changes to the status of southern residents.
Watchers of the southern residents have reported declining birth rates, a loss of blubber and the onset of a condition known as "peanut head," a sign of starvation possibly resulting from a shortage of salmon the orcas feed on.
Seven of the southern residents recently disappeared off the north coast of Washington and southern British Columbia and are presumed dead.
The killer whales suffered a 20 per cent decline in population between 1993 and 2003 before recovering slightly. But some worry they are perilously close to extinction. "Pretty soon you’re getting to the point where there aren’t enough to significantly add to the population, or have any potential for adding (to the population). It would eventually die out, just natural mortality," said Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash.
"It’s quite critical. We have about a dozen females now, and we had just lost two, so we’re down to a dozen. If we lost two a year for the next five years, we’re basically out of reproductive whales."
Eight environmental groups have taken Ottawa to court, demanding the government invoke the federal Species at Risk Act to protect the southern residents’ habitat. The environmentalists want the federal government to make some areas off-limits to vessel traffic and close some salmon fisheries to preserve fish stocks.
COSEWIC may also recommend Ottawa upgrade another pod of about 200 orcas, found in the coastal waters of northern B.C. and southeastern Alaska, from "threatened" to the more serious "endangered" designation.
zaterdag 8 november 2008
Killer whales are discriminating diners
Sophisticated predators scan wide ocean regions listening for favorite fish
A killer whale's favorite meal is king salmon, according to a new study that found these sophisticated predators scan wide ocean regions listening for their favorite fish.
Echolocation, which involves creating a sound in order to produce an echo, allows the whales to zone in on king salmon, also known as Chinook salmon, at distances up to half a mile.
But why do killer whales go to so much trouble to hunt down king salmon, picking them out like sushi chefs even when they represent just 5 to 10 percent of the available salmon population?
"Salmon are not necessarily equally nutritious," Whitlow Au, who led the study, told Discovery News. "Chinook salmon has the highest concentration of lipids, or fats, that orcas seem to prefer."
Au, a marine mammal researcher at the University of Hawaii's Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology, and his colleagues mechanically recreated killer whale echolocation pulses at Lake Union in Seattle, Wash. The researchers tied Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon to a rotating net set out at different water depths.
Although these fish look similar to human eyes, the study showed the echo structure created by each type of salmon was unique and could be used by killer whales to discriminate among the various species.
"Fish gas" appears key to the process, as the study revealed echolocation tuned especially well into information released by each salmon's swim bladder.
Swim bladders are gas bags within a fish that help the fish to be buoyant at any specific depth," Au explained. "Gas bags are probably the best reflector of acoustic energy underwater."
Au likened killer whale echolocation to a person wearing a miner's cap with a blinking light on it. Each time the light blinks on, the individual receives information about what's around.
The study's findings will be presented at next week's Acoustical Society of America meeting in Miami, Fla.
Among whales, only toothed species use echolocation. Au therefore suspects other toothed whales, such as sperm whales, possess the killer whale's choosy, long-distance mealtime behavior.
Bottlenose dolphins appear to fall in the discriminating eater group too.
Marine biologist Ronald Schusterman of the University of California's Long Marine Laboratory told Discovery News that the new study results "are consistent with work done on bottlenose dolphins in captivity showing that they can recognize objects rather easily by means of echolocation."
A killer whale's favorite meal is king salmon, according to a new study that found these sophisticated predators scan wide ocean regions listening for their favorite fish.
Echolocation, which involves creating a sound in order to produce an echo, allows the whales to zone in on king salmon, also known as Chinook salmon, at distances up to half a mile.
But why do killer whales go to so much trouble to hunt down king salmon, picking them out like sushi chefs even when they represent just 5 to 10 percent of the available salmon population?
"Salmon are not necessarily equally nutritious," Whitlow Au, who led the study, told Discovery News. "Chinook salmon has the highest concentration of lipids, or fats, that orcas seem to prefer."
Au, a marine mammal researcher at the University of Hawaii's Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology, and his colleagues mechanically recreated killer whale echolocation pulses at Lake Union in Seattle, Wash. The researchers tied Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon to a rotating net set out at different water depths.
Although these fish look similar to human eyes, the study showed the echo structure created by each type of salmon was unique and could be used by killer whales to discriminate among the various species.
"Fish gas" appears key to the process, as the study revealed echolocation tuned especially well into information released by each salmon's swim bladder.
Swim bladders are gas bags within a fish that help the fish to be buoyant at any specific depth," Au explained. "Gas bags are probably the best reflector of acoustic energy underwater."
Au likened killer whale echolocation to a person wearing a miner's cap with a blinking light on it. Each time the light blinks on, the individual receives information about what's around.
The study's findings will be presented at next week's Acoustical Society of America meeting in Miami, Fla.
Among whales, only toothed species use echolocation. Au therefore suspects other toothed whales, such as sperm whales, possess the killer whale's choosy, long-distance mealtime behavior.
Bottlenose dolphins appear to fall in the discriminating eater group too.
Marine biologist Ronald Schusterman of the University of California's Long Marine Laboratory told Discovery News that the new study results "are consistent with work done on bottlenose dolphins in captivity showing that they can recognize objects rather easily by means of echolocation."
dinsdag 4 november 2008
Salmon and whales
The killer-whale population has become a compelling example of the impact of the West Coast salmon industry. Nine killer whales recently disappeared from their pods off the south end of Vancouver Island, having probably died of starvation. Steps should be taken to make sure that fisheries allocations take into account the needs of species that cannot survive without Pacific salmon.
All along the West Coast, Pacific salmon - from pinks to Chinook - are under severe pressure.
The diet of resident killer whales consists mainly of salmon, especially Chinook salmon. Earlier this year, some of the 83 killer whales off the north coast of Washington and southern British Columbia, known as the "southern residents," showed signs of weight loss. Marine biologists believe the missing adult whales (including two reproductive females) starved to death. Meanwhile, the "northern residents," a comparatively stable group of about 200 killer whales that range around the northern end of Vancouver Island were hard to spot this summer in the Broughton Archipelago - an area where they used to hold large social gatherings.
There has been a massive drop in the pink salmon population in the Broughton Archipelago. This decline is widely believed to have been caused by sea-lice infestations in the numerous Atlantic salmon fish farms in the area though the research has been deemed inconclusive. Whatever the cause, pink salmon play an important role providing nutrients to the entire ecosystem and when the pink salmon suffer, other species, like the Chinook, can be expected to follow suit. The drop in pink salmon has definitely harmed the grizzly bears in the area that rely on the spawning adults to bulk up for hibernation. There have been reports of large males killing cubs for food.
The department of Fisheries and Oceans salmon-allocation policy should be influenced by the danger that one of the great sea mammals could face extinction, rather than aggravating the risk. Some biologists have suggested that the DFO allocate salmon to killer whales and grizzly bears, as well as to the First Nations, commercial and recreational fishery interests. This suggestion deserves further study.
The DFO's Wild Salmon Policy already recognizes the importance of maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem. The department should move now to achieve it.
All along the West Coast, Pacific salmon - from pinks to Chinook - are under severe pressure.
The diet of resident killer whales consists mainly of salmon, especially Chinook salmon. Earlier this year, some of the 83 killer whales off the north coast of Washington and southern British Columbia, known as the "southern residents," showed signs of weight loss. Marine biologists believe the missing adult whales (including two reproductive females) starved to death. Meanwhile, the "northern residents," a comparatively stable group of about 200 killer whales that range around the northern end of Vancouver Island were hard to spot this summer in the Broughton Archipelago - an area where they used to hold large social gatherings.
There has been a massive drop in the pink salmon population in the Broughton Archipelago. This decline is widely believed to have been caused by sea-lice infestations in the numerous Atlantic salmon fish farms in the area though the research has been deemed inconclusive. Whatever the cause, pink salmon play an important role providing nutrients to the entire ecosystem and when the pink salmon suffer, other species, like the Chinook, can be expected to follow suit. The drop in pink salmon has definitely harmed the grizzly bears in the area that rely on the spawning adults to bulk up for hibernation. There have been reports of large males killing cubs for food.
The department of Fisheries and Oceans salmon-allocation policy should be influenced by the danger that one of the great sea mammals could face extinction, rather than aggravating the risk. Some biologists have suggested that the DFO allocate salmon to killer whales and grizzly bears, as well as to the First Nations, commercial and recreational fishery interests. This suggestion deserves further study.
The DFO's Wild Salmon Policy already recognizes the importance of maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem. The department should move now to achieve it.
maandag 3 november 2008
Saving Wild Salmon, in Hopes of Saving the Orca
ECHO BAY, British Columbia — Growing up in Connecticut, Alexandra Hubbard did not want to be Joan of Arc. She wanted to be Jane Goodall. But instead of chimpanzees, her animals would turn out to be killer whales.
In 1984, 26 years old and armed only with a bachelor’s degree and enthusiasm for her task, she moved to the Broughton Archipelago, in the Queen Charlotte Strait of British Columbia, where the whales, or orcas, were abundant. She and her husband, Robin Morton, a Canadian filmmaker, lived on a 65-foot sailboat and followed the orcas in an inflatable boat with a shelter in the back, stocked with Legos and books for their son, Jarret.
She came to know the archipelago’s long-lived orca clans and the matriarchs who led them. She knew she would find them in Fife Sound at the ebb tide, or moving up Johnson Strait with the incoming tide. Using a hydrophone, an underwater microphone she hung from the boat, she recorded their vocalizations and began to recognize what she called the dialects of the clans.
Her husband drowned in 1986, when Jarret was 4, but Ms. Morton stayed on, supporting her work by writing articles and books, designing T-shirts and working as a deckhand on a fishing boat.
Today, she hardly uses her hydrophone. There’s no point, she says, “since my subject is so rare now.” These days, when Ms. Morton noses her workboat away from her dock here, she is on a crusade, seeking not orcas, but evidence against the salmon farms she believes drove most of the killer whales away, in part by infecting the wild salmon the whales eat with parasites called sea lice. Her work is a challenge to the salmon farm industry and to the Canadian and British Columbia officials who regulate it.
Once dismissed as an outsider and amateur, Ms. Morton has gradually gained the respect of fisheries experts like Ray Hilborn, a researcher at the University of Washington. “She doesn’t come from a science background but she has had a lot of influence in highlighting the issue,” he said. Daniel Pauly, director of the Fisheries Center at the University of British Columbia, calls her “a spunky hero.”
That may be because she takes the issue personally. The disappearance of the orcas in the Broughton “ruined my life, absolutely,” Ms. Morton said one day recently as she headed off to net baby salmon and check them for sea lice. “A lot of people have lost stuff they set out to do but, yeah, it ruined my whole plan.”
According to the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association, salmon farms produce $450 million worth of Atlantic salmon a year in British Columbia. At any given time, 70 to 80 farm sites operate in provincial waters, perhaps 15 or so in the Broughton, a hardly inhabited area across Queen Charlotte Strait from the north end of Vancouver Island. Typically, each installation has a collection of net pens, usually crossed by metal walkways, floating in a cove or bay. Individual sites typically contain 500,000 to 750,000 penned fish.
As tiny young wild salmon, smolts, pass by these pens on their way to sea, they can pick up so many lice they die, Ms. Morton and other researchers have reported.
Farm operators like Marine Harvest, a Norwegian concern that is a major presence in salmon farming here, concede that penned fish are vulnerable to microbes and parasites but say drugs and pesticides minimize the problem, virtually eliminating the risk to wild fish stocks.
For example, Kelly Osborne, who manages farm sites in the Broughton for Marine Harvest, said penned fish were treated with an antilouse drug called Slice as smolts began their migration to the ocean. The drug is so effective, he said, that perhaps only 1 in 10 penned fish would have a live louse.
Government officials say it would be premature to blame the farms for declines in salmon runs seen here recently, because those numbers fluctuate naturally.
But Ms. Morton and researchers like Martin Krkosek of the University of Alberta and John Volpe of the University of Victoria predict that some local salmon runs will disappear unless the farms are altered or removed. And because salmon loom large in the diets of orcas, bears, eagles and other animals, their disappearance would unravel the region’s web of life.
“A lot of wild salmon populations have been on the edge for quite a long time,” threatened by logging, dams and “plain old overfishing,” said Ellen Pikitch, a fisheries biologist who heads the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University in New York. “The sea lice problem could be the nail in the coffin for some of these fish.”
(Dr. Pikitch also pointed out what some scientists say is an even bigger problem with salmon farms. It takes more than one pound of fish, processed into pellets, to produce one pound of salmon. Even though farms are working to bring the ration down — some say they have achieved a one-to-one ratio — Dr. Pikitch said the growing need to feed farmed salmon had greatly increased the demand for anchovies, herring and other fish, and “aquaculture is indirectly pulling the rug out from under the ocean ecosystem.”)
When Ms. Morton arrived at the Broughton, she was a graceful young woman with dark hair that flowed halfway down her back. “I thought she was another crazy hippie,” Billy Proctor, locally acknowledged as the Broughton’s master fisherman, said in an interview.
She still moves gracefully but her flowing hair is gray now. And she long ago won Mr. Proctor’s admiration for her devotion to the Broughton and its wildlife. When her husband died, Mr. Proctor took Ms. Morton on as a deckhand. They collaborated on a book, “Heart of the Raincoast” (Touchwood Editions, 1998), an account of his life and changing times.
Today, when Mr. Proctor and other fishermen find escaped Atlantic salmon in their nets, they often bring them to her. She cuts them open and records, among other things, whether they have been fed the chemicals that farms add to feed to color their grayish flesh a more appealing pink. Then she disposes of the bodies, usually by dumping them in the water for crabs and other scavengers to eat.
Meanwhile, in what she calls “partnered science,” she works regularly with experts from several universities. Typically, they design a research plan and Ms. Morton organizes the collection of field samples and other data to help carry it out.
At first, Ms. Morton reported her observations “naively,” Dr. Pauly recalled. “It was simply ‘Hey, look at this, wild salmon are riddled with parasites.’ ” Her opponents attacked her as inadequately credentialed, he said. In the years since, papers Ms. Morton has helped write have appeared in major scientific journals like Science, which in December published a study in which she and her coauthors link fish farms to precipitous declines of pink salmon in the Broughton. Scientists at the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria are sending graduate students to the Salmon Coast Research Station she established here at
Echo Bay, a community of a few families that clings to rocky crags that plunge, beachless, straight down into cold, clear water. There is so little flat land that many people live in float houses — cabins built on rafts or “floats” of foot-thick logs lashed to the shore. There are no roads, no cars and no shops except the few shelves of staples in the post office in Simoom Sound, around a wooded promontory from Ms. Morton’s home, where mail arrives once a week.
The research station occupies a shedlike building on a float. The graduate students and other researchers live in a cluster of houses, their wooden walls untouched by paper or paint, perched on the rock slope inland. One is a former float house that Mr. Proctor lived in as a boy and which Ms. Morton and her son occupied after Mr. Proctor and other neighbors hauled it up onto the rocks, a disaster-filled episode she recounts in her autobiography, “Listening to Whales” (Ballantine Books, 2002). Jarret, who graduated from the University of British Columbia, works as an engineer in Utah now, Ms. Morton said.
Another is a house she built with Eric Nelson, whom she met several years after her husband died and who is the father of her 12-year-old daughter, Clio. Still another is a house she built herself, she said, when it was clear the couple would split up.
The station is supported in part by Sarah Haney, a retired nurse and environmental campaigner from Ontario whose philanthropic resources come from the game Trivial Pursuit — her former husband was one of its inventors and she was an early partner in the venture. One of her major interests is whales, Ms. Haney said in a telephone interview, so she learned about Ms. Morton and her work. When the compound came up for sale, Ms. Haney bought it and paid “a lot of money” for improvements including a new dock, and a laboratory building.
This summer, she deeded the whole place over to Ms. Morton. “This is one of the most important philanthropic ventures I have ever been involved with,” she said.
When Ms. Morton first came to British Columbia, she did not have a traditional academic background. She was a prep school dropout (Milton Academy in Massachusetts) who had worked in California for John Lilly, an eccentric researcher who studied dolphin communication. By then, she had taken enough college courses to earn a bachelor’s degree, she said. She first encountered orcas at Marineland, an oceanarium in La Jolla, Calif., and decided she had to see them in the wild. She had thoughts of returning to school for a doctorate. Instead, she said, “I met Robin and just fell so crazy in love with him that before I really thought about it I just totally jumped tracks.”
Skip to next paragraph Ms. Morton acknowledges that “the three Ws: widow, whales, wilderness” draw a lot of attention to her work. She embraces it. “The problem with this whole issue is if nobody sees it nothing happens,” she said one day recently as she motored past one of the farming operations. And because most of the fish farmed here end up in trucks heading down I-5 to California, she said, “it can’t just be the Canadian public. It has to be the American public.”
So just as Jane Goodall speaks for chimps, Ms. Morton said, she wants to tell the world about the troubles afflicting the orcas, not as a crusader, but as “a woman cleaning house.”
In September, after decades off the grid, Ms. Morton moved to a small town on Malcolm Island, in the Queen Charlotte Strait, where she will stay until Clio finishes high school.
She will live in a house on the water, a fixer-upper, she called it, and she will visit the research station by boat. Because she won’t have to chop wood or perform other Echo Bay chores, she’ll have time for projects like studying statistics online. And she is looking forward to conversation. In a tiny community like Echo Bay, she said, encountering new people with something new to say is a real treat.
“Billy and I now have a bet,” she said, referring to Mr. Proctor. “He says nobody ever comes back. But I have a research station here. My life is here.”
Meanwhile, she will be putting her hydrophone in the water again, just in case.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/science/04prof.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&ref=science
In 1984, 26 years old and armed only with a bachelor’s degree and enthusiasm for her task, she moved to the Broughton Archipelago, in the Queen Charlotte Strait of British Columbia, where the whales, or orcas, were abundant. She and her husband, Robin Morton, a Canadian filmmaker, lived on a 65-foot sailboat and followed the orcas in an inflatable boat with a shelter in the back, stocked with Legos and books for their son, Jarret.
She came to know the archipelago’s long-lived orca clans and the matriarchs who led them. She knew she would find them in Fife Sound at the ebb tide, or moving up Johnson Strait with the incoming tide. Using a hydrophone, an underwater microphone she hung from the boat, she recorded their vocalizations and began to recognize what she called the dialects of the clans.
Her husband drowned in 1986, when Jarret was 4, but Ms. Morton stayed on, supporting her work by writing articles and books, designing T-shirts and working as a deckhand on a fishing boat.
Today, she hardly uses her hydrophone. There’s no point, she says, “since my subject is so rare now.” These days, when Ms. Morton noses her workboat away from her dock here, she is on a crusade, seeking not orcas, but evidence against the salmon farms she believes drove most of the killer whales away, in part by infecting the wild salmon the whales eat with parasites called sea lice. Her work is a challenge to the salmon farm industry and to the Canadian and British Columbia officials who regulate it.
Once dismissed as an outsider and amateur, Ms. Morton has gradually gained the respect of fisheries experts like Ray Hilborn, a researcher at the University of Washington. “She doesn’t come from a science background but she has had a lot of influence in highlighting the issue,” he said. Daniel Pauly, director of the Fisheries Center at the University of British Columbia, calls her “a spunky hero.”
That may be because she takes the issue personally. The disappearance of the orcas in the Broughton “ruined my life, absolutely,” Ms. Morton said one day recently as she headed off to net baby salmon and check them for sea lice. “A lot of people have lost stuff they set out to do but, yeah, it ruined my whole plan.”
According to the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association, salmon farms produce $450 million worth of Atlantic salmon a year in British Columbia. At any given time, 70 to 80 farm sites operate in provincial waters, perhaps 15 or so in the Broughton, a hardly inhabited area across Queen Charlotte Strait from the north end of Vancouver Island. Typically, each installation has a collection of net pens, usually crossed by metal walkways, floating in a cove or bay. Individual sites typically contain 500,000 to 750,000 penned fish.
As tiny young wild salmon, smolts, pass by these pens on their way to sea, they can pick up so many lice they die, Ms. Morton and other researchers have reported.
Farm operators like Marine Harvest, a Norwegian concern that is a major presence in salmon farming here, concede that penned fish are vulnerable to microbes and parasites but say drugs and pesticides minimize the problem, virtually eliminating the risk to wild fish stocks.
For example, Kelly Osborne, who manages farm sites in the Broughton for Marine Harvest, said penned fish were treated with an antilouse drug called Slice as smolts began their migration to the ocean. The drug is so effective, he said, that perhaps only 1 in 10 penned fish would have a live louse.
Government officials say it would be premature to blame the farms for declines in salmon runs seen here recently, because those numbers fluctuate naturally.
But Ms. Morton and researchers like Martin Krkosek of the University of Alberta and John Volpe of the University of Victoria predict that some local salmon runs will disappear unless the farms are altered or removed. And because salmon loom large in the diets of orcas, bears, eagles and other animals, their disappearance would unravel the region’s web of life.
“A lot of wild salmon populations have been on the edge for quite a long time,” threatened by logging, dams and “plain old overfishing,” said Ellen Pikitch, a fisheries biologist who heads the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University in New York. “The sea lice problem could be the nail in the coffin for some of these fish.”
(Dr. Pikitch also pointed out what some scientists say is an even bigger problem with salmon farms. It takes more than one pound of fish, processed into pellets, to produce one pound of salmon. Even though farms are working to bring the ration down — some say they have achieved a one-to-one ratio — Dr. Pikitch said the growing need to feed farmed salmon had greatly increased the demand for anchovies, herring and other fish, and “aquaculture is indirectly pulling the rug out from under the ocean ecosystem.”)
When Ms. Morton arrived at the Broughton, she was a graceful young woman with dark hair that flowed halfway down her back. “I thought she was another crazy hippie,” Billy Proctor, locally acknowledged as the Broughton’s master fisherman, said in an interview.
She still moves gracefully but her flowing hair is gray now. And she long ago won Mr. Proctor’s admiration for her devotion to the Broughton and its wildlife. When her husband died, Mr. Proctor took Ms. Morton on as a deckhand. They collaborated on a book, “Heart of the Raincoast” (Touchwood Editions, 1998), an account of his life and changing times.
Today, when Mr. Proctor and other fishermen find escaped Atlantic salmon in their nets, they often bring them to her. She cuts them open and records, among other things, whether they have been fed the chemicals that farms add to feed to color their grayish flesh a more appealing pink. Then she disposes of the bodies, usually by dumping them in the water for crabs and other scavengers to eat.
Meanwhile, in what she calls “partnered science,” she works regularly with experts from several universities. Typically, they design a research plan and Ms. Morton organizes the collection of field samples and other data to help carry it out.
At first, Ms. Morton reported her observations “naively,” Dr. Pauly recalled. “It was simply ‘Hey, look at this, wild salmon are riddled with parasites.’ ” Her opponents attacked her as inadequately credentialed, he said. In the years since, papers Ms. Morton has helped write have appeared in major scientific journals like Science, which in December published a study in which she and her coauthors link fish farms to precipitous declines of pink salmon in the Broughton. Scientists at the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria are sending graduate students to the Salmon Coast Research Station she established here at
Echo Bay, a community of a few families that clings to rocky crags that plunge, beachless, straight down into cold, clear water. There is so little flat land that many people live in float houses — cabins built on rafts or “floats” of foot-thick logs lashed to the shore. There are no roads, no cars and no shops except the few shelves of staples in the post office in Simoom Sound, around a wooded promontory from Ms. Morton’s home, where mail arrives once a week.
The research station occupies a shedlike building on a float. The graduate students and other researchers live in a cluster of houses, their wooden walls untouched by paper or paint, perched on the rock slope inland. One is a former float house that Mr. Proctor lived in as a boy and which Ms. Morton and her son occupied after Mr. Proctor and other neighbors hauled it up onto the rocks, a disaster-filled episode she recounts in her autobiography, “Listening to Whales” (Ballantine Books, 2002). Jarret, who graduated from the University of British Columbia, works as an engineer in Utah now, Ms. Morton said.
Another is a house she built with Eric Nelson, whom she met several years after her husband died and who is the father of her 12-year-old daughter, Clio. Still another is a house she built herself, she said, when it was clear the couple would split up.
The station is supported in part by Sarah Haney, a retired nurse and environmental campaigner from Ontario whose philanthropic resources come from the game Trivial Pursuit — her former husband was one of its inventors and she was an early partner in the venture. One of her major interests is whales, Ms. Haney said in a telephone interview, so she learned about Ms. Morton and her work. When the compound came up for sale, Ms. Haney bought it and paid “a lot of money” for improvements including a new dock, and a laboratory building.
This summer, she deeded the whole place over to Ms. Morton. “This is one of the most important philanthropic ventures I have ever been involved with,” she said.
When Ms. Morton first came to British Columbia, she did not have a traditional academic background. She was a prep school dropout (Milton Academy in Massachusetts) who had worked in California for John Lilly, an eccentric researcher who studied dolphin communication. By then, she had taken enough college courses to earn a bachelor’s degree, she said. She first encountered orcas at Marineland, an oceanarium in La Jolla, Calif., and decided she had to see them in the wild. She had thoughts of returning to school for a doctorate. Instead, she said, “I met Robin and just fell so crazy in love with him that before I really thought about it I just totally jumped tracks.”
Skip to next paragraph Ms. Morton acknowledges that “the three Ws: widow, whales, wilderness” draw a lot of attention to her work. She embraces it. “The problem with this whole issue is if nobody sees it nothing happens,” she said one day recently as she motored past one of the farming operations. And because most of the fish farmed here end up in trucks heading down I-5 to California, she said, “it can’t just be the Canadian public. It has to be the American public.”
So just as Jane Goodall speaks for chimps, Ms. Morton said, she wants to tell the world about the troubles afflicting the orcas, not as a crusader, but as “a woman cleaning house.”
In September, after decades off the grid, Ms. Morton moved to a small town on Malcolm Island, in the Queen Charlotte Strait, where she will stay until Clio finishes high school.
She will live in a house on the water, a fixer-upper, she called it, and she will visit the research station by boat. Because she won’t have to chop wood or perform other Echo Bay chores, she’ll have time for projects like studying statistics online. And she is looking forward to conversation. In a tiny community like Echo Bay, she said, encountering new people with something new to say is a real treat.
“Billy and I now have a bet,” she said, referring to Mr. Proctor. “He says nobody ever comes back. But I have a research station here. My life is here.”
Meanwhile, she will be putting her hydrophone in the water again, just in case.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/science/04prof.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&ref=science
donderdag 30 oktober 2008
Fears rise as killer whales mysteriously vanish
Where are Blossom and Splash?
Also identified as J11 and L67, they are two breeding female killer whales that have been added to a growing list of local orcas missing and believed dead this year.
Their disappearances have fanned fears for the future of the southern resident killer whales.
No bodies have been found, but scientists with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island have concluded there are now seven adults and calves unaccounted for, pushing the population that once numbered 200 down to 83.
Southern resident orcas straddle the U.S. border, ranging the waters off B.C.'s south coast through the Gulf Islands to Seattle.
They're among the most researched and watched whales on the planet, all individually identified by numbers and even names based on fin markings.
Observers had already witnessed signs of starvation in the form of an emaciated condition called "peanut head."
And the orcas' plight may be worsening as they head into winter malnourished as a result of this year's dismal salmon returns.
"This is a species that cannot afford to lose one, let alone seven individuals," said Christianne Wilhelmson of the Georgia Strait Alliance.
The whales rely heavily on chinook and chum salmon as their primary food source, she said, but those fish stocks cratered this year.
Six environmental groups have now joined forces to pressure the federal government to take new steps to protect both northern and southern resident orcas in order to comply with Canada's Species At Risk Act.
Rather than issue an order that critical habitat be protected, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued a statement deeming that habitat to already be protected through a variety of existing mechanisms.
Ecojustice, the non-profit group coordinating the challenge, has asked the Federal Court of Canada for a declaration that Ottawa has not adequately met its responsibilities.
Staff lawyer Lara Tessaro said it's a key test of Canada's approach to protecting endangered species.
"If we lack the will to protect killer whales, there's not too many species the government is going to protect," she said.
Tessaro said actions that could aid orcas include naming Marine Protected Areas that limit certain activities, banning military sonar use when whales are present as well as more intensive steps to protect salmon and even allocate part of the runs for orca consumption.
She said Ottawa's powers to authorize habitat destruction, as it has done for the expansion of Deltaport, is an example of the inadequacy of federal orca protection.
The groups also fear the whales' salmon food supply is dwindling due to overfishng, the impacts of fish farming, inland habitat loss and rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.
Also identified as J11 and L67, they are two breeding female killer whales that have been added to a growing list of local orcas missing and believed dead this year.
Their disappearances have fanned fears for the future of the southern resident killer whales.
No bodies have been found, but scientists with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island have concluded there are now seven adults and calves unaccounted for, pushing the population that once numbered 200 down to 83.
Southern resident orcas straddle the U.S. border, ranging the waters off B.C.'s south coast through the Gulf Islands to Seattle.
They're among the most researched and watched whales on the planet, all individually identified by numbers and even names based on fin markings.
Observers had already witnessed signs of starvation in the form of an emaciated condition called "peanut head."
And the orcas' plight may be worsening as they head into winter malnourished as a result of this year's dismal salmon returns.
"This is a species that cannot afford to lose one, let alone seven individuals," said Christianne Wilhelmson of the Georgia Strait Alliance.
The whales rely heavily on chinook and chum salmon as their primary food source, she said, but those fish stocks cratered this year.
Six environmental groups have now joined forces to pressure the federal government to take new steps to protect both northern and southern resident orcas in order to comply with Canada's Species At Risk Act.
Rather than issue an order that critical habitat be protected, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued a statement deeming that habitat to already be protected through a variety of existing mechanisms.
Ecojustice, the non-profit group coordinating the challenge, has asked the Federal Court of Canada for a declaration that Ottawa has not adequately met its responsibilities.
Staff lawyer Lara Tessaro said it's a key test of Canada's approach to protecting endangered species.
"If we lack the will to protect killer whales, there's not too many species the government is going to protect," she said.
Tessaro said actions that could aid orcas include naming Marine Protected Areas that limit certain activities, banning military sonar use when whales are present as well as more intensive steps to protect salmon and even allocate part of the runs for orca consumption.
She said Ottawa's powers to authorize habitat destruction, as it has done for the expansion of Deltaport, is an example of the inadequacy of federal orca protection.
The groups also fear the whales' salmon food supply is dwindling due to overfishng, the impacts of fish farming, inland habitat loss and rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.
When the last whale is gone
The news that killer whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca are dying of starvation should surprise no one (Killer Whales Disappearing Off Southern B.C. - Oct. 29). Their chief food source is chinook salmon, which marine biologist Alexandra Morton warned recently were in danger of being wiped out by the sea lice transferred by Atlantic salmon in fish farms.
This impending extinction could be avoided, were the government to order fish farming into enclosed tanks on land, as has been recommended by numerous scientific and environmental authorities, numerous times. When the last whale is gone, and the last salmon run fails to return, will B.C. still be "The Best Place on Earth?"
This impending extinction could be avoided, were the government to order fish farming into enclosed tanks on land, as has been recommended by numerous scientific and environmental authorities, numerous times. When the last whale is gone, and the last salmon run fails to return, will B.C. still be "The Best Place on Earth?"
vrijdag 24 oktober 2008
Salvage of fuel truck from ocean floor in whale reserve postponed until spring
The salvage operation aimed at raising potentially hazardous wreckage from the ocean floor in Vancouver Island's ecologically sensitive Robson Bight has been put off until spring, B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner said Friday.
"The federal government's view is that there were significant risks to carrying out this work this fall," he said. "Even at this time of year there can still be a significant number of killer whales in the vicinity."
Logging equipment and machinery, including a tank truck carrying 10,000 litres of fuel, was dumped into the internationally renowned killer whale reserve 290 kilometres northwest of Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2007 when a barge overturned.
The 11 pieces of equipment, which have been examined by underwater cameras, is lying in 350 metres of sea water at the bottom of Johnstone Strait, a major waterway on the northeastern side of Vancouver Island.
Penner said Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the coast guard maintain the whales are known to stay in the area through November, but by that time the weather "is getting bad."
"The consensus is that we should wait for the spring, now, and hope for the better weather that comes in the spring to coincide with the period when there is very little whale activity in that area," he said in a phone interview.
His preference was that the salvage operation go ahead this fall, but he said he is willing to abide with the decision.
"It's a tough call to make," he said. "I would to have liked to see it removed as soon as possible, but we also want to do it at a time when there aren't killer whales there."
"DFO was being particularly cautious," he added.
He also pointed to a recent study indicating the likelihood of metal corrosion leading to the tank truck leaking is less than originally thought.
The analysis, by a UBC engineering professor, concluded that it would take at least two and a half to three years from the date of sinking for the fuel tank to corrode through.
The Robson Bight habitat, also known as the Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve, was established to provide a sanctuary for killer whales and is one of the few areas in the world where they are known to drive themselves out of the sea onto so-called "rubbing beaches."
It includes 467 hectares of upland and 1248 hectares of foreshore.
Numerous charges have been laid against the master of the tug boat, the barge owners, and the logging contractor and equipment owner, Vancouver Island-based Ted LeRoy Trucking Ltd.
Last month a Dutch company with a partner in based in Seattle, Wa., was awarded the salvage contract by the B.C. environment ministry.
"The federal government's view is that there were significant risks to carrying out this work this fall," he said. "Even at this time of year there can still be a significant number of killer whales in the vicinity."
Logging equipment and machinery, including a tank truck carrying 10,000 litres of fuel, was dumped into the internationally renowned killer whale reserve 290 kilometres northwest of Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2007 when a barge overturned.
The 11 pieces of equipment, which have been examined by underwater cameras, is lying in 350 metres of sea water at the bottom of Johnstone Strait, a major waterway on the northeastern side of Vancouver Island.
Penner said Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the coast guard maintain the whales are known to stay in the area through November, but by that time the weather "is getting bad."
"The consensus is that we should wait for the spring, now, and hope for the better weather that comes in the spring to coincide with the period when there is very little whale activity in that area," he said in a phone interview.
His preference was that the salvage operation go ahead this fall, but he said he is willing to abide with the decision.
"It's a tough call to make," he said. "I would to have liked to see it removed as soon as possible, but we also want to do it at a time when there aren't killer whales there."
"DFO was being particularly cautious," he added.
He also pointed to a recent study indicating the likelihood of metal corrosion leading to the tank truck leaking is less than originally thought.
The analysis, by a UBC engineering professor, concluded that it would take at least two and a half to three years from the date of sinking for the fuel tank to corrode through.
The Robson Bight habitat, also known as the Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve, was established to provide a sanctuary for killer whales and is one of the few areas in the world where they are known to drive themselves out of the sea onto so-called "rubbing beaches."
It includes 467 hectares of upland and 1248 hectares of foreshore.
Numerous charges have been laid against the master of the tug boat, the barge owners, and the logging contractor and equipment owner, Vancouver Island-based Ted LeRoy Trucking Ltd.
Last month a Dutch company with a partner in based in Seattle, Wa., was awarded the salvage contract by the B.C. environment ministry.
Puget Sound Orcas Presumed Dead
L-67, “Splash,” a 23-year-old female, has been missing since September. Splash has two living brothers and was the mother of Aurora (L-101), who died over the summer. Her son Luna was the orca who became isolated in Nootka Sound, British Columbia, and died in 2006.
L-111, unnamed female, born August 12, has been missing since late August. She was the daughter of "Marina" (L-47), one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. L-111 is survived by two sisters.
J-11, “Blossom” a 36-year-old female has been missing since July. Blossom has three living offspring: son Blackberry ( J-27); daughter Tsuchi, (J-31); and son Mako, (J-39).
L-21, “Ankh,” a 58-year-old female, was one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. Ankh is the mother of Marina (L-47) and grandmother of L-111, one of the seven who died this summer.
L-101, “Aurora,” a 6-year-old male, was the fourth offspring of Splash, who died in September.
K-7, “Lummi,” a 98-year-old female, was missing when the orcas returned in June. She was one of the oldest whales in K pod. She has a daughter, Georgia (K-11), a granddaughter, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
J-43, 1-year-old unnamed calf, was missing when the whales returned in June. Mother is J-14 (Samish), who has three surviving offspring.
Sources: Orca Network and The Whale Museum
L-111, unnamed female, born August 12, has been missing since late August. She was the daughter of "Marina" (L-47), one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. L-111 is survived by two sisters.
J-11, “Blossom” a 36-year-old female has been missing since July. Blossom has three living offspring: son Blackberry ( J-27); daughter Tsuchi, (J-31); and son Mako, (J-39).
L-21, “Ankh,” a 58-year-old female, was one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet in 1997. Ankh is the mother of Marina (L-47) and grandmother of L-111, one of the seven who died this summer.
L-101, “Aurora,” a 6-year-old male, was the fourth offspring of Splash, who died in September.
K-7, “Lummi,” a 98-year-old female, was missing when the orcas returned in June. She was one of the oldest whales in K pod. She has a daughter, Georgia (K-11), a granddaughter, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
J-43, 1-year-old unnamed calf, was missing when the whales returned in June. Mother is J-14 (Samish), who has three surviving offspring.
Sources: Orca Network and The Whale Museum
Necropsy Shows Beached Whale was in Good Health
There are new questions tonight surrounding a rare killer whale that beached itself Wednesday on Kauai.
The 18-foot mammal was removed from Brennecke's Beach after scientists made the decision to euthanize it saying it was just too sick to survive back in the water.
The necropsy showed it's a male, not a female, and that its organs were actually in pretty good health, which puzzles scientists since the whale had signs of sickness like exposed ribs and whale lice.
At this point, scientists say there is no smoking gun that says what was wrong. Over 700 pounds of tissue was shipped to Oahu and to labs across the country.
"It was surprising to us that most of the organs looked relatively good with the naked eyes, but of course there's microscopic work that can be done now and quite of bit of diagnostic screening that can be done to look for signs of infection and disease. So we'll have to wait and see," said Dr. Kristi West, assistant professor at HPU.
This was only the third killer whale to ever beach itself in Hawaii.
The HPU scientists say they should be able to tell exactly how old the whale is by examining it's teeth similar to the way you tell the age of a tree by the rings in its trunk.
The 18-foot mammal was removed from Brennecke's Beach after scientists made the decision to euthanize it saying it was just too sick to survive back in the water.
The necropsy showed it's a male, not a female, and that its organs were actually in pretty good health, which puzzles scientists since the whale had signs of sickness like exposed ribs and whale lice.
At this point, scientists say there is no smoking gun that says what was wrong. Over 700 pounds of tissue was shipped to Oahu and to labs across the country.
"It was surprising to us that most of the organs looked relatively good with the naked eyes, but of course there's microscopic work that can be done now and quite of bit of diagnostic screening that can be done to look for signs of infection and disease. So we'll have to wait and see," said Dr. Kristi West, assistant professor at HPU.
This was only the third killer whale to ever beach itself in Hawaii.
The HPU scientists say they should be able to tell exactly how old the whale is by examining it's teeth similar to the way you tell the age of a tree by the rings in its trunk.
donderdag 23 oktober 2008
Seven Puget Sound Orca Deaths Attributed to Lack of Food
Seven Puget Sound killer whales have gone missing this year and are presumed dead, wiping out population gains over the past six years.
A shortage of chinook salmon — the orcas' primary food — may have contributed to the unusual number of deaths, said Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research, who keeps track of the individual whales.
"The pattern of their foraging suggests that there hasn't been much to eat out there," Balcomb said, adding that the disappearance of two females of reproductive age is most surprising.
The annual census of the three Puget Sound pods, listed as an endangered species, is officially released in December, but most of the seven have been missing since summer, Balcomb said. L-67, a 22-year-old female named Splash, was showing signs of emaciation before she disappeared in September, he said.
The seven include L-111, a calf born in August and not yet listed in the official count.
Including K-42, a calf born in June, the total number of Puget Sound killer whales now stands at 83.
Summer is usually prime feeding time for the orcas, as chinook salmon move through the San Juan Islands. Balcomb said he became concerned about the whales' pattern of foraging soon after they returned to the islands in June.
In good years, he said, the whales group closely together, socializing and finding food when they need it. This year, the whales were spread out and seemed to be searching far and wide.
Puget Sound orcas normally move into Central and South Puget Sound in the fall, switching their diet from chinook to chum salmon. While the chum runs are now under way, the whales appear to have moved out into the ocean. Balcomb said he expects the animals to return, and he hopes they find an adequate supply of chum before winter arrives.
It could be a tough winter for the animals if they aren't able to increase their body mass, he said.
"When they come back next spring," he said, "I think we will see fewer whales."
Balcomb contends that if the Puget Sound orcas are to survive, they need more chinook salmon. He has called for a moratorium on all fishing that takes chinook — sport, tribal and commercial — from Puget Sound to the West Coast. That would include parts of Canada and Northern California, where salmon fishing was so poor it was declared a disaster this year.
"This idea doesn't sell very well," Balcomb said, "but it is what is required."
Brad Hanson, a marine mammal biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said a high level of mortality can be expected in very young whales, and it is not surprising when old animals die. But when reproductive females disappear, it raises all kinds of questions, he said.
Hanson and others have been trying to figure out which particular runs of salmon the orcas are eating by going out in a boat, watching the whales take a fish and then collecting fish scales and tissue. He also collects fecal samples of the whales and occasionally takes a biopsy of their blubber.
Informed that Splash appeared to be in poor physical condition, Hanson was able to take samples about two weeks before she died. Those fecal and tissue samples will be analyzed to see if she may have been suffering from a disease, he said.
One sign of malnutrition in an orca is the appearance of a depression behind the blow hole. Because of its appearance, the condition is called "peanut head."
Hanson said he can't be sure if Splash developed "peanut head" because she couldn't find food, was weakened by disease or a combination of the two.
Losing reproductive females in a population like this makes it that much more difficult to rebuild the numbers to safe levels, he said. Whereas the number of calves surviving in recent years has been high, this year's losses include young, old and middle-aged animals.
Hanson said he will continue his studies when the whales return to Puget Sound, and he will be on the lookout for "peanut head" the remainder of this year.
Historically, Puget Sound's orcas probably numbered between 100 and 200 animals, experts say. During captures for marine parks, their numbers dropped to 71 by 1976, when Balcomb started his official census. Since then, the population has gone in cycles: up to 83 in 1980; down to 74 in 1984; up to 97 in 1996; down to 78 in 2001; up to 90 in 2004; and now down to 83.
A shortage of chinook salmon — the orcas' primary food — may have contributed to the unusual number of deaths, said Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research, who keeps track of the individual whales.
"The pattern of their foraging suggests that there hasn't been much to eat out there," Balcomb said, adding that the disappearance of two females of reproductive age is most surprising.
The annual census of the three Puget Sound pods, listed as an endangered species, is officially released in December, but most of the seven have been missing since summer, Balcomb said. L-67, a 22-year-old female named Splash, was showing signs of emaciation before she disappeared in September, he said.
The seven include L-111, a calf born in August and not yet listed in the official count.
Including K-42, a calf born in June, the total number of Puget Sound killer whales now stands at 83.
Summer is usually prime feeding time for the orcas, as chinook salmon move through the San Juan Islands. Balcomb said he became concerned about the whales' pattern of foraging soon after they returned to the islands in June.
In good years, he said, the whales group closely together, socializing and finding food when they need it. This year, the whales were spread out and seemed to be searching far and wide.
Puget Sound orcas normally move into Central and South Puget Sound in the fall, switching their diet from chinook to chum salmon. While the chum runs are now under way, the whales appear to have moved out into the ocean. Balcomb said he expects the animals to return, and he hopes they find an adequate supply of chum before winter arrives.
It could be a tough winter for the animals if they aren't able to increase their body mass, he said.
"When they come back next spring," he said, "I think we will see fewer whales."
Balcomb contends that if the Puget Sound orcas are to survive, they need more chinook salmon. He has called for a moratorium on all fishing that takes chinook — sport, tribal and commercial — from Puget Sound to the West Coast. That would include parts of Canada and Northern California, where salmon fishing was so poor it was declared a disaster this year.
"This idea doesn't sell very well," Balcomb said, "but it is what is required."
Brad Hanson, a marine mammal biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said a high level of mortality can be expected in very young whales, and it is not surprising when old animals die. But when reproductive females disappear, it raises all kinds of questions, he said.
Hanson and others have been trying to figure out which particular runs of salmon the orcas are eating by going out in a boat, watching the whales take a fish and then collecting fish scales and tissue. He also collects fecal samples of the whales and occasionally takes a biopsy of their blubber.
Informed that Splash appeared to be in poor physical condition, Hanson was able to take samples about two weeks before she died. Those fecal and tissue samples will be analyzed to see if she may have been suffering from a disease, he said.
One sign of malnutrition in an orca is the appearance of a depression behind the blow hole. Because of its appearance, the condition is called "peanut head."
Hanson said he can't be sure if Splash developed "peanut head" because she couldn't find food, was weakened by disease or a combination of the two.
Losing reproductive females in a population like this makes it that much more difficult to rebuild the numbers to safe levels, he said. Whereas the number of calves surviving in recent years has been high, this year's losses include young, old and middle-aged animals.
Hanson said he will continue his studies when the whales return to Puget Sound, and he will be on the lookout for "peanut head" the remainder of this year.
Historically, Puget Sound's orcas probably numbered between 100 and 200 animals, experts say. During captures for marine parks, their numbers dropped to 71 by 1976, when Balcomb started his official census. Since then, the population has gone in cycles: up to 83 in 1980; down to 74 in 1984; up to 97 in 1996; down to 78 in 2001; up to 90 in 2004; and now down to 83.
Researchers hope to study more about killer whales in our ocean
Not a lot is known about Hawaii's resident killer whale population, but this latest encounter with an orca will help researchers learn more about their lives.
Whales, washing up at the beach, doesn't happen very often.
And killer whales are an extremely rare sight on our shores.
In fact, there have only been two other cases reported.
"One in 2004, and one in 1950 off the Big Island," said Dr. Michelle Yuen, a NOAA biologist.
The latest, a female estimated to be between 5 and 15 years old, was first spotted last night.
And she was in bad shape as she flopped around in the shallow waters.
"It was emaciated, several ribs could be seen, shark injuries and lice an indicator of poor health."
While many of us have never even heard about or seen a killer whale in our waters, there is a population of about 250 orcas that call Hawaii home.
Fishermen and scientists have spotted them over the past 15 years.
"They're fairly common now, about 1-6 sightings a year if you count fisherman and diver operators," said Dr. Joe Mobley, a UH shark researcher. "So they are not as rare as we once thought they were."
Because these mammals are rarely seen, even by researchers, this death could be beneficial to the scientific community. An animal autopsy is planned and will give them a chance to learn more about Hawaii's killer whales.
"Strandings are an indication of ocean health, they tell us a lot of what is going on in the open ocean that we can't tell. It's very important to document population and documenting health of group and observation to confirm species resides in Hawaiian waters."
While you may be concerned, killer whales are in our waters, there have not been any documented cases of these predators attacking humans in the wild.
Whales, washing up at the beach, doesn't happen very often.
And killer whales are an extremely rare sight on our shores.
In fact, there have only been two other cases reported.
"One in 2004, and one in 1950 off the Big Island," said Dr. Michelle Yuen, a NOAA biologist.
The latest, a female estimated to be between 5 and 15 years old, was first spotted last night.
And she was in bad shape as she flopped around in the shallow waters.
"It was emaciated, several ribs could be seen, shark injuries and lice an indicator of poor health."
While many of us have never even heard about or seen a killer whale in our waters, there is a population of about 250 orcas that call Hawaii home.
Fishermen and scientists have spotted them over the past 15 years.
"They're fairly common now, about 1-6 sightings a year if you count fisherman and diver operators," said Dr. Joe Mobley, a UH shark researcher. "So they are not as rare as we once thought they were."
Because these mammals are rarely seen, even by researchers, this death could be beneficial to the scientific community. An animal autopsy is planned and will give them a chance to learn more about Hawaii's killer whales.
"Strandings are an indication of ocean health, they tell us a lot of what is going on in the open ocean that we can't tell. It's very important to document population and documenting health of group and observation to confirm species resides in Hawaiian waters."
While you may be concerned, killer whales are in our waters, there have not been any documented cases of these predators attacking humans in the wild.
Ailing killer whale put to death
Federal wildlife officials euthanized a sick killer whale after it washed ashore at Brennecke's Beach on Kauai.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokeswoman Wende Goo says the 18-foot-long female was emaciated and had shark bites, as well as whale lice. She says they are signs the orca had been sick for some time.
Goo says a Hawaiian cultural practitioner conducted rites Wednesday for the animal before it was killed.
A necropsy is to be performed to determine what was ailing the whale.
The animal washed ashore early Wednesday, attracting about 500 people.
John Boulay is a manager at Brennecke's Beach Broiler. He says people tried to push the whale back into the ocean, but it kept washing back.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokeswoman Wende Goo says the 18-foot-long female was emaciated and had shark bites, as well as whale lice. She says they are signs the orca had been sick for some time.
Goo says a Hawaiian cultural practitioner conducted rites Wednesday for the animal before it was killed.
A necropsy is to be performed to determine what was ailing the whale.
The animal washed ashore early Wednesday, attracting about 500 people.
John Boulay is a manager at Brennecke's Beach Broiler. He says people tried to push the whale back into the ocean, but it kept washing back.
donderdag 16 oktober 2008
Group of 200 killer whales off Scotland
Scientists researching the abundance of orcas in Shetland's waters have spotted the largest group so far with up to 200 sighted, 50 miles east of the isles.
Dr Andy Foote, from the University of Aberdeen, and his colleague, Harriet Bolt, took the photograph during a week aboard the Shetland pelagic trawler Adenia while at the mackerel fishery.
Robb Lott, from the policy team at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said such large groups of orcas were very rare. "For UK waters, I would say it's unprecedented. I would love to have had the opportunity of seeing them. It sounds incredible."
He thought it likely the creatures were following a migration of herring, on which they feed. But Mr Lott did not think they would remain off Scotland's coast for very long. "These animals are capable of easily covering 100km a day," he said.
Dr Foote was following up a visit to Shetland during the summer to record killer whales regularly seen in coastal waters in order to identify individual animals as part of an ongoing study that now has 25 mammals listed.
Killer whales feed on mackerel in offshore waters and researchers hoped that they might be able to recognise some of those recorded in the summer on their latest trip to the area.
"None of these individuals match with the individuals seen in inshore Shetland waters during the summer and it seems likely that these are two distinct populations," Dr Foote said.
He said that their recent trip proved there were "a lot of whales out there", but scientists could not tell if populations were growing as their research project had been going for only two years.
"Working from the fishing boat is the only way to reach these whales in pelagic waters. They appear from nowhere when the net is being hauled in and disappear into the ether again, once the fishermen have finished.
"We would just never be able to find them in such a large expanse any other way. The cost of such research would also be prohibitive due to rising fuel costs," he added.
Mr Foote praised the hospitality of the Adenia's crew whom he said "give us all our board and food for free". Both parties plan to continue their successful collaboration in the future.
Dr Andy Foote, from the University of Aberdeen, and his colleague, Harriet Bolt, took the photograph during a week aboard the Shetland pelagic trawler Adenia while at the mackerel fishery.
Robb Lott, from the policy team at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said such large groups of orcas were very rare. "For UK waters, I would say it's unprecedented. I would love to have had the opportunity of seeing them. It sounds incredible."
He thought it likely the creatures were following a migration of herring, on which they feed. But Mr Lott did not think they would remain off Scotland's coast for very long. "These animals are capable of easily covering 100km a day," he said.
Dr Foote was following up a visit to Shetland during the summer to record killer whales regularly seen in coastal waters in order to identify individual animals as part of an ongoing study that now has 25 mammals listed.
Killer whales feed on mackerel in offshore waters and researchers hoped that they might be able to recognise some of those recorded in the summer on their latest trip to the area.
"None of these individuals match with the individuals seen in inshore Shetland waters during the summer and it seems likely that these are two distinct populations," Dr Foote said.
He said that their recent trip proved there were "a lot of whales out there", but scientists could not tell if populations were growing as their research project had been going for only two years.
"Working from the fishing boat is the only way to reach these whales in pelagic waters. They appear from nowhere when the net is being hauled in and disappear into the ether again, once the fishermen have finished.
"We would just never be able to find them in such a large expanse any other way. The cost of such research would also be prohibitive due to rising fuel costs," he added.
Mr Foote praised the hospitality of the Adenia's crew whom he said "give us all our board and food for free". Both parties plan to continue their successful collaboration in the future.
woensdag 15 oktober 2008
Could killer whales be returning to the Solent?
THE Solent seal colony had better be on the lookout because the oceans’ ultimate predator could be returning to our waters.
Killer whales – normally found in Scotland’s cooler waters – are increasingly being found off the south coast of England.
Scientists believe the black and white creatures, also known as orcas, are being lured by recovering fish stocks and say they could be lurking in the English Channel.
So far this year they have been recorded as far south as the Isles of Scilly and off the Kent coast in Folkestone.
Marine biologist Andy Foote, from the University of Aberdeen, is monitoring Britain’s killer whale population.
He said killer whale sightings in the Solent were frequent in the first half of the last century and one had even been harpooned in the River Itchen.
“They are pretty adaptable, as a species they are doing quite well and are found from pole to pole and everywhere in between. This is because they are very innovative and are able to come up with new hunting strategies,” Mr Foote said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they go through the English Channel occasionally, but I don’t imagine it is a common occurrence.”
Killer whales have no predator, apart from humans, and tend to feed on herring, mackerel or large sea mammals, Mr Foote added.
“There is certainly reports of killer whales off Cornwall and they tend to follow basking sharks and there are certainly basking sharks in the Solent, so it is definitely not out of the question,” he said.
“It would be a rare event, but I would not be surprised if one or two killer whales did go through there during the year.”
In August, a bottlenose whale that had become stranded on a mudflat in Langstone Harbour, near Portsmouth, was put down after an unsuccessful rescue attempt.
Jolyon Chesworth, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said there had been no sightings of killer whales in our waters.
Killer whales – normally found in Scotland’s cooler waters – are increasingly being found off the south coast of England.
Scientists believe the black and white creatures, also known as orcas, are being lured by recovering fish stocks and say they could be lurking in the English Channel.
So far this year they have been recorded as far south as the Isles of Scilly and off the Kent coast in Folkestone.
Marine biologist Andy Foote, from the University of Aberdeen, is monitoring Britain’s killer whale population.
He said killer whale sightings in the Solent were frequent in the first half of the last century and one had even been harpooned in the River Itchen.
“They are pretty adaptable, as a species they are doing quite well and are found from pole to pole and everywhere in between. This is because they are very innovative and are able to come up with new hunting strategies,” Mr Foote said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they go through the English Channel occasionally, but I don’t imagine it is a common occurrence.”
Killer whales have no predator, apart from humans, and tend to feed on herring, mackerel or large sea mammals, Mr Foote added.
“There is certainly reports of killer whales off Cornwall and they tend to follow basking sharks and there are certainly basking sharks in the Solent, so it is definitely not out of the question,” he said.
“It would be a rare event, but I would not be surprised if one or two killer whales did go through there during the year.”
In August, a bottlenose whale that had become stranded on a mudflat in Langstone Harbour, near Portsmouth, was put down after an unsuccessful rescue attempt.
Jolyon Chesworth, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said there had been no sightings of killer whales in our waters.
dinsdag 14 oktober 2008
Killer Whales need protection
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) was hit with a lawsuit last week by environmental groups from across Canada.
Filed by lawyers with Ecojustice, the lawsuit alleges that DFO has failed to legally protect critical habitat of B.C.’s most iconic marine mammals: the endangered Southern Resident and threatened Northern Resident Killer Whales. On September 10, 2008, without consulting killer whale scientists, DFO declined to issue an Order under SARA to protect the Resident Killer Whales’ critical habitat from destruction.
“This is the first lawsuit ever of its kind in Canada,” said Lara Tessaro, staff lawyer at Ecojustice. “We hope to force the federal government to legally protect the critical habitat of endangered species - like the Southern Resident Killer Whales.”
Frustrated by the federal government’s failure to take steps under SARA to protect the orcas, the David Suzuki Foundation, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace Canada, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Raincoast Conservation Society and the Wilderness Committee have turned to the courts as a last resort. “DFO’s decision not to protect critical habitat of Resident Killer Whale is symptomatic of the federal government’s widespread failure to implement the Species at Risk Act,” said Gwen Barlee, policy director of the Wilderness Committee, adding “B.C.’s endangered species deserve better.”
Bill Wareham, senior marine conservation specialist at the David Suzuki Foundation, explained “To truly protect killer whales’ critical habitat, Canada needs to legally protect areas that serve the Killer Whales’ basic needs for food and rest” Killer Whales face many serious threats throughout their habitat on the west coast.
Filed by lawyers with Ecojustice, the lawsuit alleges that DFO has failed to legally protect critical habitat of B.C.’s most iconic marine mammals: the endangered Southern Resident and threatened Northern Resident Killer Whales. On September 10, 2008, without consulting killer whale scientists, DFO declined to issue an Order under SARA to protect the Resident Killer Whales’ critical habitat from destruction.
“This is the first lawsuit ever of its kind in Canada,” said Lara Tessaro, staff lawyer at Ecojustice. “We hope to force the federal government to legally protect the critical habitat of endangered species - like the Southern Resident Killer Whales.”
Frustrated by the federal government’s failure to take steps under SARA to protect the orcas, the David Suzuki Foundation, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace Canada, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Raincoast Conservation Society and the Wilderness Committee have turned to the courts as a last resort. “DFO’s decision not to protect critical habitat of Resident Killer Whale is symptomatic of the federal government’s widespread failure to implement the Species at Risk Act,” said Gwen Barlee, policy director of the Wilderness Committee, adding “B.C.’s endangered species deserve better.”
Bill Wareham, senior marine conservation specialist at the David Suzuki Foundation, explained “To truly protect killer whales’ critical habitat, Canada needs to legally protect areas that serve the Killer Whales’ basic needs for food and rest” Killer Whales face many serious threats throughout their habitat on the west coast.
maandag 13 oktober 2008
Lummi, whale advocates pay tribute to oldest orca
The Ohileq-sen Canoe Family from the Lummi Nation led a tribute Sept. 26 for K7, a Southern Resident killer whale that did not return with her pod this year.
The Center for Whale Research estimates the whale was born in 1910, making her the oldest of the estimated 87 orcas that frequent the straits and sounds around the San Juan Islands. K7 was given the name “Lummi” through The Whale Museum’s Orca Adoption Program, in honor of the first people of the San Juan Islands.
Lummi was a great-great-grandmother – the leader of a five-generation subgroup of orcas within K pod. That pod and two others have been declared endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Depleted salmon runs and pollution are considered two main reasons for the precariousness of the whales’ population.
People gathered at Lime Kiln Point State Park lighthouse to celebrate the life of Lummi. “These are songs [she] may have heard in her time,” said James Hillaire, of the Ohileq-sen Canoe Family. “These are songs our ancestors used to sing as they paddled their canoes from village to village in this area.”
Whale advocates shared stories of the life of Lummi. Local artist Jocelyn Russell donated an original painting of Lummi to be auctioned off at the event.
The Center for Whale Research estimates the whale was born in 1910, making her the oldest of the estimated 87 orcas that frequent the straits and sounds around the San Juan Islands. K7 was given the name “Lummi” through The Whale Museum’s Orca Adoption Program, in honor of the first people of the San Juan Islands.
Lummi was a great-great-grandmother – the leader of a five-generation subgroup of orcas within K pod. That pod and two others have been declared endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Depleted salmon runs and pollution are considered two main reasons for the precariousness of the whales’ population.
People gathered at Lime Kiln Point State Park lighthouse to celebrate the life of Lummi. “These are songs [she] may have heard in her time,” said James Hillaire, of the Ohileq-sen Canoe Family. “These are songs our ancestors used to sing as they paddled their canoes from village to village in this area.”
Whale advocates shared stories of the life of Lummi. Local artist Jocelyn Russell donated an original painting of Lummi to be auctioned off at the event.
zaterdag 11 oktober 2008
Sightings of killer whales in British waters rising
They are the oceans' ultimate predators, capable even of feasting on great white sharks.
Now killer whales, which are normally associated with the colder seas around the poles, are being found increasingly in UK waters. Scientists believe the creatures are being attracted by Britain's recovering fish stocks. Groups of up to 100 have been recorded off the coast by researchers.
Already this year, the creatures, also known as orcas, have been recorded as far south as the Isles of Scilly, and in the English Channel, off Folkestone. Other sightings this year have been in the North Sea, off Hartlepool, and in the Irish Sea, off the Welsh coast.
As well as eating fish, killer whales regularly hunt seals. Although attacks on humans are rare, experts warn against getting too close. Researchers from the University of Aberdeen and the Sea Mammals Research Unit, at St Andrews, are currently monitoring the population off Scotland, to test theories that the increase in sightings is down to a growth in numbers, and not simply better recording.
Andy Foote, from the University of Aberdeen, has, this summer, been studying numbers found off the Shetland Islands, where the pods of up to 100 have been seen.
"That sort of sighting does seem to be on the increase," he said. "The killer whales shift their migration and distribution quite drastically. Fish like herring and mackerel seem to be doing pretty well at the moment, and it makes sense for the killer whales to follow them.
"So in areas where you haven't seen killer whales before, all of a sudden, you are starting to see them. You see more up north, but you do get them turning up further south."
Since the 1950s and 1960s, when Britain's fish stocks began to collapse, few killer whales have been seen in UK waters. No records exist for earlier years, but scientists say there is a possibility the creatures were once more abundant. By comparing sightings from this year with photographs taken of killer whales over the past decade, the researchers have established, by using identifying marks on their fins, that the same ones are being seen repeatedly in UK waters.
Mr Foote added: "Until now, very little has been known about them in British waters. They have been considered as being transient and occasional animals that just move through the area. People thought they were very infrequent visitors. The fact that we are seeing the same ones year after year after year shows that that is wrong.
"Already we have highlighted that we have populations which are resident here for long periods of time, coming back to the same place, year after year after year, while some seem to remain all year around. "Having seen them going after seals here, I certainly wouldn't recommend going too close."
Paul Harvey, from the Shetland Biological Records Centre, which is home to Britain's biggest population, said: "We are definitely seeing more. We know we've got the same animals returning and we have some occurring here throughout the winter. It is a relatively recent phenomenon. If you talk to fishermen, they just didn't used to see them. Now, they see them every time they haul their nets.
"Something has gone on, since about the 1990s, when we first started to see more. We don't know how many pods we are dealing with. That is the value of the new research."
Killer whales – actually the largest species of dolphin – are known to occur in all the world's oceans. Those near the Shetland come close to shore to feast on seals.
"They are more exciting to see than other species," Mr Harvey added. "You see more of them out of the water and they are often doing something, like hunting seals. They are really spectacular."
Rob Lott, from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "The north of the country has become a stronghold but they do turn up all around the UK. They are opportunistic and their distribution is driven by the prey available to them."
As well as fish and seals, killer whales will also feed on sharks, including great whites, and even other species of whale, including the blue whale – the world's largest animal. They can swim at speeds of up to 30mph and hunt in packs. They grow up to 30ft long and live up to 35 years. Adults eat around four per cent of their body weight each day, while young whales eat up to ten per cent.
Now killer whales, which are normally associated with the colder seas around the poles, are being found increasingly in UK waters. Scientists believe the creatures are being attracted by Britain's recovering fish stocks. Groups of up to 100 have been recorded off the coast by researchers.
Already this year, the creatures, also known as orcas, have been recorded as far south as the Isles of Scilly, and in the English Channel, off Folkestone. Other sightings this year have been in the North Sea, off Hartlepool, and in the Irish Sea, off the Welsh coast.
As well as eating fish, killer whales regularly hunt seals. Although attacks on humans are rare, experts warn against getting too close. Researchers from the University of Aberdeen and the Sea Mammals Research Unit, at St Andrews, are currently monitoring the population off Scotland, to test theories that the increase in sightings is down to a growth in numbers, and not simply better recording.
Andy Foote, from the University of Aberdeen, has, this summer, been studying numbers found off the Shetland Islands, where the pods of up to 100 have been seen.
"That sort of sighting does seem to be on the increase," he said. "The killer whales shift their migration and distribution quite drastically. Fish like herring and mackerel seem to be doing pretty well at the moment, and it makes sense for the killer whales to follow them.
"So in areas where you haven't seen killer whales before, all of a sudden, you are starting to see them. You see more up north, but you do get them turning up further south."
Since the 1950s and 1960s, when Britain's fish stocks began to collapse, few killer whales have been seen in UK waters. No records exist for earlier years, but scientists say there is a possibility the creatures were once more abundant. By comparing sightings from this year with photographs taken of killer whales over the past decade, the researchers have established, by using identifying marks on their fins, that the same ones are being seen repeatedly in UK waters.
Mr Foote added: "Until now, very little has been known about them in British waters. They have been considered as being transient and occasional animals that just move through the area. People thought they were very infrequent visitors. The fact that we are seeing the same ones year after year after year shows that that is wrong.
"Already we have highlighted that we have populations which are resident here for long periods of time, coming back to the same place, year after year after year, while some seem to remain all year around. "Having seen them going after seals here, I certainly wouldn't recommend going too close."
Paul Harvey, from the Shetland Biological Records Centre, which is home to Britain's biggest population, said: "We are definitely seeing more. We know we've got the same animals returning and we have some occurring here throughout the winter. It is a relatively recent phenomenon. If you talk to fishermen, they just didn't used to see them. Now, they see them every time they haul their nets.
"Something has gone on, since about the 1990s, when we first started to see more. We don't know how many pods we are dealing with. That is the value of the new research."
Killer whales – actually the largest species of dolphin – are known to occur in all the world's oceans. Those near the Shetland come close to shore to feast on seals.
"They are more exciting to see than other species," Mr Harvey added. "You see more of them out of the water and they are often doing something, like hunting seals. They are really spectacular."
Rob Lott, from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "The north of the country has become a stronghold but they do turn up all around the UK. They are opportunistic and their distribution is driven by the prey available to them."
As well as fish and seals, killer whales will also feed on sharks, including great whites, and even other species of whale, including the blue whale – the world's largest animal. They can swim at speeds of up to 30mph and hunt in packs. They grow up to 30ft long and live up to 35 years. Adults eat around four per cent of their body weight each day, while young whales eat up to ten per cent.
donderdag 9 oktober 2008
Killer whales and dolphins move in as bay fish dwindle
KILLER whales and ocean-dwelling dolphins are increasingly venturing into Port Phillip Bay, despite fish stocks hitting record lows in some places.
A survey by the Department of Primary Industries suggest a long-term decline for fish species, with two sections of the bay of particular concern.
The survey revealed record low biomass levels for fish in the deep centre of the bay and western waters near Geelong.
By measuring the catch in tonnes, the annual trawl provides an indication of population levels in the bay for bottom-dwelling fish such as flathead.
Despite the study revealing record lows, the department said the results were within "expected variability" and not significantly different from previous years.
But Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Chris Smyth expressed concern that an all-time low was portrayed as being within an acceptable range of variability.
"Anyone who loves Port Phillip Bay will be shocked by this collapse in the bay's fish biomass," Mr Smyth said.
"The community should be deeply disturbed at the lack of port and government agency response and action."
Department spokesman Peter Appleford defended the method of reporting, saying the results represented the continuation of a trend.
He said while bottom-dwelling species were under pressure, others such as whiting and gummy shark were thriving.
The decline in fish stocks comes as dolphin experts report "an extraordinary influx" of dolphin species that traditionally live in ocean waters outside the bay. Dolphin Research Institute executive director Jeff Weir said ocean dolphins had been hunting and reproducing inside the bay near Frankston in the winter months.
The bay has traditionally been the exclusive domain of another species of dolphin believed to exist only in the bay and the Gippsland Lakes.
Mr Weir said there was no indication that dredging was harming dolphin numbers, and sightings of killer whales inside the bay had also risen sharply.
"They have been observed feeding on salmon in the bay and in winter time they follow the pattern with the southern right whales because they like to feed on the calves," he said.
Monash University dolphin expert Kate Charlton said the influx of ocean dolphins and killer whales was in contrast to the time she started researching the bay 10 years ago.
"We are having more and more sightings of killer whales … we've had killer whales as high up as Dromana and Mount Martha," she said.
A survey by the Department of Primary Industries suggest a long-term decline for fish species, with two sections of the bay of particular concern.
The survey revealed record low biomass levels for fish in the deep centre of the bay and western waters near Geelong.
By measuring the catch in tonnes, the annual trawl provides an indication of population levels in the bay for bottom-dwelling fish such as flathead.
Despite the study revealing record lows, the department said the results were within "expected variability" and not significantly different from previous years.
But Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Chris Smyth expressed concern that an all-time low was portrayed as being within an acceptable range of variability.
"Anyone who loves Port Phillip Bay will be shocked by this collapse in the bay's fish biomass," Mr Smyth said.
"The community should be deeply disturbed at the lack of port and government agency response and action."
Department spokesman Peter Appleford defended the method of reporting, saying the results represented the continuation of a trend.
He said while bottom-dwelling species were under pressure, others such as whiting and gummy shark were thriving.
The decline in fish stocks comes as dolphin experts report "an extraordinary influx" of dolphin species that traditionally live in ocean waters outside the bay. Dolphin Research Institute executive director Jeff Weir said ocean dolphins had been hunting and reproducing inside the bay near Frankston in the winter months.
The bay has traditionally been the exclusive domain of another species of dolphin believed to exist only in the bay and the Gippsland Lakes.
Mr Weir said there was no indication that dredging was harming dolphin numbers, and sightings of killer whales inside the bay had also risen sharply.
"They have been observed feeding on salmon in the bay and in winter time they follow the pattern with the southern right whales because they like to feed on the calves," he said.
Monash University dolphin expert Kate Charlton said the influx of ocean dolphins and killer whales was in contrast to the time she started researching the bay 10 years ago.
"We are having more and more sightings of killer whales … we've had killer whales as high up as Dromana and Mount Martha," she said.
Killer whales off southern B.C. face extinction, experts warn
Killer whales in southern B.C. waters could be extinct in as little as a century if things don't change, experts said Wednesday.
Only 87 resident killer whales live in southern B.C. waters, after a 20-per-cent decline between 1993 and 2003. About 240 northern resident killer whales are also threatened.
"For most species a population reduced to 87... they'd be toast. We wouldn't even be considering recovery as a viable possibility," said Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, an international expert on killer whales.
But, he said, whales have built-in mechanisms that discourage inbreeding and its population could conceivably still recover, although "every death is critical."
Barrett-Lennard is co-chairman of the Resident Killer Whale Recovery Team. The organization worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to produce a killer whale recovery strategy, finalized in March.
To protect killer whales, eight leading environmentalist groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, alleging it has failed to protect whale habitat.
"We have a federal government that's reluctant to apply the Species at Risk Act to actually protect and recover endangered species in this country," said Gwen Barlee of the Wilderness Committee.
"B.C.'s endangered species deserve better."
The lawsuit is the first to be filed under Section 58 of the act, which prohibits the destruction of an endangered species' habitat, said Lara Tessaro, a lawyer with Ecojustice, formerly the Sierra Legal Defence Fund.
"The consequences of this kind of lawsuit, if successful, is that the federal government would be required to sit down and create marine protected areas," she said.
The environmentalist groups say the orcas' population decline is due to threats to their habitat, including a sharp decline in salmon stocks, increased boat and tanker traffic, toxic contamination, dredging, military sonar tests and seismic tests.
Recently, scientists monitoring whales off southern Vancouver Island reported the whales have less blubber -- a sign they are having difficulty finding food.
Last month, the DFO issued a two-page statement claiming the orcas' habitat is already protected by legislation and guidelines.
But the groups said the legislation is too broad and the guidelines are without teeth.
They want the government to take specific steps to protect the animals, such as banning vessel traffic and military sonar tests in specific areas like Robson Bight, and restricting commercial fishing to make sure whales have sufficient food.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans did not return calls.
Only 87 resident killer whales live in southern B.C. waters, after a 20-per-cent decline between 1993 and 2003. About 240 northern resident killer whales are also threatened.
"For most species a population reduced to 87... they'd be toast. We wouldn't even be considering recovery as a viable possibility," said Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, an international expert on killer whales.
But, he said, whales have built-in mechanisms that discourage inbreeding and its population could conceivably still recover, although "every death is critical."
Barrett-Lennard is co-chairman of the Resident Killer Whale Recovery Team. The organization worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to produce a killer whale recovery strategy, finalized in March.
To protect killer whales, eight leading environmentalist groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, alleging it has failed to protect whale habitat.
"We have a federal government that's reluctant to apply the Species at Risk Act to actually protect and recover endangered species in this country," said Gwen Barlee of the Wilderness Committee.
"B.C.'s endangered species deserve better."
The lawsuit is the first to be filed under Section 58 of the act, which prohibits the destruction of an endangered species' habitat, said Lara Tessaro, a lawyer with Ecojustice, formerly the Sierra Legal Defence Fund.
"The consequences of this kind of lawsuit, if successful, is that the federal government would be required to sit down and create marine protected areas," she said.
The environmentalist groups say the orcas' population decline is due to threats to their habitat, including a sharp decline in salmon stocks, increased boat and tanker traffic, toxic contamination, dredging, military sonar tests and seismic tests.
Recently, scientists monitoring whales off southern Vancouver Island reported the whales have less blubber -- a sign they are having difficulty finding food.
Last month, the DFO issued a two-page statement claiming the orcas' habitat is already protected by legislation and guidelines.
But the groups said the legislation is too broad and the guidelines are without teeth.
They want the government to take specific steps to protect the animals, such as banning vessel traffic and military sonar tests in specific areas like Robson Bight, and restricting commercial fishing to make sure whales have sufficient food.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans did not return calls.
Focus on one of the world's greatest predators
IT IS a dramatic sight few are lucky enough to witness – a spectacular display of raw power from one of nature's most deadly predators.
But for wildlife photographer Rolf Hicker, who has spent the past 15 years photographing the 80 resident orcas off the coast of Vancouver in Canada, it has become almost commonplace.
So much so that Hicker has developed a close understanding of the magnificent creatures enabling him to capture these dramatic shots.
His pictures provide such a detailed document of the killer whales' behaviour they have been used by researchers studying the creatures.
"There is hardly anything more beautiful than experiencing the whales in a small boat and the engine off," he said.
"It is incredible to look a whale in its eye when its head emerges from the waves to check us out – amazing."
Hicker said the key to capturing a good photograph of the killer whales is taking time.
"When you are photographing orcas the main thing you need is patience as you have to wait till they approach you," he said.
"In order to get good pictures you need to be always ready, I always have one eye glued on the viewfinder while the other eye is searching for signs like blows or special activities."
The 42-year-old said over time he has learned to be able to predict the next move of the orcas, so he can capture the killer shot.
"My experience helps me to stabilise my body on the always moving boat, experience kicks in to make it easier to predict what the orca's next move would be," he said.
These photographs were taken off northern Vancouver Island, where as well as the resident orcas, transient killer whales can also be seen.
Hicker has come to know the traits of the different types of killer whales.
He said the resident orcas travel in large groups and visit beaches where they rub on pebbles and eat salmon.
Transient orcas arrive occasionally to hunt, and offshore orcas only come near land very rarely.
"When they are seen it is quite a sight and you can see a groups of up to 80 feeding on marine mammals as well as fish and even sharks," said Hicker.
His pictures are used by researchers who study their unique dorsal fins in order to catalogue populations.
"All orcas have unique saddle-patches and dorsal fins – they are catalogued that way, beside their languages which are unique too to each orca family."
FACT BOX
THE orca is also known as the killer whale and is the biggest species of the dolphin family.
Sometimes called the blackfish or seawolf, it lives in all the oceans, from the Arctic and Antarctic to warm, tropical seas.
Orcas are not fussy about what they eat, with many feeding mostly on fish and others preferring large sea mammals, such as sea lions and even whales.
Orcas are sociable creatures, with many living in family groups.
They display such sophisticated hunting techniques, social behaviour and vocal sounds that it has been claimed these traits are manifestations of culture.
Killer whales are not endangered as a whole, but some individual populations are threatened due to pollution, depletion of prey species, conflicts with fishing activities and vessels, habitat loss and whaling.
Orcas are not usually a threat to humans, but there have been isolated reports of captive killer whales attacking handlers.
The largest recorded was a male caught off the Japanese coast, measuring 32ft and weighing more than eight tonnes.
But for wildlife photographer Rolf Hicker, who has spent the past 15 years photographing the 80 resident orcas off the coast of Vancouver in Canada, it has become almost commonplace.
So much so that Hicker has developed a close understanding of the magnificent creatures enabling him to capture these dramatic shots.
His pictures provide such a detailed document of the killer whales' behaviour they have been used by researchers studying the creatures.
"There is hardly anything more beautiful than experiencing the whales in a small boat and the engine off," he said.
"It is incredible to look a whale in its eye when its head emerges from the waves to check us out – amazing."
Hicker said the key to capturing a good photograph of the killer whales is taking time.
"When you are photographing orcas the main thing you need is patience as you have to wait till they approach you," he said.
"In order to get good pictures you need to be always ready, I always have one eye glued on the viewfinder while the other eye is searching for signs like blows or special activities."
The 42-year-old said over time he has learned to be able to predict the next move of the orcas, so he can capture the killer shot.
"My experience helps me to stabilise my body on the always moving boat, experience kicks in to make it easier to predict what the orca's next move would be," he said.
These photographs were taken off northern Vancouver Island, where as well as the resident orcas, transient killer whales can also be seen.
Hicker has come to know the traits of the different types of killer whales.
He said the resident orcas travel in large groups and visit beaches where they rub on pebbles and eat salmon.
Transient orcas arrive occasionally to hunt, and offshore orcas only come near land very rarely.
"When they are seen it is quite a sight and you can see a groups of up to 80 feeding on marine mammals as well as fish and even sharks," said Hicker.
His pictures are used by researchers who study their unique dorsal fins in order to catalogue populations.
"All orcas have unique saddle-patches and dorsal fins – they are catalogued that way, beside their languages which are unique too to each orca family."
FACT BOX
THE orca is also known as the killer whale and is the biggest species of the dolphin family.
Sometimes called the blackfish or seawolf, it lives in all the oceans, from the Arctic and Antarctic to warm, tropical seas.
Orcas are not fussy about what they eat, with many feeding mostly on fish and others preferring large sea mammals, such as sea lions and even whales.
Orcas are sociable creatures, with many living in family groups.
They display such sophisticated hunting techniques, social behaviour and vocal sounds that it has been claimed these traits are manifestations of culture.
Killer whales are not endangered as a whole, but some individual populations are threatened due to pollution, depletion of prey species, conflicts with fishing activities and vessels, habitat loss and whaling.
Orcas are not usually a threat to humans, but there have been isolated reports of captive killer whales attacking handlers.
The largest recorded was a male caught off the Japanese coast, measuring 32ft and weighing more than eight tonnes.
dinsdag 7 oktober 2008
Killer whales lose blubber, health due to salmon shortage in B.C.
Killer whales in the waters off southern Vancouver Island are losing blubber and developing strange behaviour patterns because of a shortage of salmon, say whale experts.
Some endangered southern resident killer whales are developing "peanut heads" because they are not getting enough food, said Howard Garrett of Washington-based Orca Network.
"They are looking sick. There is usually a thick layer of blubber just behind the skull and that seems to be the first place to be drawn from when they need to draw down blubber," he said. "In some of them, there's a dip right behind the blow-hole and, when you see that, you know the whale has been hungry."
The Center for Whale Research is having difficulty finalizing numbers for the three resident pods this year because the whales are so spread out.
Researchers believe there might be some losses, but, tentatively, the number of southern residents is set at about 87.
As the whales search for elusive chinook salmon there are unusual liaisons, Garrett said.
"A small group from L Pod have been travelling with J Pod all summer long and twice J Pod has split into two completely separate groups, out of acoustic range from each other," he said. "It's an indication that they are searching high and low and in every nook and cranny for fish."
Environmental groups are holding a news conference Wednesday in Vancouver to protest the federal government's fisheries policies.
"The announcement marks a tipping point in a two-year battle between the federal government and concerned scientists and environmentalists about the need to protect the orcas from threats to their critical habitat," according to a news release from Ecojustice.
"There are ongoing scientific concerns about conservation of the species, particularly in light of the fact that killer whales are not looking good this year," said Lance Barrett-Lennard, co-chairman of the federal government's Resident Killer Whale Recovery Team.
The recovery team worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to produce a killer whale recovery strategy, which was finalized earlier this year.
Some endangered southern resident killer whales are developing "peanut heads" because they are not getting enough food, said Howard Garrett of Washington-based Orca Network.
"They are looking sick. There is usually a thick layer of blubber just behind the skull and that seems to be the first place to be drawn from when they need to draw down blubber," he said. "In some of them, there's a dip right behind the blow-hole and, when you see that, you know the whale has been hungry."
The Center for Whale Research is having difficulty finalizing numbers for the three resident pods this year because the whales are so spread out.
Researchers believe there might be some losses, but, tentatively, the number of southern residents is set at about 87.
As the whales search for elusive chinook salmon there are unusual liaisons, Garrett said.
"A small group from L Pod have been travelling with J Pod all summer long and twice J Pod has split into two completely separate groups, out of acoustic range from each other," he said. "It's an indication that they are searching high and low and in every nook and cranny for fish."
Environmental groups are holding a news conference Wednesday in Vancouver to protest the federal government's fisheries policies.
"The announcement marks a tipping point in a two-year battle between the federal government and concerned scientists and environmentalists about the need to protect the orcas from threats to their critical habitat," according to a news release from Ecojustice.
"There are ongoing scientific concerns about conservation of the species, particularly in light of the fact that killer whales are not looking good this year," said Lance Barrett-Lennard, co-chairman of the federal government's Resident Killer Whale Recovery Team.
The recovery team worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to produce a killer whale recovery strategy, which was finalized earlier this year.
donderdag 2 oktober 2008
3 Orca pods visit central Puget Sound
The three pods of killer whales that live in Washington's inland waters have made a visit to central Puget Sound.
Howard Garrett of Orca Network, a group that tracks whale sightings, tells the Kitsap Sun that says observers spotted all three pods - a so-called "super pod" - near Kingston on Tuesday morning and in several places off Whidbey Island. The whales usually move south to hunt for salmon each fall, after the chinook salmon runs dwindle in the San Juan Islands.
In typical years, "J" pod, one of the three groups, will spend much of the winter in central and south Puget Sound. "K" and "L" pods normally come and go less often. Sometimes they swim out into the Pacific and along the coast, staying until spring.
Howard Garrett of Orca Network, a group that tracks whale sightings, tells the Kitsap Sun that says observers spotted all three pods - a so-called "super pod" - near Kingston on Tuesday morning and in several places off Whidbey Island. The whales usually move south to hunt for salmon each fall, after the chinook salmon runs dwindle in the San Juan Islands.
In typical years, "J" pod, one of the three groups, will spend much of the winter in central and south Puget Sound. "K" and "L" pods normally come and go less often. Sometimes they swim out into the Pacific and along the coast, staying until spring.
maandag 29 september 2008
U.S. Flood Insurance Endangers Puget Sound Salmon, Orcas
The National Flood Insurance Program is pushing orcas and several runs of salmon towards extinction, in violation of the Endangered Species Act, according to a regulatory finding issued today by scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The National Flood Insurance Program is implemented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. Without making the changes called for by the Fisheries Service, cities and counties around the Puget Sound could lose their eligibility for federal flood insurance. A total of 252 Washington jurisdictions currently participate in the flood insurance program, including 39 counties, over 200 cities and towns, and two tribal reservations.
The federal fisheries agency issued the finding, known as a biological opinion, as required by a 2004 federal court decision.
In the case National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, Judge Thomas Zilly of the federal district court in Seattle found that FEMA's flood insurance program encouraged floodplain development and harmed salmon already listed as threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act.
He ordered FEMA to consult with the Marine Fisheries Service to ensure compliance with the Act, and the document issued today is the result of that consultation.
"We have always known that building homes and businesses in the floodplain was dangerous and economically senseless," said John Kostyack, excecutive director of wildlife conservation and global warming at the National Wildlife Federation.
"With global warming causing sea level rise and intensified storms, the risks of such development are now higher than ever. With this decision, we now have a tool for reducing risks to both wildlife and people," said Kostyack.
The biological opinion documents the ways in which FEMA's flood program encourages development within the floodplain area.
Because most private insurers refuse to insure floodplain homes, FEMA's insurance program allows development to occur where it otherwise would not.
In addition, FEMA's minimum development standards for floodplain construction currently fail to include environmental standards.
"Even where flood risk is well established (for example, in Lewis County on the Chehalis River), the National Flood Insurance Program’s current implementation does not significantly restrict floodplain development or encourage the preservation of floodplain natural and beneficial values," the biological opinion states.
It points out that the City of Chehalis has nine percent of its Urban Growth Area in mapped floodplain, and Centralia has 21 percent of its Urban Growth Area in mapped floodplain.
"Development within the floodplain results in stream channelization, habitat instability, vegetation removal, and point and nonpoint source pollution (NMFS 1996) all of which contribute to degraded salmon habitat," according to the biological opinion.
By insuring development in floodplain areas, the National Marine Fisheries Service determined that the program was jeopardizing the survival of Puget Sound chinook, Puget Sound steelhead, and Hood Canal summer-run chum salmon, and adversely modifying their designated critical habitat in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
It also found that by reducing the prey base for Southern Resident orcas, also called killer whales, it jeopardized them as well.
The biological openion warns that implementation of the FEMA program in Puget Sound could result in a 30 percent reduction of chinook salmon in Puget Sound - the orcas' favored food source - in the years ahead.
Puget Sound was once inhabited by at least 37 populations of Chinook salmon, but today only 22 remain. The remaining Chinook salmon are at only 10 percent of their historic numbers, with some down lower than one percent of their historic numbers, according to the Puget Sound Partnership, a coalition of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses working together to restore and protect the sound.
As required by the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service set forth an alternative approach for FEMA that would not result in jeopardy to salmon and orcas.
The alternative includes new requirements that development within the floodplain and riparian buffer area be either prohibited or that its impacts to the stream be completely mitigated.
Any development in these sensitive areas should be required to use "low impact development." This type of development specifies protection of native vegetation, pervious concretes that allow rain to flow through to the ground, narrow footprints, and rain gardens to absorb stormwater runoff.
Last month, the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board declared that low impact development was both more effective than traditional stormwater controls like detention ponds, and cheaper to implement.
"Americans are getting tired of paying to rebuild flooded homes in places that should be left alone," said Jan Hasselman, an attorney with the public interest law firm Earthjustice who argued the 2004 lawsuit against FEMA.
"The good news today is the federal agency scientists have stepped in on behalf of both American taxpayers and its wildlife and said no to building in flood-prone areas," Hasselman said. "We think this is just plain old common sense."
Click here to read the biological opinion, formally known as the "Endangered Species Act – Section 7 Consultation Final Biological Opinion And Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Consultation Implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program in the State of Washington Phase One Document – Puget Sound Region."
The National Flood Insurance Program is implemented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. Without making the changes called for by the Fisheries Service, cities and counties around the Puget Sound could lose their eligibility for federal flood insurance. A total of 252 Washington jurisdictions currently participate in the flood insurance program, including 39 counties, over 200 cities and towns, and two tribal reservations.
The federal fisheries agency issued the finding, known as a biological opinion, as required by a 2004 federal court decision.
In the case National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, Judge Thomas Zilly of the federal district court in Seattle found that FEMA's flood insurance program encouraged floodplain development and harmed salmon already listed as threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act.
He ordered FEMA to consult with the Marine Fisheries Service to ensure compliance with the Act, and the document issued today is the result of that consultation.
"We have always known that building homes and businesses in the floodplain was dangerous and economically senseless," said John Kostyack, excecutive director of wildlife conservation and global warming at the National Wildlife Federation.
"With global warming causing sea level rise and intensified storms, the risks of such development are now higher than ever. With this decision, we now have a tool for reducing risks to both wildlife and people," said Kostyack.
The biological opinion documents the ways in which FEMA's flood program encourages development within the floodplain area.
Because most private insurers refuse to insure floodplain homes, FEMA's insurance program allows development to occur where it otherwise would not.
In addition, FEMA's minimum development standards for floodplain construction currently fail to include environmental standards.
"Even where flood risk is well established (for example, in Lewis County on the Chehalis River), the National Flood Insurance Program’s current implementation does not significantly restrict floodplain development or encourage the preservation of floodplain natural and beneficial values," the biological opinion states.
It points out that the City of Chehalis has nine percent of its Urban Growth Area in mapped floodplain, and Centralia has 21 percent of its Urban Growth Area in mapped floodplain.
"Development within the floodplain results in stream channelization, habitat instability, vegetation removal, and point and nonpoint source pollution (NMFS 1996) all of which contribute to degraded salmon habitat," according to the biological opinion.
By insuring development in floodplain areas, the National Marine Fisheries Service determined that the program was jeopardizing the survival of Puget Sound chinook, Puget Sound steelhead, and Hood Canal summer-run chum salmon, and adversely modifying their designated critical habitat in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
It also found that by reducing the prey base for Southern Resident orcas, also called killer whales, it jeopardized them as well.
The biological openion warns that implementation of the FEMA program in Puget Sound could result in a 30 percent reduction of chinook salmon in Puget Sound - the orcas' favored food source - in the years ahead.
Puget Sound was once inhabited by at least 37 populations of Chinook salmon, but today only 22 remain. The remaining Chinook salmon are at only 10 percent of their historic numbers, with some down lower than one percent of their historic numbers, according to the Puget Sound Partnership, a coalition of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses working together to restore and protect the sound.
As required by the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service set forth an alternative approach for FEMA that would not result in jeopardy to salmon and orcas.
The alternative includes new requirements that development within the floodplain and riparian buffer area be either prohibited or that its impacts to the stream be completely mitigated.
Any development in these sensitive areas should be required to use "low impact development." This type of development specifies protection of native vegetation, pervious concretes that allow rain to flow through to the ground, narrow footprints, and rain gardens to absorb stormwater runoff.
Last month, the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board declared that low impact development was both more effective than traditional stormwater controls like detention ponds, and cheaper to implement.
"Americans are getting tired of paying to rebuild flooded homes in places that should be left alone," said Jan Hasselman, an attorney with the public interest law firm Earthjustice who argued the 2004 lawsuit against FEMA.
"The good news today is the federal agency scientists have stepped in on behalf of both American taxpayers and its wildlife and said no to building in flood-prone areas," Hasselman said. "We think this is just plain old common sense."
Click here to read the biological opinion, formally known as the "Endangered Species Act – Section 7 Consultation Final Biological Opinion And Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Consultation Implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program in the State of Washington Phase One Document – Puget Sound Region."
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