WHALES ALIVE!

WHALES
ALIVE!
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Vol. XXII No. 1
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A rare breach by
a North Atlantic Right
Whale. Once relentlessly
hunted, there are roughly
500 left in the wild.
Winter, 2013
A Publication of CETACEAN SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL
This issue highlights the current status and conservation
measures of several endangered cetacean species.
IMPERILED BUT SURVIVING:
THE NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE
By Bill Rossiter
Congratulations to all North Atlantic Right Whales;
at last they outnumber the people trying to save them!
Today the NARW population is “about 500”, still critically endangered but increasing slowly from perhaps
25 survivors that whalers couldn’t find to make into
oil to power a growing economy. Today’s focus is still
on a growing economy, but now right whales are in the
way, measured by the cost of allowing them to share
“our” waters. They symbolize the full-scale conflict between economic growth and national security versus
environmental destruction.
By 1998 the 300 right whales then assumed alive
were statistically doomed to extinction. This prediction considered ship strikes and entanglements
the major threats to the dangerously low population
growth, but many new threats have emerged. Thankfully, new scientific techniques have shown that there
were more whales alive in 1998, and the scientists
focused on the species hope new adults will emerge
from the enormous pile of accumulated data. It’s a big
ocean, but unfortunately the right whale apparently
needs to live close to shore.
Officially protected by the strongest laws of our nation, they live in “our” waters, where shipstrikes remain a major killer, their ancient migratory route may
be obstructed by seismic surveys, development of offshore oil, gas and wind energy resources. The US Navy
may play war games near calving grounds, and 82%
show entanglement scars from fishing gear, like this
female, a survivor.
continued on page 2
A SURVIVOR: White markings on the peduncle of this diving
whale are scars from entanglement.
Photos: Page One Breaching Right Whale: NewBrunswick.net; Right Whales (p. 2, 3) Bill Rossiter
This species’ survival depends largely upon the success of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
The Consortium is formed of hundreds of scientists,
educators, government officials, fishermen, and representatives from organizations like CSI, unified by a
spirited, dedicated goal of helping right whales. While
the government will decide how the man versus whale
conflict will play out, Consortium members are the
experts they must rely on. Almost every right whale
specialist is in the Consortium, where every whale
Whales Alive!
A Publication of Cetacean Society International.
Editor: Brent S. Hall
Guest Editor: Taffy L. Williams
CSI is an all-volunteer, non-profit, tax-exempt organization with contacts in over 25 countries. Our mission is
to advocate for and protect cetaceans from harm and
harassment, to increase public awareness, and preserve
their well-being and that of the marine environment.
We support and promote benign activities such as regulated whale watching, nonlethal and humane research,
and widespread educational, environmental programs
relating to free-roaming cetaceans internationally. Our
ultimate objective is the global acceptance of peaceful
coexistence and mutual enrichment for both humans
and cetaceans.
Cetacean Society International
P.O. Box 953, Georgetown, CT 06829 U.S.A.
Phone: 203-770-8615 Fax: 860-561-0187
E-Mail: rossiter@csiwhalesalive.org
Web: csiwhalesalive.org
CSI is a member of WhaleNet
President: William W. Rossiter
Vice-President: Brent S. Hall
Secretary: Jessica L. Dickens
Treasurer: Barbara Kilpatrick
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counts. To CSI the Consortium is even more: a sorely
needed, exportable role model for scientific advocacy.
We work hard to spread their example of coordinated and cooperative advocacy grounded on science.
They are proof that solutions happen when caring
experts come together. Advocate-scientists are more
endangered than right whales, but their population is
growing faster. Not long ago it was revolutionary for
a scientist to express caring concerns, unprofessional
to criticize or mitigate rather than simply study something. The times demand change.
Boaters
risk stiff
penalties
for approaching right
whales,
despite
their
apparent
friendliness.
Just a few years after this curious right whale approached a small boat in 1982, scientists realized that
fewer than 300 right whales might be alive in the entire North Atlantic. From then all responsible boaters
stayed far away, avoiding any possible impact. Scientific surveys under permit also found Cape Cod Bay
to be essential right whale habitat for the precious few
survivors, while statistics said the loss of one reproductive female could drag the species to extinction.
But more than that died every year from ship strikes
and entanglements! Enormous effort and eventual
cooperation went into modifying fishing gear and
practices, and reducing vessel harassment and strikes.
Today’s regulations prohibit all but permitted vessels
INSIDE WHALES ALIVE!
ENDANGERED! North Atlantic Right Whale
(B. Rossiter)
1
Humpback Whales (D. Knaub)
5
I Am One Of A Kind (D. Knaub)
6
Gray Whales (T. Williams)
7
The Orca Morgan (B. Rossiter)
9
An Invitation (Paul Knapp)
10
Annual Meeting
10
CSI’s Traveling T’s (D. Kaplan)
11
World Whale Conference
(B. Benito, Jr., T. Williams)
12
Newsfeed for Whales (T. Williams)
15
from being closer that 500 yards, which leaves whale
watchers with only glimpses from a distance. Will avid
whale watchers support the cost our society must pay
to save a whale they are not allowed to watch?
Right whales are in critical jeopardy of becoming extinct because they must survive life in waters
overwhelmed by human use, competing with economic and security demands that overlay their critical
habitats, migratory paths and calving grounds. These
whales don’t hear or fear approaching ships, or see lobster pot lines to avoid being entangled. They cannot
escape the human din that masks their calls and cues
that allow them to find each other. What we do to pollute the shared oceans may challenge their need to find
enough food to survive.
Right whale feeding in the Cape Cod Bay.
Thousands of planktonic creatures called Calanus
finmarchicus are flowing into this whale’s mouth as
he swims slowly, grazing on dense congregations of
nearly microscopic prey. The abundance and distribution of these minute creatures control the giant whale’s
survival. How right whales find food remains wonderfully mysterious even as the quest nourishes several scientists’ careers. This whale is one of about 160
foraging in Cape Cod Bay in April, 2008, about one
third of the North Atlantic population. How did they
all know that their favorite prey was swarming in unimaginable numbers sufficient to stain the waters and
fatten as many whales as could make the scene? When
the plankton bloom faded the whales vanished. How
did they know where to go next? Tagged whales have
swum over fifty miles straight to other assemblies of
foraging whales. What are their cues?
Long before our time, the food was so plentiful the
species evolved to a beyond belief size. While only
measured by barrels of oil by whalers, some were 60
feet long, weighed 90 tons, and like their brethren the
bowhead, could have lived 200 years. Until we came
along they could have had a pretty easy time. No longer.
Many right whales are now off Florida and Georgia,
where the US Navy is building the Undersea Warfare
Training Range (USWTR) in an enormous swath of
ocean where whales will be struck by vessels rushing
to some make believe war. No one knows what the
whales will make of all the ships, sonars, explosives,
and other noises near their ancestral calving grounds
and migratory corridor. CSI is a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit against the USWTR that was recently dismissed.
You’ll recall we were also co-plaintiffs that lost at the
Supreme Court to the Navy’s security mantra over active sonar. CSI understands the need for national security, but someone has to represent the extremely
vulnerable right whale.
CSI also understands the need for renewable
resources and the focus on growing the economy. So why are we co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit
against Cape Wind, a planned wind farm on
Nantucket Shoals? Of course we support wind
energy; CSI’s an environmental organization
and some of CSI’s personnel pay larger electrical bills to be powered by wind! But when Cape
Wind first blew into the public arena we found
there was very little known about potential impacts on right whales from a wind farm’s construction and operation noise or vessel traffic,
or even whether right whales used the area or
passed near on migration. Anyone familiar with right
whales has marveled how they can appear and disappear as if by magic, and most people simply don’t notice a whale that might look like a rock.
This resting right whale is barely identifiable on the surface.
continued on page 4
Cetacean Society International
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continued from page 3
So countless boaters, even ferries, see very few right
whales near Nantucket, and the NOAA aerial surveys
for seals rarely see any, so why worry about them?
Because we just don’t know enough to predict this
whale’s essential habitat, which may be the dynamic,
temporary conditions that result in a bloom of countless plankton. That’s why a quarter of the right whales
in the North Atlantic paused in April of 2010 to feast
on prey off Block Island, perhaps the first food they
had had in months. In February last year some went
by Martha’s Vineyard, while many had already arrived
in Cape Cod Bay. Note that none were off schedule or
out of place; they have neither. They do have cues perfected over millennia, and when scientists learn what
those cues are we’ll all understand how the whales
know when and where to go, and how to mitigate our
impacts on them.
So one reason CSI joined the Cape Wind lawsuit
was to advocate for research. Although aerial and
acoustic surveys began South of Nantucket after the
suit was filed, a much needed habitat study was left
unfunded. Again, money rules, and while there was
plenty to fund wind development the tools to prevent
right whale impacts from wind farms were cut off.
Until now: in mid-December “Proposed Mitigation Measures to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales
from Site Assessment and Characterization Activities of Offshore Wind Energy Development in the
Mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Areas” was announced.
It’s a mitigation agreement between wind farm de-
RIGHT WHALE FACTS
Did you know...?
Right whales may reach ~60 ft. in
length and weigh up to 90 tons.
There are 3 species of right whale: the
North Pacific, North Atlantic and
Southern. The North Pacific and
Southern species are endangered,
while the NARW is critically
endangered. Both the southeast and
northeast U.S. are designated
critical habitats for the NARW.
The near-extinction status of the
NARW helped propel the
Endangered Species Acts and other
conservation measures into law in
the early 1970’s.
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velopers, environmental organizations and a key scientist, and includes research funding! But wait! The
agreement is limited to Virginia, Delaware, Maryland
and New Jersey. Although Energy Management, Inc.
signed the agreement they have so far refused to take
similar precautions for Cape Wind, which they own!
Several big organizations found the agreement limited and refused to sign, but those that did suggest a
trend across the US as environmental groups face a
dilemma of being seen, wrongly, to be rejecting wind
energy if they advocate for their causes.
So CSI joined the Cape Wind lawsuit, willing to
take the chance that people would understand that to
advocate for the whale is not opposing wind energy.
CSI also is willing to stand for the whale in the Cape
Wind lawsuit because this development could become
a template for the future, and our immediate challenge is to have the mid-Atlantic mitigations applied
to Cape Wind, and improved! Time is essential: Energy Department scientists believe 54,000 megawatts
of electricity could be drawn from wind farms off the
East Coast by 2030; the rush is on.
If you wish to learn more about why scientists care
so much about this fascinating creature read: The Urban Whale: North Atlantic Right Whales at the Crossroads, edited by Scott D. Kraus and Rosalind M. Rolland (Mar 30, 2010) $22.00 from Amazon. To read
the story of the right whale as told by a poetic, artistic,
evocative right whale read: Waltzes with Giants: The
Twilight Journey of the North Atlantic Right Whale by
Peter C. Stone (Sep 11, 2012) $13.46 on Amazon.
CELEBRITY WHALES?
In December, 2012, a Southern right
rhale mom and calf encountered an
abandoned baby right whale. Mom rejected the lonely baby calf at first, rolling
and thrashing over it. But the little one
persisted and now mom has two calves
in tow!
Scientists are guardedly optimistic:
right whales almost never bear twins
and the strain of caring for two calves
increases risks to all invoved. Still, the
three appear healthy and well-nourished,
and the baby and its new sibling have
been seen playing together and getting
along swimmingly!
The happy story coincided with the
December holiday season, sending cheer
and hope around the world! (Photo:
GrindTV.com)
Right Whale Breach Sequence. Compare the paddle-like flippers with the humpback’s (long and extended). This is #4143, the male
calf of Magic, #2143, born in 2011. Photos: New England Aquarium
ICONIC,
THRILLING,
ENDANGERED
HUMPBACK WHALES
By Dan Knaub
Humpback whales are easily recognized by their long
pectoral fins. Reaching up to 15 feet in length, they are
the longest flippers of all whale species. Adult humpback
whales reach lengths of 60 feet; females are larger than
males.
Female humpbacks may reach a weight of 50 tons when
pregnant, adding up to 12 tons of blubber. While fasting,
she will complete a 3,000 mile migration, give birth and
feed her calf as much as 50 gallons of milk each day. The
calf may be 13 feet long and weigh 1000 pounds when born,
and will grow at a fantastic rate of 100 pounds per day while
nursing on its mother’s very rich milk. The calf will stay
with its mother up to 10-11 months after birth. Humpbacks give birth every two or three years after age 6 or 7,
when they reach sexual maturity.
Humpbacks may eat up to 3,000 pounds of small fish
and crustaceans (mostly krill) per day. They feed alone or
cooperatively with as many as 30 in a group. Humpback
whales are the only whales to regularly use bubbles to assist
in herding schools of fish. Bubble netting is a technique
where whales build a curtain of air to trap fish in a decreasing area, packing them together tightly.
The males are believed to be the singers of the species.
Their songs may be up to 20 minutes in length and change
from year to year.
The longevity of humpback whales is uncertain. 50 years
is generally accepted but many schools believe they may
live as long as 90 years. Salt (one of CSI’s Adoption Whales)
was the first humpback to be given a name. She was initially
sighted in 1976 and was already large whale. Therefore, she
had to be at least 7 to 8 years old which makes her roughy
43 today. Even at that age she is still reproducing; her last
calf was born in 2010, making a 50-year lifespan unlikely.
Threats to humpbacks include entanglement in nets and
lines, ship-strikes and intentional harvesting, i.e. whaling.
Humpbacks are killed in an ever growing atmosphere of
subsistence whaling in the Caribbean and Greenland. The
very whales seen from whale watch boats on the eastern
shores of the US are at great risk on their breeding and calving grounds.
The humpbackwhale’s scientific name, Megaptera novaeangeliae, reflects the giant’s long pectoral fins (“big-winged New
Englander”). Humpback whales are the object of New England’s
famous “whale-heads”, researchers and scientists who can identify
individual whales by their unique tail markings, study families
and offspring, and even hold naming parties for new calves!
Humpback whales engage the behaviors that thrill their awestruck
whale watchers who frequent the waters of the Gulf of Maine and
beyond. Photo: Newbedfordguide.com
WHO COULD FORGET?
Humpback whales were an object of contention at the last IWC
meetings; St. Vincents/Grenadines were condemned for killing
mother and calf pairs in a sham declaration of subsistence whaling. (The island nations have no history of aboriginal whaling.)
At the IWC, Greenland’s self-allotted “subsistence” catch limit
(“quota”) of 10 humpback whales was defeated while sales of whale
meat at restaurants and airports continue. Greenland and SVG
would be slewing the very whales that support a vast whale-watching economy along the east coast. (See page 15 for more.)
Cetacean Society International
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W
hales certainly are unique. More than any other
animal, they have what it takes to make you a fan for life. I
have met dozens of people of all backgrounds whose lives
were changed in an instant by whales and I am the classic
example.
The evidence for the first sentence in this article can be
found in the CSI Adoption Program, the online Whale
Name Game and the new I AM ONE OF A KIND video
series on YouTube. Links are provided at the end of this
article.
How did whales change my life? My career as a midlevel audit manager at Mellon Bank was enjoyable and well
rewarded. Then I went whale watching.
I Am
One Of A Kind
By Dan Knaub
Public Relations and Media Director
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Photo: D. Knaub
Back in the mid-80’s, naturalists knew a few hundred
humpback whales by name and many seemed friendly or
at least curious about the boats. Several approached and
started rolling, blowing loudly and doing all kinds of different things that I’ve never seen before. The naturalist told
us their names, if they were male or female and even mentioned their family trees. I was hooked.
That was a new experience for me back then and even
today during lectures or school assemblies most people are
not aware of whales as individuals. Even more fascinating
is the reality that they were more than individuals by name.
Many had unique ways of doing the very same things, they
had personalities!
Now before you say “Oh what pitiful stuff ” and imagine
that during some rough seas I ran into a bulkhead, let me
share a few of my “most memorable characters”.
Colt, a 31 year old male tops the list. He makes a beeline
for boats, swims under and begins to charm you by rolling
over, looking up at the railing and once in a while using
his flipper to splash you. When other whales approach his
boat, he always maneuvers to be the closer whale. Thorn
learned to blow perfect rings of air in the water (social bubbles not nets), some 30 feet wide and Reggie plays a game
with his flipper.
Salt is the most loved whale in the world, with 12 calves
and 10 grandcalves, she has one of the largest family trees.
Catspaw and Lightning have unique fishing methods while
Anchor delights in visiting boats with her new calves.
This new found interest led to the founding of The
Whale Video Company and resulted in the Whale and Marine Life Video Archive.
I have been blessed by the existence of whales more than
any other person in the world. For 16 years between 1988
and 2003, my office was an ocean and when I wasn’t on
the water, I was reviewing and documenting behaviors of
whales on videotape. There were plenty to review.
I estimate a minimum 21,000 hours reviewing and logging sightings of individual whales, noting behaviors, association (with other whales) and human reactions. The
8,000 hours of videotape (equivalent number of Hollywood
movies: 4,571) in the Whale and Marine Life Video Archive
represent a national treasure originating from Stellwagen
Bank, a National Marine Sanctuary.
You might ask why I did this. The overriding question
is: “How do we get people to care enough about a body of
water that they mainly see as limitless to make the sacrifices
and do the work necessary to protect the home of all the
whales?”
The answer was right in front of me. The whales could do
it. They were doing it all along. It was just that not enough
people were paying attention.
I have always believed that you must love an animal, not
a species but an individual animal, to care enough to interrupt your daily lives to do the work, give the money or write
the letters to affect change.
I decided that the named humpback whales were never
properly presented as individuals with unique personalities
and I had within my possession video evidence of an extraordinary nature. I believe I have witnessed more whale
behaviors than anyone in the world, searching sometimes
for days to try to determine the identity of a whale in the
archive that did something so outstanding or unbelievable
that knowing who did it was reward enough.
My attempts to reach a larger audience of people to help
whales in many different ways resulted in the following new
programs.
CSI WHALE ADOPTION PROGRAM
CSI takes adopting a whale seriously and we believe that
seeing the whale you adopted is a guarantee of continued
interest in the years to come. The included DVDs truly are
entertaining and educational. Colt’s actions alone speak volumes about whales and their curiosity towards people. Salt
is a loving mother and very trusting with her calves. Learn
more about adopting at www.csiwhalesalive.org.
GRAY WHALES:
EASTERN PACIFIC: Delisted
WESTERN PACIFIC: Critically Endangered
ATLANTIC: EXTINCT
By Taffy Williams
EASTERN PACIFIC GRAY WHALES: STILL
STRUGGLING
While endangered humpback whales are the whalewatch “superstars” of the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific
gray whales enjoy a similar status in the Pacfic. These
friendly whales initiate close interactions with boaters, with a penetrating and engaging “eye” that many
claim is eerily human-like. There are more than a few
tales of the gray’s charisma, captivating and mystifying,
even propelling one into a life of whale activism. The
Eastern Pacific gray whale was the subject of a recent
Stanford University study that found historical population levels at a high of 118,000. A species qualifies
for depleted status under the ESA if a population falls
below 60% of the carrying capacity of its habitat. Today eastern grays number about 18,000, easily meeting
that qualification. Yet NOAA/NMFS, seeming to evade
their conservation responsibility, is ignoring this important study, claiming there is no evidence that this
population has fallen below its maximum net capacity. Scientists are adamant, arguing that if once healthy
population levels were anywhere from 96,000-118,000,
it is the gray’s Arctic feeding grounds that have been
compromised, as evidenced by the emaciated whales
washing ashore.
Gray whales are unique among cetaceans. Although
Mysticeti, or baleen whales, these are actually bottom-feeders, digging through and upchurning large
amounts of sediment which is sifted for benthic amphipods, isopods and crustaceans. This practice has led to
the evolution of a commensal relationship between the
grays and other members of the marine food web. As
the gray whales dislodge sediment, a feast of organisms
is released and hurled through the water column and
toward the surface where they are met by turtles, fish
and even diving sea birds. Organisms that escape the
whale’s baleen are then consumed by other species.
Unique among whales, the gray bulldozes the oceans,
digging troughs through the sea floor for food. In the process,
they resuspend ocean sediments, bringing food to the surface.
“A population of 96,000 gray whales would have resuspended
12 times more sediment each year than the biggest river in the
Arctic, the Yukon,” Alter said, “and would have played a critical
role in the ecology of the Bering Sea.” Other species may have
felt the loss of whales as well. “The feeding plumes of gray
whales are foraging grounds for Arctic seabirds,” Palumbi said.
“96,000 gray whales would have helped feed over a million sea
birds a year.” (Stanford News Service. http://news.stanford.
edu/pr/2007/pr-whales-091207.html; and Williams, http://
www.csiwhalesalive.org/newsletters/pdf/csi2011_01.pdf)
Bottom trawling, which sifts through the seabed, is
especially devastating for gray whales as well as ecosystems they support. Trawlers drag across the bottom
and remove everything on and just below the seabed,
desertifying once rich benthic environments. Global
warming and acidification are also affecting food supply, and grays are showing emaciation and starvation.
The hungry grays are even mistaking garbage for food
items. One necropsy revealed
over 20 plastic bags, surgical tape and even towels in
the gut of an emaciated gray
whale. For more on the battle
to uplist the Eastern Pacific
Gray Whale visit www.californiagraywhalecoalition.org.
This lovely eastern gray whale calf
shows its baleen. Many believe the
grays were prematurely delisted
from endangered species listing,
with numbers far below historical
levels. Photo: Jim Dorsey.
continued on page 8
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ATLANTIC GRAY WHALE - EXTINCT
Historically, there have been three subspecies of gray
whales. Fossils records of the Atlantic gray whale show
its habitat ranged from northern Canada to Florida and
along the coast of northwestern Europe. Fossils have
been found in Southampton, NY, and around Long Island. Before 1672 a gray whale was chased and killed
by pre-colonial settlers in New York Harbor. (Macy O
[1835]. The History of Nantucket: being a compendious
account of the first settlement of the island by the English:
together with the rise and progress of the whale fishery,
and other historical facts relative to said island and its
inhabitants: in two parts. Boston: Hilliard, Gray & Co.
ISBN 1-4374-0223-2). Perhaps due to to its friendly
and approachable nature the Atlantic gray whale was
hunted to extinction even before the mass onslaught of
commercial whaling. The last sighting of the Atlantic
gray whale occurred in 1740.
WESTERN PACIFIC GRAY WHALE - CRITICALLY
ENDANGERED YET CLINGING TO LIFE
Also decimated by hunting, by the middle of the 20th
century the Western Pacific gray whale was thought to
be extinct until sightings confirmed a small population
clinging to life in its traditional feeding grounds off the
Russian coast. Western Pacific gray whale numbers remain critical at about 100 individuals, with perhaps just
23 breeding females. The World Conservation Union
(IUCN) has designated this species as “critically endangered”, and is a focus of concern for both the IWC
and 3rd World Conservation Congress.
Since 1998, the Western Pacific gray whale has competed with Shell Oil for access to its primary feeding
grounds off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island.
A large platform (Molikpaq) was built adjacent to the
region where the whales gorge themselves before migration. Some 165 km of underwater pipelines, ongoing seismic testing and another drilling platform have
added to the whales’ woes in the following years. In
2006, scientists warned Shell of imminent extinction of
the whales. An Independent Scientific Review Panel
(ISRP) was convened to formulate recommendations to
prevent the extinction of this special whale, which have
been largely ignored. (http://pacificenvironment.org/
downloads/ISRP_Report_with_covers_low_res.pdf)
Mitigations to save the Western Pacific gray whale include the suspension of present drilling operations and
halting the development of new gas and oil reserves,
with an emphasis on those that intrude into mother
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and calf feeding grounds. Specific recommendations
to Sakhalin Energy by the IUCN’s Western Pacific Gray
Whale Advisory Panel may be reviewed here: https://
cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/wgwap_11_recommendations_table_with_seic_response.pdf.
Because of perilously low numbers and because little
is certain about the whales’ migration habitats, a joint
tracking study was conducted in 2010, cooperatively
funded and carried out by Oregon State University,
the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University
of Washington. The project was sponsored by both
Exxon Neftegas Ltd and Sakhalin Energy Investment
Company through the IWC and IUCN. The surprising
findings revealed that one tagged 14-year old male was
migrating from its home waters off Sakhalin to Vancouver Island in the eastern North Pacific! The study
also included additional long-term genetic evaluations
of both the Eastern and Western Pacific grays in respective habitats. They found two Western Pacific gray
whales present during migration among Eastern Pacific gray whales off Southern California.
“While previous studies have supported genetic differentiation between eastern and western populations
of gray whales, the relatively low level of genetic differences observed at nuclear markers suggest that some
dispersal between the two populations could be occurring. The finding of two whales apparently sampled
on both sides of the North Pacific, although subject to
numerous caveats, provides support for that possibility.” (http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/movements_
of_western_gray_whales_from_the_okhotsk_sea_to_
the_eastern_north_pacific.pdf) These two whales may
represent transient western grays in eastern feeding
grounds; the two populations are considered distinct,
while research continues.
Sadly, threats to this frail population is not confined
to energy extraction. Three female western grays died
while entangled in Japanese net-traps in 2005, adding
to the assault on this critical population. Read more
from Pacific Environment at http://pacificenvironment.org/article.php?id=249.
WANTED:
CSI mEmbErship!
Your support helps us fight legal battles, address
NOAA/NMFS regulations/”take” permits, work for
endangered species, push whale conservation
at the IWC, and MORE! YOU CAN HELP!
Visit www.csiwhalesalive.org TODAY!
The ORCA
MORGAN
Why Captivity Doesn’t Work
By Bill Rossiter
The Orca Morgan was condemned in mid-December by a Netherlands court to spend the rest of her life
in captivity, currently at Loro Parque, Canary Islands.
Morgan was emaciated and dehydrated when captured
in June, 2010 from the Wadden Sea, the Netherlands.
Dolfinarium Harderwijk was only permitted to capture Morgan to rehabilitate her for reintroduction back
into her natural habitat. Instead they trained her for
public display, kept her condition secret, fought every
effort to release her, and shipped her off to Loro Parque
before legal actions could prevent it.
From the start of this travesty the Free Morgan
Foundation (http://www.freemorgan.org) was formed
to fight in court for Morgan’s release, locate her family,
monitor her condition, validate her candidacy for wild
release, and prepare and fund a solid release plan in
her Norwegian home waters. An expert board of over
30 people, including CSI President Bill Rossiter, assisted a core group that literally committed their lives
to helping Morgan.
Here the female Sitka is ramming Morgan at Loro
Parque, perhaps injuring her ribs. This photo and considerable documentation supporting Morgan’s tragic
plight at Loro Parque have been provided by Dr Ingrid
Visser, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the
species and currently Chairperson of the Free Morgan Foundation. Recall that a Loro Parque trainer was
killed by one of four Orcas on loan from SeaWorld.
Morgan’s behavior when not harassed by the other Orcas has become stereotypical, indicating stress. While
insisting that Morgan is only four, Loro Parque appears
to be trying to breed her with Keto, who has fathered
two calves at Loro Parque. It’s assumed that SeaWorld
has played a dark role in Morgan’s fate from the start,
and any calf of Morgan that survives will eventually
arrive at Sea World to provide some Norwegian genes
for the company. That may be what this event has been
about all along.
Details of the Amsterdam District Court’s ruling
on their November hearing over Morgan’s fate were
not available by CSI’s newsletter deadline, but will be
available at www.freemorgan.org. That website also
contains a virtual library on what has become the latest injustice to wild and captive cetaceans everywhere,
worthy of study because it is sure to happen again.
Elsewhere in this “Whales Alive!” we express gratitude for the increasing number of scientist-advocates.
They share and voice the concerns so many of us feel,
but they do it with objective facts. Several are totally
committed to a specific issue, like saving the vaquita or
Maui’s dolphin, but none more than Ingrid Visser is to
the wild orcas she studies and saves, and this one captive young orca, Morgan. Thank you, Ingrid!
Morgan being attacked by
Orca pool-mate Sitka (l).
A closer look shows rake
marks along Morgan’s
back (r). Photos:
Dr. Visser
The “ramming sequence” and photographs were presented by Dr. Visser (Visser Report on the Physical State
of Morgan) as part of the evidence of Morgan’s abuse in the legal battle to rehabilitate and release the orca.
Since her arrival at Loro Parque, Morgan has been inflicted with more than 320 puncture and bite marks (all
documented by photographs). “This does not include the damage she has self-inflicted from abnormal and repetitive behaviours such as banging her head on the concrete tanks.” (http://www.scribd.com/doc/111260032/
Visser-2012-Report-on-the-Phyisical-Status-of-Morgan-At-Loro-Parque)
Cetacean Society International
winter, 2013
9
CSI was still the Connecticut Ceta-
cean Society in the early 80's. Its co-founder, Dr. Robbins Barstow, put-together many great public meetings.
Often they were held at the Children's Museum in West
Hartford, the same museum which houses Conny, the
lifesize ferro-cement sperm whale, built by our society.
LISTEN
TO THE
SONGS OF
WHALES
An
Invitation
tiful thought, to combine sailing and listening,
and since that time I've been striving to duplicate
that myself, though for 25 winters I've been happily side-tracked to listen from a 13' inflatable boat.
Still hoping to sail & listen I bought a wrecked 30'
sailboat in 1996, sunk in hurricane Luis. Repaired now,
it has had many short sails and attempts at towing hydrophones. This year I had the great fortune to have a
professional towable hydrophone built. Soon it will be
heading to the British Virgin Islands & Puerto Rico for
sea trials.
If you're interested I hope you stay in touch and I'll
let you know how it's working out. And please consider
visiting, if not this winter, maybe next. Best times are
late January, all of February & March into April.
Sincerely, Paul
(pkcompass@
yahoo.com)
“My trusted 13’ Avon - the
way I’ve listened for 25
winters. Always a wonderful
boat!” Paul Knapp, Jr.
At one of those meetings I saw a brief home movie
about a research sailboat towing a hydrophone, listening to humpback whales. It was a very beau-
http://www.listening
towhales.com/
Welcome.html
Photos by
Glenn Collins
“In 2012-13
I’m using
this boat for
new towable
hydrophone
sea-trials.”
CSI Annual Membership Meeting
J a n u a ry 28, 2013
CSI’s Annual Meeting will be held on January 28, 2013, 7
pm at the Stonewall Restaurant, 354 Colt Highway, Farmington, CT (thestonewell.com (860-677-8855)). Members
and friends of CSI are welcome and encouraged to attend,
to learn about CSI’s activities in 2012 and help us plan for
2013. In addition to the fun part of the evening, we will
elect CSI’s Officers and Directors for 2013. Nominations
are listed below, and will be taken from the floor.
CSI OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nominated for 2013
OFFICERS:
President: William W. Rossiter, Redding, CT
Vice-President: Brent Hall, Cheshire, CT
Secretary: Jessica L. Dickens, Hartford, CT
Treasurer: Barbara Kilpatrick, West Hartford, CT
10
w w w .csiwha lesa live.o r g
DIRECTORS (14)
Deborah Adams, New Richmond, OH
Brian Benito, Suffield, CT
Rachel DeCavage, Southington, CT
Paul J. DiGangi, East Hartford, CT
David Kaplan Esq., West Hartford, CT
Paul Knapp Jr., Lake Wales, FL
A. Daniel Knaub , Mechanicsburg, PA
Gary Pontelandolfo, Winsted, CT
Heather Rockwell, Marstons Mills, MA
Christopher Rombauer, Mechanicsburg, PA
Leesa Sklover-Filgate, PhD, Fairfield, CT
Patricia Sullivan, East Hartford, CT
George A. Upton, Glastonbury, CT
Taffy L. Williams, Tuckahoe, NY
The Tale Of
CSI’S TRAVELING T-SHIRTS
aka “A Peace Corps Encounter”
By David Kaplan
The plan was a simple one: CSI had extra T-shirts made
Danny got the shirts to his apartment over a two day
for a special event of the winter of 2012 and my son, Danjaunt: First by cab to get to the bus stop; then hours on the
iel Kaplan, in the Peace Corps, had a need for a number of
bus from Puerto Plata to Santo Domingo. This is more of the
shirts for programs that he was creating.
type of bus we might recognize….as a bus. But then again,
Getting dozens of shirts from Connecticut to the Dothis bus takes the main road (there is but one) to Santo Dominican Republic is not as easy as I would have thought.
mingo. The local bus from the capitol to Haina is something
It was soon made clear that items sent will
other than what we might call a bus,
rarely arrive where intendwith the road clearly visible
ed. They would
through holes
have to be hand
in the floor and
delivered.
packed so well
It is a place
with persons and
that I always
animals so as to
wanted to visit
have no room to
and especially
breathe. Dan then
now that Dangot a ride on the
iel has his home
back of a moped, the
outside of Santo
popular way to travDomingo, it was
el in the D.R. Picture
time to make the
two adults, his back
journey down.
pack luggage and
In all, six of us
the ton of shirts…
found a cheap
on a moped. The
excursion
to
last block was just
Puerto Plata to
a short tired walk
coincide
with
and then home.
when Danny was
The CSI T-shirts,
to meet other
a bright turquoise
Peace
Corp
color with an origifriends
visitnal Don Sineti drawing the same
ing of a sperm whale
area. We each
on the back, are now
added at least a half
part of a number of
a dozen shirts to our carry on bags
camp programs and projects
CSI’s T-Shirts for the Peace Corps make a splash
(along with other items he needed in the Dominican Republic. Proudly worn on the island!
in El Caliche. And so the CSI
that he couldn’t get locally).
is logo has a presence in the
We managed to rendezvous in Puerto Plata for a relaxing
Domincan Republic.
few days. Then it was time to pack the goods for travel to the
Follow the life of an American in the DR at: DKintheDR.
town of El Caliche, just outside of Haina. We stuffed three
wordpress.com (particularly recommend the tale of the kitdozen shirts in an L.L. Bean bag that was modified from its
ten and the taranutula).
original use (ski trips). Three dozen shirts and all kinds of
In the pictures; the camp programs are rarely co-ed. The
other goods, two basketballs sans air, wiffle bat and balls,
girls in the pictures are part of the Chica Billantes and the
markers and crayons, hand sanitizer and books and so on.
boys are part of Deportes Para La Vida (“Sports for Life”).
It felt like it weighed a ton and looked like it was ready to
On the drawing board, hopes of building a baseball field for
burst.
the town.
CSI: doing a WORLD OF GOOD for WHALES
Cetacean Society International
winter, 2013
11
WORLD WHALE CONFERENCE
Q & A
and BIRDS TO THE RESCUE!
Cetacean Society International personnel are a frequent presence at important conferences and events
for whales around the world. These include the IWC
meetings, public hearings and conferences where CSI
representatives negotiate for better whale protections,
including more stringent shipping lane and fisheries
regulations, preventing wild captures, entanglements or
noise impacts, and stopping cetacean imports for captivity. One member of the Board of Directors, Brian
M. Benito, Jr., recently returned from the World Whale
Conference (WWC), a two-day event that along with
the two-day WhaleFest celebration brought 6,000 guests
to Brighton, UK, to brainstorm on how to best protect
whales in the new millennium.
Editor: Brian, tell us about this conference. Why was it
held in Brighton?
Brian: Actually, this was the first, or inaugural, World
Whale Conference, which is turning into an annual event
(as a second was just scheduled). It was held in Brighton
because it was here, at this very hotel, the Brighton Hilton Metropol, that 30 years ago the International Whaling Commission met and voted for the moratorium on
commercial whaling. This conference was held here strategically to commemorate the 30-year milestone and to
discuss the next 30 years.
Editor: Who organized this event?
Brian: Planet Whale, a group that wanted to bring together as many stakeholders - those with an interest in
protecting whales - as possible. They came up with the
slogan: “Save The Whales - Reloaded”. “Save the Whales”
was the campaign in the 1960‘s and 70’s that led to the
moratorium. This is the updated version, the new campaign.
Editor: What was the focus of this conference?
Brian: The focus of the conference centered around the
fact that 30 years after the moratorium whaling is still
going on. The Save the Whales Reloaded campaign was
emphasized as viable for today, like it was 30 years ago.
It was brought out that many organizations are working
for common goals - to protect cetaceans - but maybe this
work is not being done collectively. One of the main objectives of this conference was to bring non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government officials, con12
w w w .csiwha lesa live.or g
Editor Taffy Williams
interviews CSI Director
Brian M. Benito, Jr.
servation leaders, educators and even the whale watch
industry together in one room to discuss essentially an
approach for moving forward. In other words, determining what we can do as interested parties working together to help further to protection, conservation of whales.
Editor: What were the topics? Speakers?
Brian: There were many speakers and forums. One of
the biggest topics was collectively identifying Marine
Protected Areas (MPAs). These are special places that
protect habitats, whales, fish, wildlife and even cultural
resources. MPAs help preserve the rich biodiversity that
has been destroyed by human activity such as commercial fishing, trawling and energy extraction. First we need
to identify areas of concern. This can be done through a
GIS [Geographic Information System] platform, such as
Google Earth. This was one of the breakout sessions on
day two. We literally formed groups to identify areas we
thought were important. The groups were named, “Conservation,” “Global Warming,” “Protecting Species,” “Anti-captivity,” etc. I was in the Conservation group. There
were a bunch of computers in the conference room and
groups went to actually draw lines on the maps while
filling in information on exact locations, why those areas are important, and who they are important to. We
used a program called SeaSketch, which allowed us to
encircle areas, add information, and even attach articles;
these were then available to other groups. These initially mapped areas were displayed during WhaleFest and
used to encourage public participation. At the end of the
four-days over 500 areas were mapped!
Editor: Currently less than 2% of the entire earth’s oceans
are designated MPAs. CSI and other groups have been
seeking approval for specific marine protected areas for
many years, only to be blocked by government bureaucracy, which many suspect is deliberate. Were these existing MPAs and efforts taken into consideration? Is the
term MPA being used in the same way at the conference?
Brian: In a sense. When we say “areas” here we are referring not just to geographical areas but to broader related
issues that need attention too, such as captivity, as represented by Loro Parque. However, one speaker was the
author Eric Hoyt, recognized for his work to establish
MPAs through government agencies [cetaceanhabitat.
org]. The Southern Ocean is an example of a true MPA.
Editor: What was the attendance at the conference like?
Brian: The WWC was happening at the same time as
the World Whale Watch conference down the hall! Between the two conferences there were over 100 people.
The WWC and Whale Watch Conferences rolled into
WhaleFest (on the third day) with a total of over 6000
participants from over 27 learning about whales, MPAs,
and the new Save the Whales Reloaded campaign. To
date, 44 NGOs and 34
whale watching companies have signed on
to the campaign. Every organization and
representative signed
a pledge saying we
have a common unified mission.
Editor: That’s great!
What do you think
the conference accomplished?
Brian:
The
Save
The Whales Reloaded
campaign identfied three
areas to focus on
and build an organizational structure
around. These were the Southern Ocean, Loro Parque
and the Free Morgan campaign (representing captivity
issues) and New Zealand’s coastal waters (representing
the dire situation facing the near extinct Maui’s dolphin). The questions were, “How do we organize the
78 ‘stakeholders’ that have signed on to this campaign?
How do we create a structure through which these
stakeholders can address the three identified areas that
we mapped - the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary,
New Zealand’s coastal waters, and Loro Parque and
the Free Morgan campaign. Could a campaign focused
on the places whales most need our help be that catalyst?” Finding common ground and eventually setting
up some kind of umbrella structure that we can collectively work under and have one voice was the goal here.
Editor: Were tactics discussed?
Brian: Loro Parque and the Orca Morgan represents
captivity - particularly wild-caught cetaceans. Opposing captivity of wild-caught cetaceans turned out to be
one of the pillars of this conference. Not much can be
done for Morgan right now (see page 9 for more on Mor-
gan.) The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was created by an IWC vote in 1994 supported by 23 member
nations. But there’s whaling going on there by Japan, in
violation of the international treaty. Dr. Barbara Maas
from New Zealand spoke about the Maui’s dolphins:
there are only 55 adults left now mostly due to gillnet
bycatch in the Maui’s habitat. It’s a very dire situation.
Maas discussed the low genetic diversity resulting from
the ongoing killing by
fisheries, and a lack
Dolphin activists
give the 100% Pure New
Zealand tourism campaign a dose of
“not so pure” reality.
Notice the dead
dolphin on the shore.
There are now just 55
adult Maui’s dolphins
left in the wild. Photo:
http://www.hectorsdolphins.com/ and http://
fmacskasy.wordpress.
com/tag/hectors-dolphin/
of effective regulation.
She is with NABU,
the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, a German
NGO working to prevent the Maui’s extinction. One of their campaigns is
tourism. New Zealand has a huge tourism industry and
is big on promoting their “100% Pure New Zealand,”
which highlights its incredible biodiversity. Maas and
others have brought reality into the 100% Pure NZ campaign by labeling area locations in New Zealand as pure,
nice, not so nice, etc. It’s very effective and uncovers
areas that are becoming environmentally degraded.
Editor: CSI has been closely following the serious plight
of the Maui’s and Hector’s dolphins, and has given extensive coverage to the little cetacean in the past two
issues of WhalesAlive!
Brian: As a CSI representative, I was very aware of the
Maui’s dolphin. I found, however, that others at the
conference didn’t know about the species’ difficult situation, which shows how CSI is staying on top of these
kinds of critical issues.
Editor: Many of these issues have been “on the table”
for a long time, while little changes. Are we “reinventing the wheel” here,
continued on page 14
Cetacean Society International
winter, 2013
13
continued from page 13
The World Whale Conference’s impressive display of
“partners”. Photo: Brian M. Benito, Jr.
or do you believe that accomplishments are possible from
these efforts? Do you believe there should be a broader target than just MPAs, such as stopping sonar, poaching, pollution and other bycatch, and continuing to push for candidate marine protected areas that have been stopped by
government beaurocracy or special interests?
Brian: This was just a start. Given more time, as CSI’s representative, I would have brought other issues into the discussion, such as bycatch, military sonar and naval transgressions against existing MPAs. There was just not enough
time to address all the issues.
Editor: Latin American NGOs have been making a special
case for establishing a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary at
the IWC meetings for the past several years. Was there any
talk about pushing this sanctuary? Did the Latin NGO’s
make their case at the conference?
Brian: The Latin NGOs did not have a presence at the conference, although that was most likely due to costs. I did
bring this up with the organizers and it will be addressed
moving forward. CSI is already prepared to provide travel
assistance to the South American NGOs for next year’s conference, which will be held in November. CSI and the Latin
American groups can gain support at this conference for
this very important MPA objective.
SAVING WHALES HAS GONE “TO THE BIRDS”
Editor: What was the most successful part of the event?
14
w w w .csiwha lesa live.o r g
Brian: That’s easy: birds! BirdLife International (BLI, www.
birdlife.org), an umbrella organization for 175 international
NGOs (like the Audubon Society) joined us at the conference. They have used a similar
strategy to save birds: developing a sophisticated member
structure to deal with urgent
problems. Their goal is to essentially halt bird extinctions.
BirdLife has done this by focusing on mapping IBAs, or
Important Bird Areas, and has
identified over 10,000 around
the world! During the conference, BirdLife International’s
Senior Strategy Advisor John
Sanshall explained the BirdLife Model, the coalition that
has taken 10 years to build, and
how partners in the coalition
have worked together to elevate these target IBAs to local,
national and international governments. BirdLife representatives will be meeting with core mapping personnel at the
end of January to discuss the next steps for developing the
Save The Whales-Reloaded coalition. BirdLife has offered
to act as mentors, sharing lessons learned while building
their organization and identifying IBAs.
One of the neatest things is that BLI is looking at marine
bird species and whales, how the needs of marine birds and
whales overlap. Identifying IBAs for birds could be useful in
locating candidate marine protected areas for whales. This
is a unique mentoring partnership that has developed from
this conference. CSI is one of the key constituents in this
partnership; I was invited to the upcoming discussions.
Editor: What was your overall reaction to this conference?
Brian: This was the first international forum that I’ve attended on behalf of CSI. I was really impressed with how
plugged into the issues CSI is. For a long time, CSI has been
working on the three issues that the conference determined
were priority campaigns. I had a sense of pride knowing
this, and that all the people knew about the work of CSI.
Editor: Thanks for your participation and input on behalf of
CSI and for whales around the world!
It may cost $75+ to watch dolphins or whales in an aquarium
show, in unnatural conditions, exploited and dominated by
humans. It costs far less to join a whale watch cruise and visit
a whale in its REAL HOME!
SUPPORT WHALE WATCH TOURS! Plan a whale watch
trip for YOUR NEXT VACATION! and DON'T SUPPORT
the misery of WHALE AND DOLPHIN CAPTIVITY!
T
h
e
N
e
w
s
f
e
e
d
DRAMA IN HUDSON BAY: When 12-17 orcas became
trapped in thickening ice on January 9th, 2013, activists
and locals took action. Canada’s Dept. of Fisheries and
Oceans (DFO) was barraged with messages, phone calls
and emails pleading for the whales - to send help, and
an ice breaker. International media teams were ready to
pounce on the small Hudson Bay community of Inukjuak,
watching for another “Big Miracle” story. Many recalled
the fate of 575 narwhales in 2008 that were slaughtered
by villagers during a similar tragic ice-over; the DFO refused to send an ice breaker, although one sat idle just 22
miles away, This time, nature delivered: scouts and aerial
surveys confirmed that with the new moon, changing
winds and currents overnight a path opened with more
breathing holes, some the size of football fields. Officials
are cautiously optimistic: the whales still have to make the
long journey back out of the bay to the Atlantic Ocean.
MARINELAND’S MASS GRAVES IN THE NEWS: Amid
f accusations of negligence and animal abuse at the Niagara
o Falls aquarium, officials are now investigating four iller gal mass graves on the property. A former landowner has
reported that more than 1000 animals, including whales,
dolphins, bears, bison, deer, seal and walruses are buried
in just two of the four mass graves. Among the abuses reh ported, a solitary Orca housed in the park has been bleeding sporadically for months.
W
a
l
e
s
TAIJI BUSINESS AS USUAL HITS MAINSTREAM MEDIA: A British tabloid has reported that 200 dolphins were
trapped in a cove in Taiji (12/23/12), the scene of the ongoing dolphin-killing sprees exposed by the award winning
documentary, The Cove. 100 of the trapped dolphins were
chosen by the aquarium industry, 25 of the remaining dolphins
were slaughtered; and in a surprise move, 75 were set free, citing
the market saturation of dolphin meat. Dolphin meat is certainly
saturated, with 20 to 5,000 times more mercury than is recommeded by the UN WHO and the Japanese Ministry of Health!
(http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fe20100523a1.html). With additional contaminants such as cadmium and PCB’s, some Japanese
officials have called dolphin meat “toxic waste”. The Sunday Times
is reporting that surging orders from dolphinaria mostly based in
the far east translates to more dolphin drives for captivity, which
bring in far more profit than the sale of meat. (http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Environment/article1182207.
ece)
UK’s KILLER WHALES ON VERGE OF EXTINCTION: The
Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) is reporting just
nine adult animals (4 male, 5 female) in the small orca population
which ranges from the north and west coast of Scotland to Ireland’s west coast. No calves were born in the last two decades. Scientists believe females are likely post-reproductive; isolation from
other NE Atlantic pods means conservation is critical.
WHALING WAR CONTINUES: Japan’s KYODO News Agency
has reported that three whaling vessels have departed for the
Southern Ocean, planning to take 935 minke and up to 50 endangered fin whales. Meanwhile, a US court has ordered Sea Shepherd
(SSCS) to keep its vessels 500+ meters from the whaling vessels,
a ruling SSCS calls “the first shot of the season,” by the whalers.
SSCS’s 9th campaign this year involves four ships, a helicopter,
3 drones and over 100 crew members. (http://www.abc.net.au/
news/2012-12-28/japan-begins-whaling-hunt/4446630). Japan’s
whaling plans have brought condemnation from Australia, who
ironically voted to allow the killing of humpback mother and calf
pairs by St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the 2012 IWC meetings.
GREENLAND’S PIRATE WHALING: After requests to kill 10
humpback whales for its “subsistence” quota was defeated, Greenland has defiantly announced plans to allocate its own quota for
2013, with even greater kill numbers for both humpback and fin
whales. This is clearly in violation of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). WDCS has found at
least 1/4 of whale meat ended up in restaurants or on supermarket shelves making it an illegal commercial venture. The public
is being asked to write to the Greenland Minister Ane Hansen
(responsible for the hunt): apnn@nanoq.gl, and Danish Minister
of Foreign Affairs Villy Soevndal: um@um.dk; urge Greenland to
withdraw its illegal self-allocated quota.
DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER IN MALAITA: Sources have confirmed 134 bottlenose dolphins were driven ashore and killed in
NE Malaita, in violation of Fisheries and Marine laws. The dolphins were killed for their teeth (which hold special value) and
meat which is consumed during holiday events. The slaughter
was immediately condemned by Earth Island Institute which
has agreements with four similar communities to prevent such
activities from occurring in the Solomon Islands. (http://www.
internationalwhaleprotection.org/forum/index.php?/topic/3173134-dolphins-slaughtered-in-malaita-province-last-week/)
SHELL OIL RIG RUNS AGROUND IN ONGOING ARCTIC
DRILLING FIASCO. The second of Shell Oil’s doomed rigs ran
aground in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, perilously close to
spilling its 150,000 gallons of fuel/oil. Shell is now under investigation by the US CG and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Tell the Dept. of Interior to revoke Shell Oil’s Arctic Drilling Permits: http://soe.salsalabs.com/o/1/p/dia/action/public/?action_
KEY=282&track=2013_0110_Shell_Update_Alert.
SPIRITUAL LEADER STILL GUIDING: “The greatness of a nation....can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Mahatma
Gandhi (1869-1948). The Animal Welfare Board of India has announced a ban on the captivity and display of dolphins in India.
Puja Mitra of FIAPO (Federation of Indian Animal Protection
Organisations) says, “Few people understand that dolphins are
highly intelligent mammals that suffer tremendously in captivity. Additionally, dolphinariums have absolutely no conservation
or educational value.” (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.
com/2013-01-09/flora-fauna/36237093_1_captive-dolphins-dolphinariums-animal-welfare-board). Ghandi would be pleased.
STILL PROTESTING: CSI’s New York Project, NY4WHALES,
joined Friends of Animals NJ/NY (FAUN), SEASHEPHERD,
and NYC ANIMAL RIGHTS, for a rally to stop the Taiji dolphin
slaughter/wild dolphin captivity trade on Jan. 11, 2013. The 25 activists and more will protest against Japanese whaling on Jan. 17,
3-6 pm. Visit www.ny4whales.org for more info.
PETITIONS TO LIKE:
Help stop the proposed dolphin circus in Prague, Czech Republic: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/776/994/760/please-help-usstop-the-dolphin-circus-in-prague/.
End dolphin and orca shows in Spanish dolphinaria: https://www.
change.org/es/peticiones/mr-arias-canete-put-an-end-to-dolphin-and-orca-shows-in-spanish-dolphinaria.
Indian River (Florida) dolphins are suffering from skin diseases,
cancers and more. Tell county commissioners to stop the runoff:
http://www.causes.com/causes/574232-ocean-river-institute/act
ions/1711561?query=dolphins&rank=1&utm_campaign=search
Dolphinarium in the Turks and Caicos Islands? Just say “No!”:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/366/664/485/stop-new-dolphinarium-in-the-turks-and-caicos-islands/.
Cetacean Society International
winter, 2013
15
Cetacean Society International
PO Box 953
Georgetown, CT 06829
U.S.A.
FIRST CLASS MAIL
Photos of
the vaquita
in the wild are
as rare
as the live
cetacean.
Shown here,
vaquitas often
fall victim to
gill nets in
their habitat.
Photo:
Alejandro
Robles
Like the Maui dolphin, the Vaquita, is one of the world’s most endangered cetaceans. This
small porpoise is found only in the northern region of the Gulf of California, Estimates
vary, ranging from 150 -300; it gained Endangered Species Act listing in 1985. With 40-80
individuals drowning in fishing nets each year the vaquita may be extinct in just a few years.
Bowing to pressure from scientists and conservation groups and scientists the Mexican government has implemented a conservation plan, compensating fishermen to avoid harvesting
in the vaquita’s habitat.