In addition to this, many other groups and individuals are stepping up to help. Visit the VaquitaCPR website to learn more about the vaquita and the current efforts to save them.
If you are ever out by the coast and are the first to happen upon a stranded or beached whale, dolphin, or porpoise, please take these steps to ensure the animal gets the help they need!
Before anything, call a local rescue or stranding network!A list of these networks for America can be found here. Do this before doing anything else, the faster you can notify professionals to come for help the better.
Do not try to push the animal back into the water! They beached for a reason, and if they are ill or needing medical attention and you push them back into the water, they could re-strand and stress/injure themselves further, or they could go off and eventually die of whatever was ailing them.
Do not try to touch the animal or get close unless necessary. They are large, wild predators and are likely in a certain mode of survival, which could lead to injury for you. It’s best to keep yourself safe and stay far enough back that if the animal were to bite or thrash, you are not in the way. If the animal is in a situation that requires you to get near, do so with care and have volunteers assist you.
Ensure the animal can breathe. If their blowhole is covered or not in a position that allows them full access to air, you may need to flip or adjust the animal. Only do this if you feel comfortable and with the utmost self preservation.
Try to keep the crowd away and quiet. A noisy crowd of barking dogs, yelling adults, and screaming children will only stress and panic the animal more. Keep everyone else at a safe distance and try to keep everyone calm and noise levels down.
Log the time, physical appearance, condition of the animal, and take photos. Any information you can gather while waiting for the rescue team is essential in giving them more information to help the animal.
Try to gather some wet towels and carefully drape them over the animal while keeping as much distance as you can. If the animal is thrashing wildly or acting aversively to any advance, back off immediately and skip this step. It’s not worth risking your safety.
Place a tarp tent over the animal if any beach goers have one nearby. Keeping the animal out of the sun is ideal so they can avoid sunburn. They are not used to being exposed to such high intensity rays for long amounts of time.
Keep waiting for help to arrive, and keep logging behavior and condition of the animal.
Climate change scientists should think more about sex
Urgent need to check how males and females respond differently to ocean acidification
Climate change can have a different impact on male and female fish, shellfish and other marine animals, with widespread implications for the future of marine life and the production of seafood.
But a paper published today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters has found that very little research into how males and females respond differently to climate change has been carried out. This is despite recent research on ocean acidification published by lead author Dr Robert Ellis showing that male and female shellfish respond differently to stress.
Dr Ellis says the impact on different sexes should be properly assessed in all aquatic animals to accurately predict how populations will respond to climate change. Any effect on spawning, settlement or survival could have a major impact on sustainable supplies of fish and shellfish.
The latest research by the University of Exeter in collaboration with Plymouth Marine Laboratory reveals that less than 4% of climate-change studies have tested the impact of ocean acidification on males and females separately.
Over the past decade, research into the impacts of rising CO2 on fish and shellfish species has increased dramatically, helping scientists accurately predict the threat climate change poses ecosystems worldwide. Worrying changes in behaviour, survival, growth, reproduction and health have been found in many species.
Co-author of the study Professor Rod Wilson, a climate change marine biologist based at the University Exeter, said in light of this research separate environmental management strategies may be required.
If you are ever out by the coast and are the first to happen upon a stranded or beached whale, dolphin, or porpoise, please take these steps to ensure the animal gets the help they need!
Before anything, call a local rescue or stranding network!A list of these networks for America can be found here. Do this before doing anything else, the faster you can notify professionals to come for help the better.
Do not try to push the animal back into the water! They beached for a reason, and if they are ill or needing medical attention and you push them back into the water, they could re-strand and stress/injure themselves further, or they could go off and eventually die of whatever was ailing them.
Do not try to touch the animal or get close unless necessary. They are large, wild predators and are likely in a certain mode of survival, which could lead to injury for you. It’s best to keep yourself safe and stay far enough back that if the animal were to bite or thrash, you are not in the way. If the animal is in a situation that requires you to get near, do so with care and have volunteers assist you.
Ensure the animal can breathe. If their blowhole is covered or not in a position that allows them full access to air, you may need to flip or adjust the animal. Only do this if you feel comfortable and with the utmost self preservation.
Try to keep the crowd away and quiet. A noisy crowd of barking dogs, yelling adults, and screaming children will only stress and panic the animal more. Keep everyone else at a safe distance and try to keep everyone calm and noise levels down.
Log the time, physical appearance, condition of the animal, and take photos. Any information you can gather while waiting for the rescue team is essential in giving them more information to help the animal.
Try to gather some wet towels and carefully drape them over the animal while keeping as much distance as you can. If the animal is thrashing wildly or acting aversively to any advance, back off immediately and skip this step. It’s not worth risking your safety.
Place a tarp tent over the animal if any beach goers have one nearby. Keeping the animal out of the sun is ideal so they can avoid sunburn. They are not used to being exposed to such high intensity rays for long amounts of time.
Keep waiting for help to arrive, and keep logging behavior and condition of the animal.
Although this potentially new species looks exactly like what we know to be the bonnet head hammer head shark, genetically it is different, with its differences going back millions of years!
This might not mean much to the average person since they are basically identical visually. But to a marine conservationist (hi!) this means that this could divide the population numbers we thought to be present for a single species, and increasing their CITES rating. Bonnet head hammerhead sharks are currently listed as least concern, but by dividing the population we will potentially increase the status of two species to threatened, endangered, or higher. This would support creating more marine conservation areas and greater laws to protect the ocean environment where these species live.
I wish we didn’t need the species to be endangered before protecting the environment on this scale, but I will take it.
It’s a very simple guide, but it’s pretty complete and it offers the sort of information you’ll need to tell apart cetaceans (and some sea turtles too). Enjoy!
A staggering 35 to 40% of the meat from minke whales slaughtered by Icelandic whalers is eaten by tourists visiting the country who often have no idea that their actions are propping up commercial whaling – an industry in decline.
As a result, WDC is launching an awareness campaign targeted at tourists thinking of visiting Iceland to draw attention to the fact that eating the meat, which is often offered as part of the ‘tourist experience’ in the country, plays a significant part in keeping the cruel practice of whaling afloat.
WDC is positively encouraging tourists to this amazing country to get out to see the whales with a responsible, local whale watching operator, but ask that people think about the impact that eating the meat has on the whale watching industry, and also the inhumane way in which these magnificent and intelligent creatures are killed before they are served up.
We are seeing increasing numbers of tourists walking off whale watching vessels and straight into restaurants that serve whale meat. More than 100 restaurants – including ÞrÃr Frakkar, allegedly a favourite of Jamie Oliver, and shops are currently selling minke whale meat. Iceland’s whalers are also putting more effort into promoting the sale of whale meat as an exotic food and are now offering smoked and marinated whale meat in addition to whale steaks for grilling.
WDC asks people who are thinking of going to Iceland to resist the temptation to give the meat a try despite what you may be told by local whale hunters. The fact is that only a small percentage of Icelandic people eat the meat these days. The whales suffer a long and slow death, they are not suitable as a species for human harvesting and, contrary to myth, they are not responsible for reducing local fish stocks.
Check our list of restaurants that should be avoided before visiting Iceland, and also to consult our handy guide to whale meat terms in Icelandic, so that tourists can avoid accidentally ordering the whale they watched only hours before.
GLOSSARY OF PHRASES THAT YOU MIGHT SEE ON A MENU THAT INDICATES A DISH CONTAINS WHALE
When people hear ocean pollution, they immediately think of the visible ones like plastic pollution, oil spills or sewage run-offs. But sound pollution, this invisible threat, is just as devastating to numerous marine animals, especially whales. Remember ‘The Silent World’ from Jacques Cousteau? Well, our oceans aren’t so silent anymore.
Historically, noise levels in the oceans were low enough that whales were able to use their sonar to communicate with each other or to hunt for food. Increased ship traffic, acoustical seismic testing for oil exploration, the use of military sonar, and even small boats in high concentrations have all contributed to the growing sound pollution in the oceans.
Sound travels farther and about five times faster in water than in air. All these high intensity sounds also travel at a higher energy level so they are louder than they would be above the surface. This increased cacophony has made the use of sonar, echolocation and underwater communication between whales extremely difficult. Imagine basically walking around on the airport runway with airplanes landing and taking off every minute or so trying to have a conversation with a friend….except that it’s even louder, and it never stops.
Susan Parks, a biology professor at Syracuse University, compared right whale calls recorded off Martha’s Vineyard in 1956 and off Argentina in the 1977, with those in the North Atlantic in 2000. Parks and her team were astonished with the results. They discovered that North Atlantic right whales actually shifted their calls up an entire octave over the past half century in an attempt to be heard over the unending and increasing low-frequency sounds of commercial shipping. Furthermore, right whale songs used to carry off 20 to 100 miles, but now those calls travel only five miles or so.
Another interesting tidbit of Park’s research came after 9/11. With the commotions and confusion following the attacks, ship traffic drastically dropped for a while. Her team continued recording whale calls during that time, and they could not believe what they heard. Actually, they didn’t hear much. The acoustic fog that had settled on the oceans for decades had suddenly lifted. Furthermore, they analyzed stress hormones found in collected whale poop, and they found that they had considerably dropped. It was obvious that during that brief period of time, whales had finally relaxed.
If whales can’t hear each other as well, they need to spend more time and energy moving around and travelling to ‘quieter’ places in the oceans in order to feed or mate. This seems small, but a prolonged exposure to excessive noise can lead to permanent behavioral changes and thus a long-term impact on population numbers and mortality rates. Additionally, loud sounds have direct impacts on whale hearing, stress levels as we have seen above, and in some extreme cases may cause internal bleeding and death.
A study published in 2014 in the journal PLOS One found that manmade noise pollution can literally make whales go insane. Moreover, scientists have also found that beaked whales are extremely sensitive to sound pollution. They tend to dive too deep when they hear loud noises, then resurface too quickly and can die from the bends. Other studies have blamed military sonar and mapping sonar by oil companies for mass strandings of marine mammals.
What can we do about it? Governments are slowly starting to become conscious of the problem, and some are trying to slow ships down or to re-direct traffic to areas not ecologically significant to marine mammals, but of course this comes with a lot of opposition from the companies, as even a detour of five miles off course can increase costs and time. Many NGOs like Oceana and Greenpeace are also campaigning against the use of seismic blasts for exploration drilling. Technologies are also being developed to drastically reduce the noise from ships and geological surveying. We still need to continue raising awareness on the problem so further political action can occur and some international standards can be set.
You can check out this interesting interview with Christopher Clark, a prominent bioacoustics researcher. Clark goes into more details about seismic blasts and the precise impacts noise pollution may have on whale populations. It’s a great read.
The United Nations designates June 8 as World Oceans Day, and this year the theme “Healthy oceans, healthy planet,” encourages individuals to consider actions that help protect the health of our oceans and our coastal communities. For those on the East Coast of the United States, the recent proposal by U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration to allow offshore oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic is cause for concern. Oil and gas companies use seismic airgun blasting to find oil and gas deposits, creating one of the loudest human-made noises in the ocean.
According to government estimates, as many as 138,000 whales and dolphins along the East Coast from Delaware to Florida could soon be injured or possibly killed if seismic blasting is allowed. These tests not only threaten marine life, but also the communities and industries that depend on their health. In observance of World Oceans Day, take a look at seven examples of marine life that could be affected by seismic testing.
The North Atlantic right whale earned its name from eighteenth century whalers as it was literally the “right” whale to hunt. After being hunted nearly to extinction, only about 500 individuals remain, making it one of the most endangered species on the planet. The whales’ only known calving grounds are located off of the coasts of Georgia and Florida, which are areas proposed for seismic testing. The blasting could lead to serious injuries and disturbances to the North Atlantic right whale, as well as negatively affect its critical habitat. Harming even one of the population’s females or juveniles could threaten the survival of the entire species.
Turtle ears may be small, but they’re sensitive. Seismic blasts could cause auditory injuries to sea turtles, and also lead to behavioral changes that could interfere with nesting. All of the sea turtle species in the United States — loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill, olive ridley and Kemp’s ridley — are threatened or endangered. Many sea turtles nest on the coast from North Carolina to Florida — the same areas proposed for oil and gas surveys. The recovery plan for loggerhead sea turtles specifically mentions seismic airgun blasting as a threat to rebuilding populations.
In order to communicate with other whales, humpbacks use a complex combination of noises. The melodies are beautiful, underwater songs that fill listeners with awe. Seismic airguns emit a wide range of frequencies and the sounds in the lower frequency ranges are particularly troublesome for the musical humpback whale. The lower frequency sounds can travel thousands of miles from their source. In one recorded instance, humpback whales in a 100,000 square mile area stopped singing when subjected to the powerful sound of a seismic airgun near Scotland. Ending the humpback’s haunting song could impact migration, breeding and feeding.
Dolphins use clicks and whistles as a complex form of communication. Scientists have even observed bottlenose dolphins using distinctive whistles for individuals within their pod, similar to how humans use names. The loud and powerful blasts from seismic testing could cause temporary and permanent hearing loss in dolphins and whales. After seismic testing occurred near Peru, about 900 long-beaked common dolphins and black porpoises washed up dead along a stretch of beach. Upon examination, the dolphins were discovered to have had fractures in their ear bones and signs of bleeding from their middle ears.
Cod and haddock put the “fish” in fish and chips. As two of the most popular commercially caught stocks in the Atlantic, cod and haddock contribute to an $11.8 billion dollar fishing industry along the East Coast. Seismic testing could not only kill the eggs and larvae of commercially caught fish, such as cod and haddock, but also displace adult fish. After seismic testing was conducted in the Barents Sea, catch rates of cod and haddock declined by 40 to 80 percent for at least five days over thousands of square miles. The decline caused fishermen in the area to seek financial compensation for the loss of catch.
The Atlantic sea scallop fishery is the largest and most valuable wild scallop fishery in the world. The scallops are primarily harvested in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. While seismic testing has been proposed for the waters off of Virginia, the complete effects of testing on scallops and other shellfish such as lobster, oysters and crab are still being studied. However, after a seismic survey occurred in Australia in 2010, fishermen saw an 80 percent decline in scallops harvested, resulting in a loss of $70 million. If seismic testing were allowed along the East Coast, it could jeopardize the scallop industry and other important shellfish hatcheries and nurseries.
Sperm whales are capable of diving 3,280 feet below the surface in search of food, making them the deepest diving whale. Despite being such adept divers, scientists have observed beached sperm whale carcasses exhibiting signs of decompression sickness. Decompression sickness is the result of nitrogen bubbles forming in the blood stream when mammals decompress too rapidly. Noise from seismic airgun testing could startle marine mammals, including the sperm whale, causing them to rapidly ascend towards the surface. As SCUBA divers know, decompression sickness, commonly referred to as the bends, can cause serious problems such as confusion, severe pain, paralysis or even death.
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