Wild Cetacean News

For the safety of the whales: keeping ship traffic under control in Canada’s Arctic Ocean

How Wildlife Conservation Society Canada researchers are working to identify possible collision areas between ships and whales using satellite data

We have all seen those signs about the need to reduce speed in school safety zones: flashing speed indicators, road bumps, lawn signs etc. These measures aren’t deployed around schools randomly. We know these are critical areas where we need to control traffic to keep children safe, so why can’t we do the same for marine life?

For the safety of the whales: keeping ship traffic under control in Canada’s Arctic Ocean
 
Why are these orcas killing sharks and removing their livers?

When sevengill shark carcasses with pectoral tears and missing livers began washing up on the South African coast, questions abounded. Then a marine biologist found something: orca tooth impressions.

When 19 shark carcasses washed up on the beach just outside her home in Cape Town, South Africa, last month, Alison Towner knew right away who had killed them.

The sevengill sharks—predators in their own right—were all found in the same condition: missing their livers, which had been sucked out through a clean tear in their shoulders. The rest of their organs remained intact.

Why are these orcas killing sharks and removing their livers?
 
Humpback whales removed from Australia’s endangered species list

Te Whanganui-a-Tara – After 60 years of being considered endangered, humpback whales have been removed from Australia’s endangered species list.

Population numbers have increased from 1500 to about 40,000.

However, environmental groups are concerned that numbers may plummet again as a result of the ongoing climate crisis.

Humpback whales are protected under New Zealand’s Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Humpback whales removed from Australia's endangered species list | Make Lemonade NZ
 
Mapping Chinook watersheds that feed into the critical habitat of Southern Resident killer whales

Our new map highlights the major Chinook watersheds that are critical for the recovery of both salmon and whales.

Southern Resident killer whales heavily depend on Chinook salmon for their survival and Chinook are heavily dependent on healthy rivers. BC is in an unprecedented wild salmon crisis. While there are several key reasons for the predicament salmon face, one of these drivers includes the loss and destruction of freshwater habitat within their spawning watersheds.

Mapping Chinook watersheds that feed into the critical habitat of Southern Resident killer whales | Raincoast Conservation Foundation
 
This is devastating news...

Recreational Fishing Industry Won’t Slow Down for Right Whales

Proposed, science-backed speed limits could save whales. But boating advocates push back, citing economic impacts.

Along the eastern coast of North America, North Atlantic right whales and boats navigate the same waters, which can get dicey for both. Fully grown, the whales can top out at more than 50 feet and weigh 140,000 pounds. A midsize, 58-foot-long pleasure yacht weighs about 80,000 pounds and can cost more than $1 million. “No mariner wants to collide with a whale,” said retired Coast Guard officer Greg Reilly. “For obvious reasons.”

Still, the North Atlantic right whale is particularly vulnerable to boat strikes. Since 2017, the large whales have been increasingly found dead off the eastern United States and Canada, often after getting hit by a vessel. In response, in 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared an Unusual Mortality Event for the species, which under the Marine Mammal Protection Act “demands immediate response.”

The whales kept dying. By 2021, only an estimated 340 remained. The next year, NOAA Fisheries proposed changes to speed limits that are meant to reduce boat-whale collisions. The proposal would implement a mandatory speed limit of 10 knots in places where whales are spotted, and, for the first time, impose speed restrictions on many recreational and commercial fishing boats.

There is strong science documenting the plight of the right whales and the connection between boat speed and deadly collisions. But opposition from industry groups and fishing advocates, as well as potential difficulties with implementation and enforcement, may stall the new rules — if they get approved at all.

Recreational Fishing Industry Won’t Slow Down for Right Whales
 
Top French court orders closure of fisheries amid mass dolphin deaths
  • France’s Council of State has ordered the closure of certain fisheries during specific times of the year in a bid to lower the rising number of dolphin deaths.
  • A separate European Commission-ordered phaseout of non-selective fishing methods, including bottom trawling, could further help restore marine ecosystems.
  • The number of dead dolphins washing ashore on France’s Atlantic coast during winter has worried environmental groups for years, finally prompting the EC to set up new marine life protection targets.
  • Complaints to the French government have multiplied over time, demanding that it takes measures to minimize unwanted catches and also sparking fears within the fishing industry, which warns of impacts to food security and jobs.
Top French court orders closure of fisheries amid mass dolphin deaths
 
Protected areas, fishing closures, to help B.C.’s threatened southern resident orcas

The federal government has announced several measures, ranging from sanctuary zones to fishing closures, as it works to protect critically endangered southern resident killer whales off the British Columbia coast.

But an expert says the measures need to go much further to help the animals thrive.

The federal departments of fisheries, environment and transport issued a joint news release on Wednesday outlining what is described as a fifth consecutive year of action to protect and restore the southern resident population.

Protected areas, fishing closures, to help B.C.’s threatened southern resident orcas | The Star
 
Up-Close Ecotourism Is Nurturing Gray Whales in Mexico

In the lagoons off the Pacific coast of Baja Sur, physical contact between tourists and whales is at the heart of a new model of marine conservation.

The 40-ton gray whale stretches her massive head out of the murky water next to our small boat so that we can bend over the railing and pet her chin. She opens her mouth so we can scratch her tongue, which weighs about 3,000 pounds. Then the 40-foot-long giant turns onto her back for a belly massage. Finally, the mother of a two-month-old calf holds up her baby on her back so we can give it some love, too. The calf’s skin feels surprisingly soft, like smooth silicone.

Up-Close Ecotourism Is Nurturing Gray Whales in Mexico
 
U.S. Finds Mexico Is Undermining Wildlife Treaty, May Impose Embargo

Failure to Control Illegal Fishing, Trade Threatens 10 Remaining Vaquita

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that Mexico has failed to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, diminishing the effectiveness of an international wildlife treaty. Under U.S. law, President Biden must now decide by mid-August whether to take action against Mexico, including imposing a trade embargo. If the president fails to ban imports of all wildlife products from Mexico, he must explain why.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora wildlife treaty prohibits international trade in totoaba, an endangered fish. Although the Mexican government has recently taken some steps, for decades it largely ignored illegal totoaba fishing that entangles and kills vaquita. As a result, only about 10 vaquita remain.

Today’s decision by the Service finds that nationals of Mexico are engaging in taking and trade of the totoaba fish and the related incidental take of vaquita that diminishes the effectiveness of CITES and that Mexico has failed to stem the illegal harvest and commercial export of totoaba.

U.S. Finds Mexico Is Undermining Wildlife Treaty, May Impose Embargo
 
A unique whale species washed up in New England, giving a rare glimpse of a deep sea diver

The calls started coming in around 9:30 a.m. last Thursday.

A funny looking whale, or maybe a dolphin, had washed ashore on Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester, Mass. Brian Yurasits, part of the Marine Mammal Rescue team based at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, was one of the first on the scene.

“It was alive when it initially stranded, and was noted to be somewhat lethargic, but still thrashing occasionally,” he said.

https://www.capeandislands.org/2023...-a-rare-glimpse-of-a-deep-sea-diver?_amp=true
 
The killer orcas aren’t winning. They could be self-sabotaging

Orcas are sinking ships, but memes aside, it could harm them in the end.

Last Thursday, another group of orcas (Orcinus orca), also known as killer whales, rammed into a sailboat off the southern coast of Spain and nearly sank it.

As detailed by Reuters, the pod damaged the rudder and pierced the hull of the 66-foot vessel. The apparent attack adds to a running list of incidents where orcas have caused damage to, or had physical interactions, with boats off the coast of Spain and Portugal this year. It's estimated that at least 20 interactions between boats and orcas whales have happened this month alone — and it's not just exclusive to this year. In 2022, there were 207 reported incidences.

https://www.salon.com/2023/06/01/the-killer-orcas-arent-winning-they-could-be-self-sabotaging/
 
The Dolphins Of Malabar Hill

I stared out at the sea and spotted a pod of playful Indian Ocean humpback dolphins Sousa plumbea. I focused my binoculars on a mother with a young calf, then moved to watch in amazement as I saw a courting couple. I was not sailing on distant shores in some exotic location, I was standing where I stand every day, in my sea-facing home in Malabar Hill, Mumbai!

Unknown to the vast majority of our citizens, such marine magic is still visible to those interested enough to take the time to ‘stand and stare’ at key locations along Mumbai’s exquisite seascape, which is, in my view, far better than that of scores of more celebrated seaside cities across the globe.

As I continued watching them dive and gambol about over the next hour, my heart lifted and, for a while, the angst that the city democratically feeds us daily, vanished. I am blessed to share my home with the largest urban forest that survives, outside of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, between the campuses of the Raj Bhavan and the Parsi Panchayat land that have mercifully been kept out of the reach of the construction sector.

I often wonder why humans have drifted so far from nature and why people seem so apathetic towards the degradation of the biosphere upon which their own lives are fully dependent. At some point, way before the Portuguese arrived, dolphins and whales must have roamed this very coastal stretch in large numbers. Though I am grateful for every tiny sighting, the dolphin pods visible today are scattered in small pockets, including the ones that visit the Chowpatty bay, off the Raj Bhavan, in Malabar Hill.

The Dolphins Of Malabar Hill
 
I Spent My Life Saving the Whales. Now They Might Save Us.

More than fifty years ago, my team and I first discovered that

whales sing to each other. Recordings we captured of the beautiful, evocative songs of the humpback whale captivated people all over the world. Whale song became the soundtrack for the “Save the Whales” movement, one of the most successful conservation initiatives in history. It led to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, which marked the end of large-scale whaling in the United States and saved several whale populations from extinction.

In the decades since, I’ve often pondered what it would take to spark a new conservation movement uniquely suited to the opportunities and challenges we face in this age of dire warnings and unassailable evidence of a rapidly changing planet. A movement that inspires a new generation, gives voice to the marginalized, and uses science to inspire awe instead of fear.

I Spent My Life Saving the Whales. Now They Might Save Us
 
Dolphins, whales and seals being failed by UK government policy, Members of Parliament say

UK urged to use trade deals as bargaining tool to protect marine mammals


Dolphins and other marine mammals are being failed by the UK government, MPs have said, as they call for ministers not to sign trade deals without considering cetacean welfare.

The UK has poorer protections for dolphins, whales and seals than other countries, a report by the environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) committee has found.

MPs said trade deals were still being struck with countries that hunted whales and dolphins, including Norway, Iceland, Japan and the Faroe Islands, the autonomous Danish territory in the north Atlantic.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...seals-failed-uk-government-policy-environment
 
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The Legacy of the Southern Resident Orca

For Orca Action Month this year, Defenders of Wildlife is celebrating the "Lasting Legacies” of the Southern Resident orcas with partners and coastal communities. In June and throughout the year, we share their stories and ours.

Kathleen Callaghy, Northwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife, focuses on recovering the critically endangered Southern Residents and the salmon they need to survive.

The Legacy of the Southern Resident Orca
 
Fishing line and plastic endangering young dolphins

A leading Perth dolphin researcher is urging fishers to be extra vigilant with the proper disposal of fishing lines and hooks after seeing several of the marine mammals in Cockburn Sound caught up in discarded line. Dr. Delphine Chabanne, from Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute, said she saw two young bottlenose dolphins within about eight months that had line wrapped tightly around their bodies. Others had been seen caught in line in previous years.

https://phys.org/news/2023-03-fishing-line-plastic-endangering-young.html
 
Blue whales are thriving in California waters – the story of their amazing comeback

Everyone loves a good comeback, and one of the most impressive stories in Southern California is still being written – the resurgence of Pacific blue whales.

If you’ve recently taken a Southern California whale-watching tour, you may have been lucky enough to come across earth’s largest animal. Pacific blue whales grow up to 110 feet long and can reach a weight of 200 tons. They spend their winters off the coast of Mexico, but migrate north for summer feeding, and Californians are seeing them with more regularity.

Blue whales are thriving in California waters - the story of their amazing comeback
 
Whale of a time: pod of 30 orcas bring killer moves to a California bay

Marine biologists were surprised at the display of playful behavior ‘like kids in the park’, which lasted more than eight hours.

A crowd of 30 killer whales met for a party in California’s Monterey Bay on Sunday.

They did belly flops into the water, slapped the waves with their flukes and spewed water from their blowholes, surprising marine biologists who had never seen the animals engage in such playful behavior for so long.

Nancy Black, who has been studying killer whales for more than 30 years, said Sunday’s show was the best orca sighting she’d ever seen. Black, a marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch and the director of the California Killer Whale Project, said the gathering was unique because the animals played in the bay for more than eight hours. Eleven family groups came together, or about 30 whales. Sometimes three or four whales would breach the water at once. Others slapped their tails against the water’s surface, wrestled with one another and swam in loops.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...13/california-killer-whales-monterey-bay-play
 
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