A SCHOOL of five or six killer whales was sighted in Yell Sound, Shetland by an inter island ferry crew yesterday (Wednesday).
Sightings of the sea mammals have become quite common around the isles in recent years, but more so during the summer months.
Ferry man Iain Nicolson, who saw the females and their offspring at about 2.50pm when crossing the sound, said it was the first time he had seen them in February.
They were swimming away from the ferry and Mr Nicolson was unsure which direction they were heading in, as his vessel the Daggri had to stick to its normal route from Ulsta, on Yell, to Toft on the mainland.
Mr Nicolson said: “They were going out of our route and we are not sure if they went east or south. We lost sight of them. This is the earliest we have ever seen killer whales.”
Source: Shetland Marine News
donderdag 28 februari 2008
dinsdag 26 februari 2008
Endangered killer whales emerging in Monterey Bay
The 65-foot Sea Wolf II and its dozen or so passengers were making their way through the rough waters of the Monterey Bay when something caught their attention.
"We were trying to figure out what was attracting gulls to the area when suddenly we saw splashing off in the distance," says naturalist Roger Wolfe of Soquel, who was among the small crew trying to catch sight of the annual gray whale migration late last month.
But the commotion was not gray whales. The boat had come across an uncommon pod of killer whales. About 40 giant black-and-white predators were 4 miles off Pacific Grove; the crew's resident biologist Nancy Black quickly identified them as "resident" killer whales from Washington and British Colombia.
Less than a week later, the crew would see another 40 resident killer whales, this time a mile off Monterey. Black's still unsure if they were the same individuals, but she is sure the community of killer whales that once remained primarily in the Pacific Northwest is no longer a stranger to points south.
This is the fifth year since 2000, Black says, that these resident killer whales have been spotted in the Monterey Bay, and the sixth year they've been seen in California, a migratory behavior some researchers think the whales have adopted because they're not finding enough salmon, their food of choice, in their native waters.
"They've always been thought to move around in the winter but not as far as California," says Black, one of the state's leading killer whale experts. "If they had been here before, we would have seen them."
The presence of the killer whale this far south has left Black and other researchers wondering what it means for the massive ocean creature, which like many marine creatures is being forced to confront changing conditions to meet its basic needs.
The killer whale, or orca as it's also known, is the largest species of the dolphin family. It can grow up to 30 feet long and weigh as much as 10 tons.
"They're curious creatures, and sometimes come right up to the boat," says Black, who has been observing the animals first-hand for more than 20 years, working at whale-watching outfits like Monterey Bay Whale Watch at Fishermen's Wharf in Monterey and in her free time piloting her own small craft to view them. "But they'd never do anything" to endanger her, she says.
There are several communities of killer whales across the globe, each biologically distinct with its own diet, range and social behavior, and some are regular visitors to the Central Coast. "Transient" killer whales, for example, distinguished by their long ocean passages in small groups and by a diet of exclusively other marine mammals, are known to hunt in the Monterey Canyon.
The resident killer whale, however, brings a different and more dire story line to local waters, researchers say.
The Puget Sound natives, which are believed to feed solely on fish, are an endangered variety, numbering less than 100.
"The question now is are they getting enough to eat," says Howard Garrett, who runs Orca Network, a Greenbank, Wash., non-profit that tracks the killer whales and seeks to raise awareness of their plight. "There are signs that they're not."
Recent sightings reveal what Garrett calls a "peanut head," a depression behind the orca's skull that indicates a lack of blubber - and a possible food shortage.
"They're getting skinny," he says.
Which explains why the resident whales, or at least some of them, have traveled more than 600 miles from the Puget Sound to the Monterey Bay, where they've been spotted at least twice this year, on Jan. 27 and Feb. 2. Their presence in California has been confirmed through photographs sent to Garrett's brother Ken Balcomb, who runs the Center for Whale Research and has been watching the killer whales in Washington for 30 years.
Balcomb's work points to the dwindling population of chinook salmon in the Pacific Northwest as the reason for the killer whale's expanding range.
"If California's proactive effort to recover salmon stocks by setting aside large parcels of ocean as marine reserves prohibiting fishing is successful, the killer whale might just stay there," Balcomb wrote on his Web site recently.
But the chinook population is suffering in California, too. Salmon runs in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which fuel the population in the Monterey Bay and as far south as Santa Barbara and hundreds of miles north, hit a record low this fall.
"These big sea creatures as they go south will find fewer and fewer salmon," says California Fish and Game spokesman Harry Morse.
Researchers are watching closely where the search for food takes the resident killer whales. How a recovery plan for the resident killer whale, finalized last month by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is implemented will, of course, hinge on where the animals travel.
"We can probably do a better job and reach out to California as we learn more about where the whales are going and what is critical habitat," says Lynne Barre, a NOAA marine mammal specialist and one of the architects of the federal recovery plan.
Although there are thousands of killer whales worldwide, Washington's resident whales, which aren't known to interact or breed with other groups, are unique. The whales live in one of three highly social groups centered around older females, who live an average of 50 years but sometimes survive beyond 90, according to the Center for Whale Research. The members communicate through an underwater dialect in which the sounds can travel 10 miles or more, according to the center.
The recovery plan for the killer whales aims to better protect the salmon populations the whales feed on, clean up contaminants in the Puget Sound and perhaps regulate ships whose noises can interfere with communication among whales.
"I'm optimistic," Barre says. "Many of these actions are already being implemented."
Source: Mercurynews.com
"We were trying to figure out what was attracting gulls to the area when suddenly we saw splashing off in the distance," says naturalist Roger Wolfe of Soquel, who was among the small crew trying to catch sight of the annual gray whale migration late last month.
But the commotion was not gray whales. The boat had come across an uncommon pod of killer whales. About 40 giant black-and-white predators were 4 miles off Pacific Grove; the crew's resident biologist Nancy Black quickly identified them as "resident" killer whales from Washington and British Colombia.
Less than a week later, the crew would see another 40 resident killer whales, this time a mile off Monterey. Black's still unsure if they were the same individuals, but she is sure the community of killer whales that once remained primarily in the Pacific Northwest is no longer a stranger to points south.
This is the fifth year since 2000, Black says, that these resident killer whales have been spotted in the Monterey Bay, and the sixth year they've been seen in California, a migratory behavior some researchers think the whales have adopted because they're not finding enough salmon, their food of choice, in their native waters.
"They've always been thought to move around in the winter but not as far as California," says Black, one of the state's leading killer whale experts. "If they had been here before, we would have seen them."
The presence of the killer whale this far south has left Black and other researchers wondering what it means for the massive ocean creature, which like many marine creatures is being forced to confront changing conditions to meet its basic needs.
The killer whale, or orca as it's also known, is the largest species of the dolphin family. It can grow up to 30 feet long and weigh as much as 10 tons.
"They're curious creatures, and sometimes come right up to the boat," says Black, who has been observing the animals first-hand for more than 20 years, working at whale-watching outfits like Monterey Bay Whale Watch at Fishermen's Wharf in Monterey and in her free time piloting her own small craft to view them. "But they'd never do anything" to endanger her, she says.
There are several communities of killer whales across the globe, each biologically distinct with its own diet, range and social behavior, and some are regular visitors to the Central Coast. "Transient" killer whales, for example, distinguished by their long ocean passages in small groups and by a diet of exclusively other marine mammals, are known to hunt in the Monterey Canyon.
The resident killer whale, however, brings a different and more dire story line to local waters, researchers say.
The Puget Sound natives, which are believed to feed solely on fish, are an endangered variety, numbering less than 100.
"The question now is are they getting enough to eat," says Howard Garrett, who runs Orca Network, a Greenbank, Wash., non-profit that tracks the killer whales and seeks to raise awareness of their plight. "There are signs that they're not."
Recent sightings reveal what Garrett calls a "peanut head," a depression behind the orca's skull that indicates a lack of blubber - and a possible food shortage.
"They're getting skinny," he says.
Which explains why the resident whales, or at least some of them, have traveled more than 600 miles from the Puget Sound to the Monterey Bay, where they've been spotted at least twice this year, on Jan. 27 and Feb. 2. Their presence in California has been confirmed through photographs sent to Garrett's brother Ken Balcomb, who runs the Center for Whale Research and has been watching the killer whales in Washington for 30 years.
Balcomb's work points to the dwindling population of chinook salmon in the Pacific Northwest as the reason for the killer whale's expanding range.
"If California's proactive effort to recover salmon stocks by setting aside large parcels of ocean as marine reserves prohibiting fishing is successful, the killer whale might just stay there," Balcomb wrote on his Web site recently.
But the chinook population is suffering in California, too. Salmon runs in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which fuel the population in the Monterey Bay and as far south as Santa Barbara and hundreds of miles north, hit a record low this fall.
"These big sea creatures as they go south will find fewer and fewer salmon," says California Fish and Game spokesman Harry Morse.
Researchers are watching closely where the search for food takes the resident killer whales. How a recovery plan for the resident killer whale, finalized last month by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is implemented will, of course, hinge on where the animals travel.
"We can probably do a better job and reach out to California as we learn more about where the whales are going and what is critical habitat," says Lynne Barre, a NOAA marine mammal specialist and one of the architects of the federal recovery plan.
Although there are thousands of killer whales worldwide, Washington's resident whales, which aren't known to interact or breed with other groups, are unique. The whales live in one of three highly social groups centered around older females, who live an average of 50 years but sometimes survive beyond 90, according to the Center for Whale Research. The members communicate through an underwater dialect in which the sounds can travel 10 miles or more, according to the center.
The recovery plan for the killer whales aims to better protect the salmon populations the whales feed on, clean up contaminants in the Puget Sound and perhaps regulate ships whose noises can interfere with communication among whales.
"I'm optimistic," Barre says. "Many of these actions are already being implemented."
Source: Mercurynews.com
dinsdag 19 februari 2008
Fisheries Department scientist studies killer whales as way to assist humans
VANCOUVER - Toxic chemicals in killer whales and other marine wildlife are a crucial area of scientific study because they provide an important signal about the types of chemicals humans may be exposed to, says a marine scientist.
Peter Ross, a toxicology research scientist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, B.C., has studied the majestic creatures and other wildlife to determine the level of chemicals in their bodies - and the eventual exposure to humans.
"The killer whales are telling us that we have a pollution problem on a global scale," said Ross, who published a scientific paper called Fireproof Killer Whales.
That's primarily because the study, in part, examined the effects of polybrominated didphenyl ethers, a fire retardant chemical (PBDEs) found high up in the food chain.
"Killer whales can give us an amplified signal of the kinds of chemicals that humans might be exposed to," he said. "They can give us an early warning sign."
The problem, Ross has found, is global and comes from two sources: regional, from Canada and the U.S.; and global, from air pollution that emanates in Asia and drifts across to North America.
"We can paint a picture whereby global pollutants are the concern for a long-lived whale at the top of the food chain."
It's also a concern for humans.
"Since we as humans share food webs with killer whales and harbour seals, if the killer whales and seals are telling us something about contamination of those food webs then we as humans can hopefully learn from that," Ross said.
There has been progress in reducing toxic chemicals, said Ross, citing the 2001 Stockholm Convention on "persistent organic pollutants that banned 12 pollutants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, dioxins and others.
Despite the ban, they still turn up in killer whales and other marine mammals, Ross said, adding killer whales won't be free of PCBs in their bodies until the 22nd century.
"Essentially, persistent chemicals, whether PCBs, DDT, dioxins or PBDEs, will amplify in aquatic food webs and end up at high levels at the top of the food chain."
And PBDEs, used in fire retardant chemicals, are a concern because they have been doubling in the environment every 3 1/2 years in fish and harbour seals, said Ross.
"That is troubling because the lesson we learned from PCBs is that they do not go away quickly."
PBDES are used in electronics, automobiles, textiles and many other consumer products.
They give off a gas or deteriorate over time and eventually end up in streams, rivers and the ocean.
Ross cites several reasons why humans should care about pollutants in killer whales and other marine mammals.
Besides having a legal obligation under the Species At Risk Act, he said by acquiring more knowledge, humans can work to reduce or eliminate those chemicals that end up being a problem in killer whales and other wildlife.
Ross remains optimistic that PBDEs and other chemicals can be checked as PCBS were.
"We have seen PCB levels drop by three-fold in killer whales since 1970," he said
Source: The Canadian Press
Peter Ross, a toxicology research scientist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, B.C., has studied the majestic creatures and other wildlife to determine the level of chemicals in their bodies - and the eventual exposure to humans.
"The killer whales are telling us that we have a pollution problem on a global scale," said Ross, who published a scientific paper called Fireproof Killer Whales.
That's primarily because the study, in part, examined the effects of polybrominated didphenyl ethers, a fire retardant chemical (PBDEs) found high up in the food chain.
"Killer whales can give us an amplified signal of the kinds of chemicals that humans might be exposed to," he said. "They can give us an early warning sign."
The problem, Ross has found, is global and comes from two sources: regional, from Canada and the U.S.; and global, from air pollution that emanates in Asia and drifts across to North America.
"We can paint a picture whereby global pollutants are the concern for a long-lived whale at the top of the food chain."
It's also a concern for humans.
"Since we as humans share food webs with killer whales and harbour seals, if the killer whales and seals are telling us something about contamination of those food webs then we as humans can hopefully learn from that," Ross said.
There has been progress in reducing toxic chemicals, said Ross, citing the 2001 Stockholm Convention on "persistent organic pollutants that banned 12 pollutants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, dioxins and others.
Despite the ban, they still turn up in killer whales and other marine mammals, Ross said, adding killer whales won't be free of PCBs in their bodies until the 22nd century.
"Essentially, persistent chemicals, whether PCBs, DDT, dioxins or PBDEs, will amplify in aquatic food webs and end up at high levels at the top of the food chain."
And PBDEs, used in fire retardant chemicals, are a concern because they have been doubling in the environment every 3 1/2 years in fish and harbour seals, said Ross.
"That is troubling because the lesson we learned from PCBs is that they do not go away quickly."
PBDES are used in electronics, automobiles, textiles and many other consumer products.
They give off a gas or deteriorate over time and eventually end up in streams, rivers and the ocean.
Ross cites several reasons why humans should care about pollutants in killer whales and other marine mammals.
Besides having a legal obligation under the Species At Risk Act, he said by acquiring more knowledge, humans can work to reduce or eliminate those chemicals that end up being a problem in killer whales and other wildlife.
Ross remains optimistic that PBDEs and other chemicals can be checked as PCBS were.
"We have seen PCB levels drop by three-fold in killer whales since 1970," he said
Source: The Canadian Press
vrijdag 15 februari 2008
Orca recovery effort: more of the same
A plan to save Puget Sound orcas calls for $50 million spent over 28 years but amounts to doing no more than we're already doing. Meanwhile, no one knows why the orca population is declining, and the only clear culprit is a lack of their favorite food: chinook salmon. A moratorium on chinook fishing may be the only solution.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has come up with a "plan" for the recovery of southern resident killer whales — a.k.a. Puget Sound orcas — but the agency doesn’t really know what the problems are, and it doesn’t really know how to solve them. Is there a kids’ joke that begins, "When is a plan not a plan?"
Yes, it’s "killer" whales. The feds use the K word, even though "killer whales" as a term has been largely abandoned out of political correctness. You rarely hear that phrase these days. We know that people started thinking differently about the animals when they got acquainted with captive Namus and Shamus and their relatives in the 1960s and 70s, and that the whole species got a big public relations boost from the "Free Willy" films in the 1990s. We know that the animals aren’t really whales; they’re big dolphins. But when did everyone start saying "orca"?
The plan released last month calls for spending nearly $50 million over the next 28 years, largely for research, and for improving a variety of the orcas’ living conditions, largely by doing what is already being done. No one seems very enthusiastic about it, but no one seems very upset, either. Presumably, people’s expectations were low.
The fact is, no one really knows exactly why the southern resident killer whale population has declined to its current level of 87 animals — although it seems safe to say that when your favorite food — in this case, Puget Sound chinook salmon — makes the endangered species list, you yourself won’t be far behind.
Beyond declining food stocks, pinpointing a cause for orcas' decline is difficult. Orcas have high levels of PCBs, PBDEs and other toxic chemicals in their bodies. In laboratory tests of rats, very high levels of toxic chemicals have suppressed the animals’ immune systems. Chronic exposure to toxic chemicals at lower levels may suppress the killer whales’ immune systems, making them vulnerable to disease. However, transient killer whales, which eat seals rather than salmon, show higher levels of chemicals but no population decline. Toxic chemicals in body fat can’t be good for the southern resident killer whales, but no one knows what the actual effect has been. Ditto underwater noises from sonar, boat engines, etc., which may interfere with communication and echolocation, and increase the level of stress. The same goes for harassment by whale watching boats.
The 2005 endangered species listing suggested — plausibly — that the population might still be feeling the effects of the pursuit, capture and incidental killing of orcas in the 1960s and 70s — before it was illegal — by people acquiring them for aquariums. The whale catchers took half the population. And it’s not just a question of raw numbers. Long-lived animals with lives shaped by what many people consider a culture might in fact have felt the effects of the captures and incidental killings for a long time. But the whales have probably gotten over it by now, suggests Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research, much as Japan’s society and our own have largely recovered from World War II.
The numbers certainly suggest that whatever the role of chemicals and noise, the food supply is crucial. Puget Sound’s orca population was very low when people started counting in the mid-1970s, rebounded considerably over the next 20 years, but then plummeted 20 percent between 1996 and 2001, which prompted Canada, the state of Washington, and — reluctantly — the United States to list it as endangered. The population drop in the late 1990s coincided with a bad time for chinook salmon.
In Puget Sound, samples taken of fish scales that stick to the orcas after feeding and scat they leave behind suggest that 80 percent of their diet is chinook. Some report seeing them go after chinook further south, but there’s no real scientific evidence. No one really knows what else they eat, or whether their diet varies seasonally. Balcomb notes that if you capture a killer whale and put it in SeaWorld, it will learn to eat ground-up squid, mackerel, and whatever else it’s given. So they are adaptable. On the other hand, whale survival rates do seem to track coastwise rises and falls of chinook populations. In bad salmon years, young killer whales are the members of the population that don’t survive. Balcomb explains that it takes a lot more energy to raise a young whale than to give birth, and if the food supply isn’t there, parents just won’t have that much energy to spare.
Days after the NMFS recovery plan came out, southern resident orcas got some good Seattle press when L pod was photographed in California, off Monterrey Bay. Given that their known range extends from the Queen Charlottes to Monterrey Bay, their presence off the Golden State shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Balcomb says that pods from the southern resident population have turned up off Monterrey Bay for the past eight years. But taking California vacations may be a new habit. In the 1970s and 80s, researchers found at least some of the whales around the San Juans in all twelve months of the year. The whales may have been taking winter trips to California all that time. Moving at 75 miles a day, they could make the round trip in a little over two weeks, so they could conceivably spend part of each month in California and still get back in time to be counted in the San Juans, however unlikely that seems.
At any rate, the appearance of L pod off California should have made clear that saving Puget Sound’s "resident" orcas is not just a Puget Sound problem. It’s all well and good to talk about preserving the entire ecosystem, but what, exactly, is that? How do you define it? For the orcas, it includes roughly 1,000 miles of coast. Fish that spawn in and pollution that flows from not only the Sound and its tributaries, but the rivers of British Columbia’s Inside Passage, the Columbia, the Rogue, the Klamath, and the Sacramento may all have impact on orcas' survival.
The wide scope of the problem is not encouraging. Right around the time L pod arrived off California, Pacific Fishery Management Council Director Donald Mc Isaac announced that California’s Central Valley fall chinook, which spawn primarily in the Sacramento River system, had hit a new population low. The number of returning fish plunged to 90,000 last year, only about one-ninth of the figure five years ago. The federal government already considers them a species of concern — which at least means they’ve been doing better than the Central Valley spring run chinook (threatened) or the Sacramento River winter run chinook (endangered), which were the very first salmon populations on the federal endangered species list.
Chinook from the Klamath River haven’t been doing so well, either. Coastal chinook fishing was curtailed two years ago because of low Klamath River returns. Six years ago, in the fall of 2002, as salmon waited until water in the Klamath River got high enough for them to swim upstream, more than 30,000 chinook salmon died — an unprecedented event on the Klamath — along with more than 300 federally protected coho. The state of California blamed the fish kill on crowding and high temperatures that would not have occurred if the feds had not withdrawn so much water from the river for irrigation.
A National Research Council committee subsequently found no evidence that low water levels had caused the salmon kill. The committee hadn’t seen a NMFS study concluding that it had; the federal government had avoided releasing the NMFS study for half a year. For coho salmon, the committee suggested that water diversions on the tributaries where coho spawn caused most of the problems. For chinook, it recommended getting rid of the Iron Gate Dam, one of seven reclamation project dams on the Klamath. That hasn’t happened yet.
On January 16, Felicity Barringer reported in The New York Times:
Opponents over the future of the Klamath River unveiled a formal agreement on Tuesday to pave the way for removal of four aging hydroelectric dams that re-engineered the watershed and sharply decreased fish stocks. The decades-old disputes between advocates for fish and the farmers who are their historic adversaries appeared to dissolve as almost all of 26 user groups, tribes and governments involved backed a plan to allocate the waters of a dam-free river. But the agreement lacks one vital link: a decision by the dams’ owner, PacifiCorp Power, to agree to their removal.
When the whales turned up off California, Ken Balcomb wrote that the orcas might have gone south because they couldn’t find enough salmon closer to home. Critics have pointed out that the current harvest plan for Puget Sound salmon reflects too much pressure from user groups — non-tribal commercial and sport-fishing interests plus the treaty tribes — to let human beings catch too many fish. Wild Fish Conservancy executive director Kurt Beardslee notes that the plan enshrines "adaptive management" but contains no trigger and no direction for changing course in the middle of a fishing season. And he says that lip service aside, it doesn’t leave enough salmon for the killer whales. Killer moniker aside, even an orca isn’t a perfectly efficient eating machine — salmon hide in the kelp or among the rocks, or make it safely into the mouths of rivers instead of predators. In order for orcas to catch x number of fish, there must be two or three times that number available at the feeding grounds.
Balcomb has suggested a moratorium on salmon fishing. His essay, quoted in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, suggested that a moratorium might be the only way to save the chinook. He knows that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. The people at the table making fishery policy are, by and large, people who make money by catching fish. He believes that "the stakeholder concept hasn’t worked." Fisheries are managed for the benefit of human fishers. He thinks that if society is serious about saving killer whales, it will put them first in line. "If I succeed in anything," Balcomb says, "what I would like the public to do is become the advocate for wildlife being the first user on the list."
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has come up with a "plan" for the recovery of southern resident killer whales — a.k.a. Puget Sound orcas — but the agency doesn’t really know what the problems are, and it doesn’t really know how to solve them. Is there a kids’ joke that begins, "When is a plan not a plan?"
Yes, it’s "killer" whales. The feds use the K word, even though "killer whales" as a term has been largely abandoned out of political correctness. You rarely hear that phrase these days. We know that people started thinking differently about the animals when they got acquainted with captive Namus and Shamus and their relatives in the 1960s and 70s, and that the whole species got a big public relations boost from the "Free Willy" films in the 1990s. We know that the animals aren’t really whales; they’re big dolphins. But when did everyone start saying "orca"?
The plan released last month calls for spending nearly $50 million over the next 28 years, largely for research, and for improving a variety of the orcas’ living conditions, largely by doing what is already being done. No one seems very enthusiastic about it, but no one seems very upset, either. Presumably, people’s expectations were low.
The fact is, no one really knows exactly why the southern resident killer whale population has declined to its current level of 87 animals — although it seems safe to say that when your favorite food — in this case, Puget Sound chinook salmon — makes the endangered species list, you yourself won’t be far behind.
Beyond declining food stocks, pinpointing a cause for orcas' decline is difficult. Orcas have high levels of PCBs, PBDEs and other toxic chemicals in their bodies. In laboratory tests of rats, very high levels of toxic chemicals have suppressed the animals’ immune systems. Chronic exposure to toxic chemicals at lower levels may suppress the killer whales’ immune systems, making them vulnerable to disease. However, transient killer whales, which eat seals rather than salmon, show higher levels of chemicals but no population decline. Toxic chemicals in body fat can’t be good for the southern resident killer whales, but no one knows what the actual effect has been. Ditto underwater noises from sonar, boat engines, etc., which may interfere with communication and echolocation, and increase the level of stress. The same goes for harassment by whale watching boats.
The 2005 endangered species listing suggested — plausibly — that the population might still be feeling the effects of the pursuit, capture and incidental killing of orcas in the 1960s and 70s — before it was illegal — by people acquiring them for aquariums. The whale catchers took half the population. And it’s not just a question of raw numbers. Long-lived animals with lives shaped by what many people consider a culture might in fact have felt the effects of the captures and incidental killings for a long time. But the whales have probably gotten over it by now, suggests Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research, much as Japan’s society and our own have largely recovered from World War II.
The numbers certainly suggest that whatever the role of chemicals and noise, the food supply is crucial. Puget Sound’s orca population was very low when people started counting in the mid-1970s, rebounded considerably over the next 20 years, but then plummeted 20 percent between 1996 and 2001, which prompted Canada, the state of Washington, and — reluctantly — the United States to list it as endangered. The population drop in the late 1990s coincided with a bad time for chinook salmon.
In Puget Sound, samples taken of fish scales that stick to the orcas after feeding and scat they leave behind suggest that 80 percent of their diet is chinook. Some report seeing them go after chinook further south, but there’s no real scientific evidence. No one really knows what else they eat, or whether their diet varies seasonally. Balcomb notes that if you capture a killer whale and put it in SeaWorld, it will learn to eat ground-up squid, mackerel, and whatever else it’s given. So they are adaptable. On the other hand, whale survival rates do seem to track coastwise rises and falls of chinook populations. In bad salmon years, young killer whales are the members of the population that don’t survive. Balcomb explains that it takes a lot more energy to raise a young whale than to give birth, and if the food supply isn’t there, parents just won’t have that much energy to spare.
Days after the NMFS recovery plan came out, southern resident orcas got some good Seattle press when L pod was photographed in California, off Monterrey Bay. Given that their known range extends from the Queen Charlottes to Monterrey Bay, their presence off the Golden State shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Balcomb says that pods from the southern resident population have turned up off Monterrey Bay for the past eight years. But taking California vacations may be a new habit. In the 1970s and 80s, researchers found at least some of the whales around the San Juans in all twelve months of the year. The whales may have been taking winter trips to California all that time. Moving at 75 miles a day, they could make the round trip in a little over two weeks, so they could conceivably spend part of each month in California and still get back in time to be counted in the San Juans, however unlikely that seems.
At any rate, the appearance of L pod off California should have made clear that saving Puget Sound’s "resident" orcas is not just a Puget Sound problem. It’s all well and good to talk about preserving the entire ecosystem, but what, exactly, is that? How do you define it? For the orcas, it includes roughly 1,000 miles of coast. Fish that spawn in and pollution that flows from not only the Sound and its tributaries, but the rivers of British Columbia’s Inside Passage, the Columbia, the Rogue, the Klamath, and the Sacramento may all have impact on orcas' survival.
The wide scope of the problem is not encouraging. Right around the time L pod arrived off California, Pacific Fishery Management Council Director Donald Mc Isaac announced that California’s Central Valley fall chinook, which spawn primarily in the Sacramento River system, had hit a new population low. The number of returning fish plunged to 90,000 last year, only about one-ninth of the figure five years ago. The federal government already considers them a species of concern — which at least means they’ve been doing better than the Central Valley spring run chinook (threatened) or the Sacramento River winter run chinook (endangered), which were the very first salmon populations on the federal endangered species list.
Chinook from the Klamath River haven’t been doing so well, either. Coastal chinook fishing was curtailed two years ago because of low Klamath River returns. Six years ago, in the fall of 2002, as salmon waited until water in the Klamath River got high enough for them to swim upstream, more than 30,000 chinook salmon died — an unprecedented event on the Klamath — along with more than 300 federally protected coho. The state of California blamed the fish kill on crowding and high temperatures that would not have occurred if the feds had not withdrawn so much water from the river for irrigation.
A National Research Council committee subsequently found no evidence that low water levels had caused the salmon kill. The committee hadn’t seen a NMFS study concluding that it had; the federal government had avoided releasing the NMFS study for half a year. For coho salmon, the committee suggested that water diversions on the tributaries where coho spawn caused most of the problems. For chinook, it recommended getting rid of the Iron Gate Dam, one of seven reclamation project dams on the Klamath. That hasn’t happened yet.
On January 16, Felicity Barringer reported in The New York Times:
Opponents over the future of the Klamath River unveiled a formal agreement on Tuesday to pave the way for removal of four aging hydroelectric dams that re-engineered the watershed and sharply decreased fish stocks. The decades-old disputes between advocates for fish and the farmers who are their historic adversaries appeared to dissolve as almost all of 26 user groups, tribes and governments involved backed a plan to allocate the waters of a dam-free river. But the agreement lacks one vital link: a decision by the dams’ owner, PacifiCorp Power, to agree to their removal.
When the whales turned up off California, Ken Balcomb wrote that the orcas might have gone south because they couldn’t find enough salmon closer to home. Critics have pointed out that the current harvest plan for Puget Sound salmon reflects too much pressure from user groups — non-tribal commercial and sport-fishing interests plus the treaty tribes — to let human beings catch too many fish. Wild Fish Conservancy executive director Kurt Beardslee notes that the plan enshrines "adaptive management" but contains no trigger and no direction for changing course in the middle of a fishing season. And he says that lip service aside, it doesn’t leave enough salmon for the killer whales. Killer moniker aside, even an orca isn’t a perfectly efficient eating machine — salmon hide in the kelp or among the rocks, or make it safely into the mouths of rivers instead of predators. In order for orcas to catch x number of fish, there must be two or three times that number available at the feeding grounds.
Balcomb has suggested a moratorium on salmon fishing. His essay, quoted in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, suggested that a moratorium might be the only way to save the chinook. He knows that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. The people at the table making fishery policy are, by and large, people who make money by catching fish. He believes that "the stakeholder concept hasn’t worked." Fisheries are managed for the benefit of human fishers. He thinks that if society is serious about saving killer whales, it will put them first in line. "If I succeed in anything," Balcomb says, "what I would like the public to do is become the advocate for wildlife being the first user on the list."
maandag 11 februari 2008
Vehicles that fell into ocean at Robson Bight are intact, video shows
Fuel truck, ambulance, logging equipment went into water when barge tipped at Robson Bight ecological reserve
Judith Lavoie, Victoria Times Colonist
Published: Monday, February 11, 2008
Video footage from 350 metres below the ocean surface shows pieces of logging equipment, including a fuel truck, sitting on the bottom of Robson Bight almost intact.
The remarkably clear pictures, which show dents, but, no holes in the fuel truck and an octopus perched on top of an ambulance, were taken in December by Nuytco Research Ltd., the North Vancouver company contracted by the provincial and federal governments to look at the site where a barge tipped 11 pieces of equipment into the Robson Bight ecological reserve in August.
The equipment, belonging to Ted LeRoy Trucking of Chemainus, contained an estimated total of 19,000 litres of petroleum, some of which immediately started leaking into the famed killer whale habitat, where threatened northern resident killer whales rub themselves on pebble beaches.
Although immediately after the accident experts said the equipment had almost certainly imploded, the video shows only two pieces are badly damaged.
Environment Ministry spokesman Kate Thompson said the province and the Canadian Coast Guard will ask technical experts to provide a more detailed analysis of the equipment - especially the tanker which contained 10,000 litres of fuel - assess the risks and look at options.
Environment Canada will look at the potential effects if more fuel starts leaking, she said.
"We don't know how long that is going to take," Thompson said.
"It's very early days. We just wanted to make sure people know what we are dealing with," she said.
As it appears no fuel is currently leaking, it gives a window to do a thorough investigation, she said.
Jennifer Lash of the Living Oceans Society said it is good news that no fuel is currently coming to the surface, but, the bad news is that a fuel truck is sitting on the bottom of Robson Bight corroding and waiting to leak fuel.
"They can't spend weeks and months trying to work out a plan, they need to take action quite quickly," she said.
Lash believes it is possible to bring the equipment to the surface, but such an operation will be extremely expensive.
"Will they let the dollar value stand in the way of protecting critical whale habitat?" she asked.
"I remain optimistic that they will take the right step and remove that equipment. They can't leave it down there with the potential of destroying the habitat of killer whales."
A wrinkle is who will pay the cost of the clean up.
Although B.C. has legislation in place saying the polluter is responsible, Ted LeRoy Trucking has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Watch the video here
Source: Time Colonist
Judith Lavoie, Victoria Times Colonist
Published: Monday, February 11, 2008
Video footage from 350 metres below the ocean surface shows pieces of logging equipment, including a fuel truck, sitting on the bottom of Robson Bight almost intact.
The remarkably clear pictures, which show dents, but, no holes in the fuel truck and an octopus perched on top of an ambulance, were taken in December by Nuytco Research Ltd., the North Vancouver company contracted by the provincial and federal governments to look at the site where a barge tipped 11 pieces of equipment into the Robson Bight ecological reserve in August.
The equipment, belonging to Ted LeRoy Trucking of Chemainus, contained an estimated total of 19,000 litres of petroleum, some of which immediately started leaking into the famed killer whale habitat, where threatened northern resident killer whales rub themselves on pebble beaches.
Although immediately after the accident experts said the equipment had almost certainly imploded, the video shows only two pieces are badly damaged.
Environment Ministry spokesman Kate Thompson said the province and the Canadian Coast Guard will ask technical experts to provide a more detailed analysis of the equipment - especially the tanker which contained 10,000 litres of fuel - assess the risks and look at options.
Environment Canada will look at the potential effects if more fuel starts leaking, she said.
"We don't know how long that is going to take," Thompson said.
"It's very early days. We just wanted to make sure people know what we are dealing with," she said.
As it appears no fuel is currently leaking, it gives a window to do a thorough investigation, she said.
Jennifer Lash of the Living Oceans Society said it is good news that no fuel is currently coming to the surface, but, the bad news is that a fuel truck is sitting on the bottom of Robson Bight corroding and waiting to leak fuel.
"They can't spend weeks and months trying to work out a plan, they need to take action quite quickly," she said.
Lash believes it is possible to bring the equipment to the surface, but such an operation will be extremely expensive.
"Will they let the dollar value stand in the way of protecting critical whale habitat?" she asked.
"I remain optimistic that they will take the right step and remove that equipment. They can't leave it down there with the potential of destroying the habitat of killer whales."
A wrinkle is who will pay the cost of the clean up.
Although B.C. has legislation in place saying the polluter is responsible, Ted LeRoy Trucking has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Watch the video here
Source: Time Colonist
zondag 10 februari 2008
Killer whales loaded with fire retardant
PBDEs can disrupt reproductive and immune systems, researcher says
Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008
They wow tourists and remind people of the mysteries and majesty of the ocean, but killer whales swimming around the waters of Vancouver Island are the most contaminated animals on Earth.
Information, which is slowly and painstakingly being gathered about the whales that live along the coast of North America, reveals alarming trends and offers a graphic illustration of looming environmental problems.
Blubber studies on the two salmon-eating populations of resident killer whales -- the endangered southern residents with 88 members and the threatened northern residents with 230 members -- have found a significant buildup of toxins in their systems
Furthermore, the studies also discovered the chemicals remain in their systems long after the chemicals themselves, such as PCBs, have been removed from the environment.
A growing concern is the rapid buildup of PBDEs, the chemicals found in fire retardants, says Peter Ross, toxicology research scientist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney.
"This is a major concern, a major emerging issue," he said.
PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) can disrupt the endocrine system, affecting both the reproductive and immune systems.
Ross, who published a scientific paper entitled "Fireproof killer whales" believes there is overwhelming evidence to justify the ban of those chemicals in Canada.
Two varieties of the chemical have been withdrawn from North American and European markets, but a third variety, deca-PBDE, is still in use.
If nothing is done to curb it, PBDEs are poised to surpass PCBs as the predominant chemical in killer whales by 2025, according to research.
And the legacy of PCBs is still haunting the oceans.
PCBs were banned in 1977, but Ross and his fellow sci-entists predict they will not be expunged from the bodies of the southern resident whales until 2089.
Whale contamination illustrates how ignorant people are about effect of the thousands of chemicals being dumped in the ocean, Ross said.
"It's not very reassuring for humans to find high levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in animals at the top of the food chain. We would be unwise to ignore what we are seeing," he said.
Killer whales illustrate the shortcomings of traditional science and research, which is geared to small animals, living short lives within a limited area, Ross said.
Whale researcher Paul Spong, of OrcaLab on Hanson Island, has his toxic nightmares about oil.
Last year a barge spilled its load, including a fuel truck, into Robson Bight, smack in the middle of prime whale territory, but that is nothing compared to what could happen if the provincial and federal governments allow offshore oil and gas exploration, Spong said.
"It potentially poses huge problems for cetaceans and other marine life," he said.
Source: Time Colonist
Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008
They wow tourists and remind people of the mysteries and majesty of the ocean, but killer whales swimming around the waters of Vancouver Island are the most contaminated animals on Earth.
Information, which is slowly and painstakingly being gathered about the whales that live along the coast of North America, reveals alarming trends and offers a graphic illustration of looming environmental problems.
Blubber studies on the two salmon-eating populations of resident killer whales -- the endangered southern residents with 88 members and the threatened northern residents with 230 members -- have found a significant buildup of toxins in their systems
Furthermore, the studies also discovered the chemicals remain in their systems long after the chemicals themselves, such as PCBs, have been removed from the environment.
A growing concern is the rapid buildup of PBDEs, the chemicals found in fire retardants, says Peter Ross, toxicology research scientist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney.
"This is a major concern, a major emerging issue," he said.
PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) can disrupt the endocrine system, affecting both the reproductive and immune systems.
Ross, who published a scientific paper entitled "Fireproof killer whales" believes there is overwhelming evidence to justify the ban of those chemicals in Canada.
Two varieties of the chemical have been withdrawn from North American and European markets, but a third variety, deca-PBDE, is still in use.
If nothing is done to curb it, PBDEs are poised to surpass PCBs as the predominant chemical in killer whales by 2025, according to research.
And the legacy of PCBs is still haunting the oceans.
PCBs were banned in 1977, but Ross and his fellow sci-entists predict they will not be expunged from the bodies of the southern resident whales until 2089.
Whale contamination illustrates how ignorant people are about effect of the thousands of chemicals being dumped in the ocean, Ross said.
"It's not very reassuring for humans to find high levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in animals at the top of the food chain. We would be unwise to ignore what we are seeing," he said.
Killer whales illustrate the shortcomings of traditional science and research, which is geared to small animals, living short lives within a limited area, Ross said.
Whale researcher Paul Spong, of OrcaLab on Hanson Island, has his toxic nightmares about oil.
Last year a barge spilled its load, including a fuel truck, into Robson Bight, smack in the middle of prime whale territory, but that is nothing compared to what could happen if the provincial and federal governments allow offshore oil and gas exploration, Spong said.
"It potentially poses huge problems for cetaceans and other marine life," he said.
Source: Time Colonist
The mystery of whales
Judith Lavoie, Victoria Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008
The most startling fact about the whales that swim in the waters around Vancouver Island is the lack of facts.
They're big, beautiful and infinitely appealing, but, even scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying marine mammals, readily admit they know remarkably little about them.
Out there, somewhere in the depths, are killer, grey, sperm, minke, blue, fin, sei, North Pacific right, beaked and humpback whales
At least, we think they're out there, but, for many species, population numbers are simply guesstimates.
Some types of beaked whales have never been seen alive in B.C.waters and the only clue to their existence are the washed-up carcasses, said John Ford, Department of Fisheries and Oceans marine mammal scientist at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, one of Canada's top whale authorities.
The seis are supposed to be out there, but there have been no confirmed sightings in B.C. waters since whaling ended in 1967.
The last North Pacific right whale seen off the coast of B.C. was killed in 1951 at the Coal Harbour whaling station on northern Vancouver Island and, although they have been seen in the Bering Sea in late summer, the total population is believed to be fewer than 100.
There were celebrations last summer when a DFO deep sea survey saw five blue whales, including a calf and the sightings spurred hopes that they might recolonize B.C. waters. But, with threats ranging from pollution and noise to food shortages and climate change - who knows?
Exceptions to the knowledge void are the four populations of killer whales which have been the subject of intense study since the early 1970s, largely because of the foresight of researchers such as Ford, Michael Bigg, Graeme Ellis and Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, who compiled a photographic record of every whale.
"As soon as you know any animal species on an individual level, it's extremely powerful," said Ellis, research technician with the marine mammal group at the Pacific Biological Station.
"We have known 85 per cent of the population of [resident] killer whales since birth."
But, even with the endangered southern resident killer whales, there are gaping holes in knowledge, such as where the whales spend their winters.
"We have studied orcas for 30 years and still have a really basic level of knowledge," said whale researcher Helena Symonds of OrcaLab on Hanson Island.
After whaling ended, live captures in the late 1960s and 1970s sent killer whale populations into a nosedive, and no one took responsibility for whale research.
"Little effort was put into managing or assessing populations of large whales until the Species at Risk Act (SARA) came along," Ford said.
Source: Time Colonist
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008
The most startling fact about the whales that swim in the waters around Vancouver Island is the lack of facts.
They're big, beautiful and infinitely appealing, but, even scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying marine mammals, readily admit they know remarkably little about them.
Out there, somewhere in the depths, are killer, grey, sperm, minke, blue, fin, sei, North Pacific right, beaked and humpback whales
At least, we think they're out there, but, for many species, population numbers are simply guesstimates.
Some types of beaked whales have never been seen alive in B.C.waters and the only clue to their existence are the washed-up carcasses, said John Ford, Department of Fisheries and Oceans marine mammal scientist at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, one of Canada's top whale authorities.
The seis are supposed to be out there, but there have been no confirmed sightings in B.C. waters since whaling ended in 1967.
The last North Pacific right whale seen off the coast of B.C. was killed in 1951 at the Coal Harbour whaling station on northern Vancouver Island and, although they have been seen in the Bering Sea in late summer, the total population is believed to be fewer than 100.
There were celebrations last summer when a DFO deep sea survey saw five blue whales, including a calf and the sightings spurred hopes that they might recolonize B.C. waters. But, with threats ranging from pollution and noise to food shortages and climate change - who knows?
Exceptions to the knowledge void are the four populations of killer whales which have been the subject of intense study since the early 1970s, largely because of the foresight of researchers such as Ford, Michael Bigg, Graeme Ellis and Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, who compiled a photographic record of every whale.
"As soon as you know any animal species on an individual level, it's extremely powerful," said Ellis, research technician with the marine mammal group at the Pacific Biological Station.
"We have known 85 per cent of the population of [resident] killer whales since birth."
But, even with the endangered southern resident killer whales, there are gaping holes in knowledge, such as where the whales spend their winters.
"We have studied orcas for 30 years and still have a really basic level of knowledge," said whale researcher Helena Symonds of OrcaLab on Hanson Island.
After whaling ended, live captures in the late 1960s and 1970s sent killer whale populations into a nosedive, and no one took responsibility for whale research.
"Little effort was put into managing or assessing populations of large whales until the Species at Risk Act (SARA) came along," Ford said.
Source: Time Colonist
Killer whales
Victoria Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008
The striking black and white markings of killer whales can bring small boats and whale-watching vessels flocking and make B.C. Ferries passengers run for the rail.
The best known whales around Vancouver Island are the salmon-eating resident killer whales.
Endangered southern residents have 88 members in three pods - 43 in L Pod (not including Lolita, an L Pod whale who has been at Miami Seaquarium since her capture in 1972), 26 in J Pod and 19 in K Pod.
Threatened northern residents have 230 whales in 16 pods, not including Corky who was captured in 1969 and is at Sea World in California.
Major threats to resident orcas are environmental contamination, dwindling supplies of salmon and noise.
Transient killer whales, which eat marine mammals, number about 220 and are also federally designated as threatened. Transients often travel alone, but do band together only to hunt.
In the late 1980s, scientists discovered a population of offshore orcas, which may be the ancestors of the northern and southern residents.
Although little is known about them, more than 250 have been identified and it is believed the number could be considerably higher. They are designated as being of special concern.
Offshores travel in large groups and are believed to be fish-eating.
Southern residents are commonly seen in Juan de Fuca Strait, Haro Strait around the San Juan Islands and along the west coast of Vancouver Island, Washington and Oregon from April to November. J Pod often stays around for the winter.
In winter, southern residents have been reported as far south as Monterey Bay in California and as far north as the Queen Charlotte Islands. Otherwise, little is known about their winter movements.
Northern residents spend much of the summer and fall around Campbell River, Alberni Inlet, Johnstone Strait, up to Dixon Entrance and into southern Queen Charlotte Strait. However, they have been seen as far south as Grays Harbor, Washington and as far north as Glacier Bay, Alaska.
Little is known about their winter and spring movements, but they may spend time in the deep water past the continental shelf.
Transients are found on the coast year round, but their movements are unpredictable. Transients can range up to 1,500 kilometres along the coast from Alaska to California. These killer whales spend most of their time in open waters and do not usually come close to shore.
Killer whales, which grow to about nine metres in length, and are really a large dolphin, are found in every ocean, but it is not known how many exist worldwide.
Source: Time Colonist
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008
The striking black and white markings of killer whales can bring small boats and whale-watching vessels flocking and make B.C. Ferries passengers run for the rail.
The best known whales around Vancouver Island are the salmon-eating resident killer whales.
Endangered southern residents have 88 members in three pods - 43 in L Pod (not including Lolita, an L Pod whale who has been at Miami Seaquarium since her capture in 1972), 26 in J Pod and 19 in K Pod.
Threatened northern residents have 230 whales in 16 pods, not including Corky who was captured in 1969 and is at Sea World in California.
Major threats to resident orcas are environmental contamination, dwindling supplies of salmon and noise.
Transient killer whales, which eat marine mammals, number about 220 and are also federally designated as threatened. Transients often travel alone, but do band together only to hunt.
In the late 1980s, scientists discovered a population of offshore orcas, which may be the ancestors of the northern and southern residents.
Although little is known about them, more than 250 have been identified and it is believed the number could be considerably higher. They are designated as being of special concern.
Offshores travel in large groups and are believed to be fish-eating.
Southern residents are commonly seen in Juan de Fuca Strait, Haro Strait around the San Juan Islands and along the west coast of Vancouver Island, Washington and Oregon from April to November. J Pod often stays around for the winter.
In winter, southern residents have been reported as far south as Monterey Bay in California and as far north as the Queen Charlotte Islands. Otherwise, little is known about their winter movements.
Northern residents spend much of the summer and fall around Campbell River, Alberni Inlet, Johnstone Strait, up to Dixon Entrance and into southern Queen Charlotte Strait. However, they have been seen as far south as Grays Harbor, Washington and as far north as Glacier Bay, Alaska.
Little is known about their winter and spring movements, but they may spend time in the deep water past the continental shelf.
Transients are found on the coast year round, but their movements are unpredictable. Transients can range up to 1,500 kilometres along the coast from Alaska to California. These killer whales spend most of their time in open waters and do not usually come close to shore.
Killer whales, which grow to about nine metres in length, and are really a large dolphin, are found in every ocean, but it is not known how many exist worldwide.
Source: Time Colonist
zondag 3 februari 2008
Orca Pods: Seeking salmon
Good times on one visit can lead a family to annual California trips. But there's something very worrisome about the new travel habit of the local orcas' L pod.
Scientist Ken Balcomb suggests the most likely explanation is that shortages of salmon in Washington have led to the sixth straight year of California travel. Since the federal government has just proposed a recovery plan for the imperiled orcas, that is a sign of the challenges ahead for a species emblematic of the Northwest.
As a recent story noted, Canadian research has shown a strong correlation between orca death rates and drops in chinook runs. It turns out chinook salmon runs in California are plunging dramatically. While the orcas may settle for other food sources there, the development is one more reason to concentrate aggressively on doing everything possible to restore their food sources here, along with improving the overall health of Puget Sound.
The federal plan envisions a 20-year effort at a cost of about $50 million. We fear that environmental groups will be proved right in suggesting the plan lacks ambition in goals and strategies. But we certainly see good points, including the federal call for the permanent stationing of a rescue tug to prevent oil spills near the coast and for reductions in pollution from stormwater systems.
Fortunately, the state has embarked on the aggressive Puget Sound Partnership effort to reverse the deteriorating quality of inland waters. The orcas' wide-ranging travels for food underline the challenges for them and for people.
Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer
Scientist Ken Balcomb suggests the most likely explanation is that shortages of salmon in Washington have led to the sixth straight year of California travel. Since the federal government has just proposed a recovery plan for the imperiled orcas, that is a sign of the challenges ahead for a species emblematic of the Northwest.
As a recent story noted, Canadian research has shown a strong correlation between orca death rates and drops in chinook runs. It turns out chinook salmon runs in California are plunging dramatically. While the orcas may settle for other food sources there, the development is one more reason to concentrate aggressively on doing everything possible to restore their food sources here, along with improving the overall health of Puget Sound.
The federal plan envisions a 20-year effort at a cost of about $50 million. We fear that environmental groups will be proved right in suggesting the plan lacks ambition in goals and strategies. But we certainly see good points, including the federal call for the permanent stationing of a rescue tug to prevent oil spills near the coast and for reductions in pollution from stormwater systems.
Fortunately, the state has embarked on the aggressive Puget Sound Partnership effort to reverse the deteriorating quality of inland waters. The orcas' wide-ranging travels for food underline the challenges for them and for people.
Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer
Killer whales delight crowd with harbour antics at Bluff
A pod of about eight killer whales was the star attraction in Bluff last night, drawing crowds to Bluff's Marine Pde to watch the graceful mammals make what has been described as a rare appearance.
The Southland Times last reported sightings of orcas in the harbour in December 2006, but this time it was a smaller and not as adventurous group — only venturing around the harbour entrance.
Bluff man Morrell McKenzie, his wife Jane, their three children and several friends were among the lucky few able to get up close and personal to the orcas.
"That was awesome," Mr McKenzie said once back on shore.
Mrs McKenzie said they were sitting at home when they saw the Stewart Island ferry returning to Bluff about 7.30pm. It was travelling quite slowly. Then they saw why — there were orcas swimming next to it.
The family launched their boat to get a better glimpse. They didn't have to go far; the orcas had swum towards the end of the Tiwai wharf.
They ranged in size. There were a couple of "babies", but the largest adult would have been longer than his 4.5m boat, Mr McKenzie said.
Mr McKenzie has lived in Bluff all his life and cannot recall seeing orcas so close to the inner harbour before.
Neither had Neil Sutherland, who was able to get an even closer view of the pod than the McKenzies.
Mr Sutherland had been out in his kayak earlier in the evening, but soon after coming ashore he set out again for an unforgettable experience.
"It's the first time I've ever seen whales in the harbour. I've never seen them before in my 52 years (living in Bluff)." Mr Sutherland said he was so close at one stage that when one of the animals surfaced he was sprayed with water from its blowhole.
While he had the nearest encounter of all last night, Mr Sutherland said he was cautious not to venture too close.
Those not able to get so close were still excited about the experience.
Israeli tourist Asaf Azachi said he and his friend came across the scene by accident. "We were just driving along the road and saw all the cars (parked up)." It was a great experience, he said.
Donna Anderson agreed. She had travelled to Bluff from Invercargill with her husband and their three boys after a friend called to tell them of the orcas.
"It's great to see," Mrs Anderson said. "It's not very often that we can say that we've seen them." Her 8-year-old son Kyle said he could see one of the orca's eyes.
"And that's how I knew it was a killer whale," he said.
The orca is the largest member of the dolphin family. About 150 to 200 of the species make regular laps around New Zealand.
Source: The Southland Times
The Southland Times last reported sightings of orcas in the harbour in December 2006, but this time it was a smaller and not as adventurous group — only venturing around the harbour entrance.
Bluff man Morrell McKenzie, his wife Jane, their three children and several friends were among the lucky few able to get up close and personal to the orcas.
"That was awesome," Mr McKenzie said once back on shore.
Mrs McKenzie said they were sitting at home when they saw the Stewart Island ferry returning to Bluff about 7.30pm. It was travelling quite slowly. Then they saw why — there were orcas swimming next to it.
The family launched their boat to get a better glimpse. They didn't have to go far; the orcas had swum towards the end of the Tiwai wharf.
They ranged in size. There were a couple of "babies", but the largest adult would have been longer than his 4.5m boat, Mr McKenzie said.
Mr McKenzie has lived in Bluff all his life and cannot recall seeing orcas so close to the inner harbour before.
Neither had Neil Sutherland, who was able to get an even closer view of the pod than the McKenzies.
Mr Sutherland had been out in his kayak earlier in the evening, but soon after coming ashore he set out again for an unforgettable experience.
"It's the first time I've ever seen whales in the harbour. I've never seen them before in my 52 years (living in Bluff)." Mr Sutherland said he was so close at one stage that when one of the animals surfaced he was sprayed with water from its blowhole.
While he had the nearest encounter of all last night, Mr Sutherland said he was cautious not to venture too close.
Those not able to get so close were still excited about the experience.
Israeli tourist Asaf Azachi said he and his friend came across the scene by accident. "We were just driving along the road and saw all the cars (parked up)." It was a great experience, he said.
Donna Anderson agreed. She had travelled to Bluff from Invercargill with her husband and their three boys after a friend called to tell them of the orcas.
"It's great to see," Mrs Anderson said. "It's not very often that we can say that we've seen them." Her 8-year-old son Kyle said he could see one of the orca's eyes.
"And that's how I knew it was a killer whale," he said.
The orca is the largest member of the dolphin family. About 150 to 200 of the species make regular laps around New Zealand.
Source: The Southland Times
vrijdag 1 februari 2008
Wales becomes popular spot for whales
IT MAY be several thousand miles from their more usual habitat in the Arctic seas, but the West Wales coast could be becoming a popular destination for one of the ocean’s most awe-inspiring creatures.
The orca – or killer whale – was spotted off the coast of Pembrokeshire at least twice last year and joins a growing list of more exotic marine animals to be identified off the Welsh coast.
Dolphins in Cardigan Bay are already well documented, with the area known to some as “Dolphin Coast”, while the less common Risso’s dolphin was seen off Strumble Head near Fishguard on New Year’s Day.
Meanwhile, coastguards and marine experts received numerous reports of a 40ft humpback whale off the Swansea coastline in December. Just days later a dead humpback whale was brought ashore at Port Talbot by coastguards. Elsewhere, large groups of basking sharks were spotted off the Cornish coast during an aerial survey in August.
But experts remain unsure as to what the killer whales are doing in Cardigan Bay. The creatures are found in all oceans and most seas, but generally prefer cooler temperate and polar regions and are particularly concentrated in the north-east Pacific Basin.
Terry Leadbetter, of the Welsh Marine Life Rescue, said, “I haven’t got a clue what they are doing here unless they come for the seal pups, which are rich pickings.
“But they are around quite often and I’ve often heard people say they’ve seen them.”
Cliff Benson, of Sea Trust, said, “It is a sign of the rich marine life we have in the area. Orcas have been seen regularly.
“Two years ago we saw a couple not more than a quarter of a mile off the coast of Fishguard and in November last year we had one off Strumble Head.
“There have been sightings off Ramsey Island, near St Davids, and The Smalls [off St Ann’s Head].
“In June a group of six was seen, including a male with a bent fin, from the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry. They are certainly around on an annual basis.
“If you think about it, if you go in a straight line from parts of the Pembrokeshire coast you’ve got 7,000 miles of Atlantic Ocean until you hit South America, but the seas around here are rich.
“We’ve always had a good seal population of around 7,000 who feed on the fish, of which there are so many.
“Orcas come and go as they please, we don’t necessarily know why they are coming here.
“They probably do a bit of a circuit passing through the Irish Sea following food. It may be that some areas in other parts of the world are being over-fished so they are looking further afield.
“We don’t know if they are coming more often but there are certainly more of us looking.
“I suspect they’ve always been here moving through from one place to another.”
Eight years ago several dead seals began turning up on the Pembrokeshire coast, having been severely attacked, but Mr Leadbetter said recent reports of such injuries were down to natural decomposition and not attacks.
And Mr Benson said there was no evidence of orca attacks on seals or dolphins in the area.
“They have a ferocious reputation but there is no report of a human being attacked in the wild by an orca worldwide,” said Mr Benson.
Source:ic Wales, United Kingdom
The orca – or killer whale – was spotted off the coast of Pembrokeshire at least twice last year and joins a growing list of more exotic marine animals to be identified off the Welsh coast.
Dolphins in Cardigan Bay are already well documented, with the area known to some as “Dolphin Coast”, while the less common Risso’s dolphin was seen off Strumble Head near Fishguard on New Year’s Day.
Meanwhile, coastguards and marine experts received numerous reports of a 40ft humpback whale off the Swansea coastline in December. Just days later a dead humpback whale was brought ashore at Port Talbot by coastguards. Elsewhere, large groups of basking sharks were spotted off the Cornish coast during an aerial survey in August.
But experts remain unsure as to what the killer whales are doing in Cardigan Bay. The creatures are found in all oceans and most seas, but generally prefer cooler temperate and polar regions and are particularly concentrated in the north-east Pacific Basin.
Terry Leadbetter, of the Welsh Marine Life Rescue, said, “I haven’t got a clue what they are doing here unless they come for the seal pups, which are rich pickings.
“But they are around quite often and I’ve often heard people say they’ve seen them.”
Cliff Benson, of Sea Trust, said, “It is a sign of the rich marine life we have in the area. Orcas have been seen regularly.
“Two years ago we saw a couple not more than a quarter of a mile off the coast of Fishguard and in November last year we had one off Strumble Head.
“There have been sightings off Ramsey Island, near St Davids, and The Smalls [off St Ann’s Head].
“In June a group of six was seen, including a male with a bent fin, from the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry. They are certainly around on an annual basis.
“If you think about it, if you go in a straight line from parts of the Pembrokeshire coast you’ve got 7,000 miles of Atlantic Ocean until you hit South America, but the seas around here are rich.
“We’ve always had a good seal population of around 7,000 who feed on the fish, of which there are so many.
“Orcas come and go as they please, we don’t necessarily know why they are coming here.
“They probably do a bit of a circuit passing through the Irish Sea following food. It may be that some areas in other parts of the world are being over-fished so they are looking further afield.
“We don’t know if they are coming more often but there are certainly more of us looking.
“I suspect they’ve always been here moving through from one place to another.”
Eight years ago several dead seals began turning up on the Pembrokeshire coast, having been severely attacked, but Mr Leadbetter said recent reports of such injuries were down to natural decomposition and not attacks.
And Mr Benson said there was no evidence of orca attacks on seals or dolphins in the area.
“They have a ferocious reputation but there is no report of a human being attacked in the wild by an orca worldwide,” said Mr Benson.
Source:ic Wales, United Kingdom
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