Whales . . . Should Cruisers Care ?

[deblen]

Gord. Should we combine the 2 Right Whale threads into one. Your choice./Len


https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3901950

[GordMay]

Large whale group spotted off New England includes orca eating a tuna, dozens of endangered species
➥ https://apnews.com/article/whales-ne...f23ed34b74039e

Originally Posted by AP

“... A research flight made 161 sightings of seven different species of whale on May 25 south of Martha’s Vineyard and southeast of Nantucket, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. The sightings included 93 of sei whales, and that is one of the highest concentrations of the rare whale during a single flight, the agency said.

Other highlights included two orcas - an uncommon sight off New England - one of which was toting the unlucky tuna in its mouth, NOAA said. There were also endangered North Atlantic right whales as well as humpback, fin, minke and sperm whales, the agency said...”

[GordMay]

Shrinking Whales
Of the tens of thousands of gray whales [Eschrichtius robustus] on Earth, the 200-odd individuals, of the Pacific Coast Feeding Group [‘PCFG’ - northern California, Oregon, Washington State and British Columbia], don’t fit in.
They’re smaller, and slimmer, than their compatriots; they use different foraging techniques, to catch different food; and they stick to coastal waters, rather than braving the deep oceans.

Research [1], published in the journal Global Change Biology, finds that these whales may not just be smaller than their compatriots - they may also be shrinking.

Scientists combined drone images of 130 animals taken between 2016 and 2022 with computer modeling and detailed records of individual local whales over the decades.
OSU researchers determined that a full-grown PCFG gray whale, born in 2020, is expected to reach an adult body length that is 1.65 meters [about 5 feet, 5 inches[ shorter, than a gray whale born prior to 2000.
For PCFG gray whales that grow to be 38-41 feet long, at full maturity, that accounts for a loss of more than 13% of their total length [over 20 years]

Researchers aren’t sure what’s causing the strange shrinkage, or whether it may be affecting gray whales, more generally, though it’s likely the changes are in response to the environment - perhaps changing ocean temperatures. Scientists do worry that smaller whales may struggle to feed, or have fewer offspring.
If these findings have longer-term impacts, on the persistence of that group, that would really be a concern.

[1] “Modeling individual growth reveals decreasing gray whale body length and correlations with ocean climate indices at multiple scales” ~ by Enrico Pirotta et al
➥ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.17366

More articles about:
“These Gray Whales Are Shrinking and Scientists Aren’t Sure Why” ➥ https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...rent-sure-why/
“It’s Not Just Fish — Some Gray Whales Are Shrinking Too” ➥ https://e360.yale.edu/digest/pacific...ales-shrinking

[RaymondR]

I've had a few close shaves with them, I feel they weren't attacking me but rather did not understand the "stand on vessel" thing.

[deblen]

Finbacks diving on herring-Bay of Fundy.
Pic by Lambert Family Adventures-Jun 2024diving on herring-Bay of Fundy.jpg Views: 11 Size: 279.2 KB ID: 291304" style="margin: 2px" />

[GordMay]

Entangled humpback spotted near Campbell River, boaters asked for help
More ➥ https://www.mycampbellrivernow.com/7...sked-for-help/

A three-year-old humpback whale has been spotted, near Campbell River, B.C.. entangled in rope and a fishing net. Now the search is on, to locate the whale, and cut it free.
Video ➥ https://globalnews.ca/video/10601186...ampbell-river/

[GordMay]

A whale researcher says a lone young killer whale, spotted surfacing Friday, at Friendly Cove, off the remote west coast of Vancouver Island, is likely the orphan orca calf [kwiisahi?is, or Brave Little Hunter, AKA ‘T109A3A’], that was trapped in a tidal lagoon, near Zeballos, B.C., more than two months ago.
More ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/orphaned-bc-orca-calf-likely-sighting-1.7256395

A roughly five-second video Bay Cetology posted on social media shows a killer whale surfacing near a boat and then diving under the water and disappearing.
➥ https://www.facebook.com/reel/1527725734479584

The apparent sighting, comes about 24 hours after Bay Cetology issued a statement, saying the young whale had not been seen since May 10, despite numerous documented glimpses of members of her family.
➥ https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/309...=1720115715807

Trapped killer whale calf escapes B.C. lagoon:
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.7187065

[deblen]

Right whale rescue: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...s_1617_1628698

[GordMay]

A couple of interesting videos:

An entire pod of pilot whales, that was stranded on a Scottish beach, died earlier this week.
Many were buried too deep in the soft sand, for rescuers to pull them back into the water, and some had to be euthanized, because they couldn’t be saved.
➥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWhN84EwN58

Barry Hayes recounts the moment Tom Waddington was swarmed by whales while attempting to solo-row across the Atlantic Ocean.
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6443806

[GordMay]

Further to #174:

The mysterious case of the mass stranding

Scientists, from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme [1], from London’s Institute of Zoology, are trying to find out what caused a group of 77, apparently healthy, whales to die on a beach, on the Orkney island of Sanday, in Scotland — one of an increasing number of mass strandings.
The long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) were clustered around key individuals, which could mean that they had been spooked, by an extremely loud sound. Evidence for a severe sonic event could be found in scarring of the tiny hair cells, extracted from whales’ inner ears.
For now, researchers need to be patient: it takes up to a year for chemicals to soften the whale earbones enough to examine them.

More about ➥ https://www.theguardian.com/environm...etaceans-sound

[1] The Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) ➥ https://www.zsl.org/what-we-do/proje...programme-csip

[GordMay]

Whale watchers spotted a humpback whale, with its tail missing, near Greenpoint Rapids, north of Campbell River, off the coast of Vancouver Island on July 10.
➥ https://globalnews.ca/news/10636849/...-severed-tail/

➥ https://globalnews.ca/video/10637719...sing-concerns/

➥ https://vancouversun.com/news/humpba...ncouver-island

[GordMay]

Southern Resident killer whales: “Bright Extinction”

Recent research [1] suggests a baseline rate of population loss of Southern Resident killer whale [Orcinus orca] of roughly one per cent per year — based on modelling and 40 years of observations — putting the whales on a path toward a "period of accelerating decline that presages extinction." Even that rate of loss is "optimistic," the research says.

The study explores the consequences to Southern Residents from three well documented primary threats; prey limitation (Chinook salmon), underwater noise that disrupts successful foraging, and accumulation of contaminants; and updates a 2017 analysis [2], which estimated the population of 80 killer whales had a 24% chance of extinction within 100 years.

In addition to the updated understanding of threats, the team also identified a phenomenon they call ‘bright extinction [the noticeable and documented precipitous decline of a data-rich population toward extinction’, to signify a precipitous decline in a well understood population. Bright extinction contrasts with ‘dark extinction’, the loss of species that are poorly studied, and data limited.

The new research [1], published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment in April, shows "there is no possibility of recovery" for the southern residents, under existing conditions in their habitat.
The study notes that, in a population of 75 whales, "a single birth [or death] represents an annual population growth [or decline] of 1.4 per cent, underscoring the value of each individual, in preventing the disappearance of a population."

While no single scenario can help the whales reach a U.S. recovery target of 2.3 per cent annual growth, they write that "concerted efforts" could reverse the decline, and potentially help the orcas reach an annual recovery rate of one per cent.


[1] “Warning sign of an accelerating decline in critically endangered killer whales (Orcinus orca)”~ by Rob Williams et al [2024]
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01327-5


[2] “Evaluating anthropogenic threats to endangered killer whales to inform effective recovery plans” ~ by Robert C. Lacy et al [2017]
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14471-0

[GordMay]

How social media saved a humpback whale
➥ https://www.northweststar.com.au/sto...gled-in-ropes/


Humpback whale tangled in rope freed in two-day rescue operation
Video ➥ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=857319932241063

And➥ https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/OfhWnhVd

Originally Posted by Sea World Foundation*

“A humpback whale tangled in a thick rope and towing buoys off the coast of Australia was freed by rescuers on Friday, 21 June, after a two-day operation.

The huge marine mammal [± 8m/26Ft] was first spotted off Batemans Bay on the coast of New South Wales on 13 June, Sea World Foundation said.

It was then seen again off Sandon Beach and tracked to Yamba, before being spotted five miles east of Angourie.

Rescuers had to wait for better light before spending three hours removing the rope and buoys so the animal was able to swim away on its northern migration with a companion.”

Sea World Foundation said the marine mammal, off Burleigh Heads, was covered in sea lice, with significant skin lesions, and they were unable to remove a tight section of rope, which was deeply embedded into its skin.
The organisation said it was the fourth whale rescue operation, the team have conducted this migration season, due to commercial fishing equipment.

* ➥ https://seaworld.com.au/foundation

[barnakiel]

CRUISERS, like all car drivers, may or may not care.


But all sailors should. Because all that is alive in the ocean has as much right to be there as us.


love,
b.