Cetacean News

By William Rossiter

The Dilemma Of Bycatch

Maui and Hector's dolphins will finally have a Threat Management Plan ready by Christmas, according to an August announcement by the Ministry of Fisheries and the Department of Conservation. Continued human pressures limiting the recovery of an estimated 7,270 Hector's dolphins have prompted many studies of what these tiny dolphins need to survive, and what humans must do to control the human-related deaths from fishing, boat strikes, noise, pollution, disease, climate, and tourism impacts. New threats include seabed prospecting and mining, and iron, sand and gold prospecting.

While the studies were underway and some regulations were put in place 18 more dolphins died within two years in just one area of unregulated gillnets. An estimated 12,000 Hector's and Maui's dolphins have died in gillnets since 1970. 111 Maui dolphins remain; they won't survive if more than one human-related death occurs every six years. But to save these dolphins the livelihoods of many fishermen, businesses and communities must be affected. The dilemma is to balance the worth of these dolphins with the worth of the affected people.

South Australia does it differently: After pilchard-fishing nets killed 19 dolphins in five months the Government in August temporarily banned the pilchard-fishing fleet from operations. The industry claimed that a food shortage for the A$300 million tuna farming industry of Port Lincoln was imminent, as only six days of fresh pilchards were available to feed the penned tuna. The emergency measure sent the necessary signal, and the industry reopened after a draft code of practice to prevent further dolphin deaths was implemented. The $28 million pilchards industry has a yearly quota of 51,000 tons, and a good deal of political clout, but was unlikely to implement dolphin-friendly practices without significant pressure. It is very refreshing to see executive decisions like this, and the lesson could be heeded by many. In contrast, a reasonable estimate of dolphins killed accidentally in Taiwan's fisheries is assumed to be well over 20,000 per year, but the government suppresses the information.

Bycatch is the greatest global threat to cetaceans, according to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy in 2004. Fishing nets kill nearly 1,000 marine mammals a day, according to a World Wildlife Fund-U.S commissioned report. Developed nations' industrialized fisheries are responsible for much of the bycatch, but at least they can be monitored and regulated over time. For example, the European Union banned the use of drift nets for tuna in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in 2002, and all other drift-netting will be phased out by 2008.

What about the hundreds of thousands of small scale fisheries in developing nations, with a total bycatch estimated to be about 300,000 cetaceans killed every year? It was not that long ago that efforts to improve the quality of life and quantity of catch in many developing regions included wide scale distribution of monofilament nylon gillnets. These are the accidental killers, rarely noticed by cetaceans until impact, rarely escaped once caught. Someone has to design a cheap, reliable net and gear that cetaceans will avoid, or escape without destroying the net. Can you help?

The building chorus of scientific evidence was amplified by a recent Science article that 50 percent of the ocean's commercial diversity is gone, all from human activity. The Pew Institute for Ocean Science speaks of "a gathering wave of ocean extinctions." Destruction of habitats is responsible for a third of the loss. Industrialized fishing accounts for more than half of recent documented fish extinctions, as catches of ocean fish tripled between 1950 and 1992. The evidence is unbelievable but undeniable; for one small example, accidental bycatches have caused an 89 percent decline in hammerhead sharks in the Northeast Atlantic over just 20 years. But these creatures are out of sight and mind to most people until they are on someone's plate. Are you sure that nothing on your plate is contributing to the loss? It's difficult to know, much less accept the consequences of our actions, but we must, and there is still time.

This slaughter is a worldwide issue: When must human activities be stopped, not just moderated or regulated, so that some animal, plant or habitat can continue to exist? Australia and New Zealand are advanced, enlightened nations grappling with an issue now sweeping the world. To paraphrase a comment heard more loudly every day, it is contemptible for responsible officials to demand "more data" when problems become undeniable, particularly when existing scientific knowledge combined with common sense is sufficient to adopt precautionary management measures. A lack of data is too often used as an excuse to delay action indefinitely. This Whales Alive! intentionally includes issues that suffer from delays, because as most are politically motivated you, the voter, can make a difference.

Silent Spring voiced the same warnings forty-three years ago, when Rachel Carson said: "we're challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves." Her work still resonates truths to be refreshed and learned anew. Find Silent Spring on the shelf, read it again, pass it along to the generation that thinks she's history. The real challenge is to have such wisdom understood and heeded by the people doing the damage.

Orcas

A coalition of Alaskan orcas submitted a complaint to Ketchikan human authorities in mid-August, after one of their pod scraped himself in belly-deep water as he aborted an attack on what he had believed was a harbor seal. Instead he found a 12 year old human male apparently foolish enough to imitate the splashes seals might make, or perhaps trying to lure the orca closer. After recovering his composure but still quite nauseous he was joined by his pod in an energetic display meant to signal that stupid human behavior is prohibited in orca waters, albeit a message humans don't seem capable of comprehending. Ketchikan's human authorities claim they never received the complaint.

Orcas probably benefited from commercial whaling as floating carcasses became available. A recent paper in Biology Letters by Drs. Whitehead and Reeves, "Killer whales and whaling: the scavenging hypothesis", suggests that the number of scavenging orcas may have increased through diet shifts and reproduction, adapting to the large-scale mechanical whaling in the twentieth century, which provided floating food marked with loud acoustic signals. The reduction in whaling of the 1970's forced some orcas to find other food, perhaps triggering declines in other prey species, potentially affecting ecosystems, as well as increasing direct predation on living whales. Rumors were not confirmed that Japan's Institute for Cetacean Research was trying to locate whale-eating orcas to pay for their travel to the next IWC meeting.

Luna, the solitary orca in his fourth year in Canada's Nootka Sound, has made over 130 separate and distinct calls during recordings made for LunaLive, a joint project of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation and environmental and scientific organizations. International researchers use a satellite uplink to broadcast sounds from a hydrophone, and scientists from Canada, the U.S., Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia are listening in fascination as Luna vocalizes without a pod to teach him the language. Samples of Luna's vocalizations can be heard at http://lunalive.net/, and you're just as likely to figure out what they mean as the scientists are. Enjoy!

Rumors have it that Luna sees this differently. He's frustrated by the failure of humans to understand his efforts to communicate. Orcas as a rule have the innate ability to communicate with less advanced creatures, although these lesser beings don't often stay around to listen.

The Mowachaht-Muchalaht native band was paid a modest $48,000 by Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans for a stewardship program to monitor Luna this summer. They are responsible for educating the public about Luna; the essential lesson is to try to stay away from him. Besides being a reasonable approach for safety concerns, the Mowachaht-Muchalaht believe that Luna is the embodiment of the spirit of dead chief Ambrose Maquinna. They want him left alone until a ceremonial potlatch is held in November.

A few boaters, however, have been vocal about harming Luna. One even threatened to use dynamite. There may be valid concerns that a few fools fueled by alcohol, bravado or anger may try to harm the whale. Of course violating Canada's Species At Risk Act and Fisheries Act could cause a $250,000 fine, five years in jail, or both. But catching and prosecuting fools is the difficult part.

Another orca capture effort in Russia may have started in September, as the "Putyatin" was reported to have left Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. CSI would welcome details as they become available.

The Southern Resident orca proposed conservation plan was released by NMFS in early October, and is available at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/mmammals/whales/CPPSKW.html. The plan recognizes the three primary causes for the population decline as pollution, disruptions from vessels and prey availability. Oil spills and disease were also factors. Known officially as the Eastern North Pacific Southern Residents, the population dropped from a high of perhaps 97 animals in 1996 to 79 in 2001, and is now estimated at 91. These whales, all fish eaters, range from California to British Columbia, but are typically seen in Puget Sound during the summer.

News

Costa Rica is the first Caribbean nation to ban swims with wild dolphins and prohibit dolphin captivity (except for temporary rehabilitation). CSI congratulates Priscilla Cubero-Pardo, and her organization Fundación Promar (PROMAR), for the sophisticated campaign which CSI was proud to help fund. PROMAR established cetaceans as a significant part of the nation's biodiversity and heritage, enriching Costa Rica's tradition of environmental conservation. The Minister of Environment, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, gave all his support to the new regulations. The President, Abel Pacheco, clearly understood the importance of respecting wildlife, having supported a decree to prevent wild animal circuses from performing in Costa Rica, or even passing through the country. We apologize to PROMAR for being unable to share Priscilla's excellent report because of a lack of space, but urge everyone interested in their innovative advocacy, and the details of their success, to contact CSI for a copy.

Radisson Seven Seas, the cruise line, has stopped selling captive dolphin tour excursions to its guests. Other cruise lines still pander to this seamy side of tourism, even providing bus transportation, but the pressure to stop this connection continues. You can help by contacting cruise lines.

Ocean Adventure Park in Subic, the Philippines closed in August. The park had operated defiantly without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), "exotic" species like sea lions were displayed and 3 false killer whales had recently died from gastrointestinal illnesses. Tests to determine the cause of whale deaths are expected by some to show that they had been poisoned. The US Navy has made an inadequate effort to mediate the toxic biochemical, possibly nuclear, wastes dumped into Subic Naval Base waters. Deceased US Admiral Eugene Collins had admitted the base had dumped ship paint, unexploded ordnance, armory and weapon wastage, pesticide chemicals, depot fuel, and biochemical wastes from docked American ships into Subic Bay. All of the remaining false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins came from the Japan dolphin drive fishery.

SeaWorld Orlando recently announced a new water park where, in their own words, "we will actually plunge guests through the sea, immerse them in the sea, where they're going to be close to Commerson's dolphins, and they're going to enjoy all the fun and excitement of being in the sea while actually enjoying a high-service, very comfortable feel, natural park."

No, not really. This latest aberration is an enclosed water slide for screaming kids through a tank of Commerson's dolphins, at most a second of educational experience, but really meant to compete with the Disney and Universal water slides. What the dolphins will make of this is a guess, even after extensive training, but if you were confined to a closet and some alien's kids dropped through, screams amplified by the tube, what would you do? The dolphins will not be able to do any of the things you just thought of. Instead the slide may quietly shut down as stress takes its toll.

The Australian snubfin dolphin, Orcaella heinsohni, is perhaps the newest cetacean of over 80 species, illustrating that the thrill of discovery today is found most often in a laboratory, and uninspired names may be the norm. The snubfin dolphin is endemic to Australia but distinguishable from the Irrawaddy dolphin, which it used to be.

Canada's Pacific Recovery Strategy for recovery of blue, fin and sei whale populations was announced in August by Canada's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. The public comment period on the draft closed in mid-September.

"Sealord" brand tuna sold in New Zealand and Australia has been declared ineligible for Earth Island Institute's "Dolphin Safe" status because Sealord is owned by Nissui (Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd.) of Japan, which also markets whale meat in Japan for the controversial, government-sponsored "scientific" whaling in Antarctica and the North Pacific. Earth Island's Dolphin Safe tuna policy includes an international tuna monitoring program that certifies no dolphins died, and requires companies not to kill whales and sea turtles, and use fishing practices that do not harm marine life and their ecosystems. Congratulations Earth Island! For more information see http://DolphinSafeTuna.org/.

The Solomon Islands were rumored in October to be considering more captive dolphin exports, after a January promise not to export followed the withdrawal of Earth Island's Dolphin Safe tuna certification. Earth Island is investigating the rumor with tuna processors.

Human noise did not cause fifteen striped dolphins to strand in North Carolina in August. Three were returned to sea, but studies of the remaining 12 who died found all to be very old males who had not eaten recently. Some had very few of the species' usual 100 teeth; one had none. Striped dolphins are normally found well offshore, with strong social bonds maintaining segregated groups. Mass strandings caused by human noise have received well-deserved attention lately, and it's almost a relief to find "natural" events like this, but while they will always continue, human-caused events don't have to.

The National Science Foundation's funded research that uses seismic sources will be assessed by a Programmatic EIS/Overseas EIS to address potential impacts on the marine environment. NMFS will be a cooperating agency in the Programmatic EIS/OEIS preparation. Public scoping meetings were held in early October. Written comments will be accepted by NSF if received by 28 October. More information at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a050922c.html.

Events

The Society for Marine Mammalogy will be holding the 16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals on 12-16 December, 2005, in San Diego, CA. Workshops before and after will also cover an exciting array of subjects. For more information: http://www.marinemammalogy.org/conference2005/.

CSI is extremely pleased with the numbers of Latin American scientists, educators and advocates that will be at this important meeting. To each this is an opportunity that will enhance their careers; to us an investment in what they will do to help cetaceans. By 1 October CSI had committed small travel grants to 28 people, many of whom will present their research we had earlier helped to fund. But that wasn't a requirement for our help, and many are new to us, full of enthusiasm and energy, giving us hope.

Over the past decade the number of Latin Americans attending this and other international meetings has multiplied greatly; we are proud of our role in making that happen. Overall, the numbers of marine mammal specialists working with conservation concerns appear greater in Latin America than in Europe and North America. The research is less institutionalized, cheaper, and has a better chance of providing solutions or catching problems at early stages than elsewhere. We know some pretty sharp people working with limited resources under difficult circumstances, and we are pleased to say that many of the best have been offered Ph.D. degree or specialized research opportunities in the North.

The Southeastern New England Marine Educators (SENEME) Fall Conference on 15 October will also benefit from CSI. CSI board members will put on three workshops: "Spice Up Your Classroom With Salsa, Tabasco, and Wasabi (Humpback Whales)" by Dan Knaub (Whale Video Company); "Trashing Our Oceans: Awareness Education" by Taffy Williams (NY Whale and Dolphin Action League); and "Enhance Your Language Arts Curriculum: Write About Whales", by Patty Sullivan. Bill Rossiter will maintain CSI's booth and display, featuring the range of resources we can provide for education. While we're on the subject, and because there's no need to reinvent the wheel, we'd like to recommend the American Cetacean Society's Educational Curriculum, available from http://acsonline.org/. If you know of others please pass them to us. Is there anything out there in French?

The Marine Mammal Commission Advisory Committee on Acoustic Impacts on Marine Mammals held its sixth meeting from 20-22 September. The initial purpose was for disparate stakeholders to find consensus for some feasible solutions for anthropogenic acoustical impacts to be presented to Congress, starting with the acceptance that some human activities were having deleterious impacts on marine mammals. It failed miserably. Whatever had been worked out to that point was challenged, existing disagreements were amplified, and simple definitions became impossible.

It had been predicted that the noise makers would not allow the process to cost them anything, and at this meeting they intentionally brought progress to a halt. Even some scientists took extreme, indefensible positions, appearing most concerned about their funding and adding to the current debate over financial conflict of interest, specifically where research is funded by the Navy. NMFS, the Minerals Management Service, Navy, oil and gas, shipping, and scientists will prepare a majority statement, the environmental organizations will present a minority statement, and whatever report gets to Congress will be written by the Commission. Congress, of course, may be in no mood to worry about noise, so even a medium warm alarm from the Commission may cool once it reaches the Hill.

The Marine Mammal Action Plan (MMPA) Workshop for the Wider Caribbean Region was held in Barbados in mid July. Sponsored by the United Nation's Environmental Programme (UNEP) and Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol (SPAW), the meeting was convened by CSI Board Member Dr. Nathalie Ward. She has every reason to celebrate its success.

The Eastern Caribbean Stranding Workshop, to be held in Trinidad, 15-18 November, is hosted by the Eastern Caribbean Cetacean Network, of which Nathalie is founder and director. CSI is pleased to assist this workshop with a small grant, as well as another in support of ECCN's database coordinator. To list the full range of Nathalie's work would take the entire newsletter. She's an advisor for UNEP's MMAP and consultant on marine mammal policy and marine conservation education. She has: developed all whale and dolphin education materials for UNEP's Cartagena Convention; liaised for Eastern Caribbean whale watch operators; authored UNEP publications on marine mammal strandings, distribution, occurrence, and conservation in the Wider Caribbean Region; designed and published SPAW brochure for marine protected areas and wildlife program; and initiated and coordinated children's scholarship and poster competitions in the Eastern Caribbean on oceans, sea turtles, and whales and dolphins.

Whales - A Shared Resource; 1º International Workshop on Management and Non-Lethal Use of Cetaceans, was held at Península Valdés, Argentina 27-29 September. CSI Scientific Advisor Dr. Carole Carlson was a keynote speaker and helped to coordinate the meeting.

The meeting discussed the nonlethal use of cetaceans through whale watching, scientific research, and educational and cultural appreciation. The whale watching industry generates over US$1 billion in income in more than 87 countries and territories, enhancing the quality of life in the coastal communities where they are performed. Regional growth has been rapid in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay, as well as in South Africa. The potential is enormous, providing sustainable economic growth, generating new jobs, diversifying local industry, promoting local scientific programs, and encouraging the conservation of the natural, historical and cultural heritage of nations. The Workshop was organized by the Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas (Whale Conservation Institute) and sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. CSI also was pleased to help support this vital meeting. The theme was reminiscent of the historic and acclaimed 1983 "Whales Alive" conference in Boston cosponsored by the then-Connecticut Cetacean Society.

In contrast, in some areas of the US the whale watch industry may be slipping away from quality educational experiences in favor of the super fast, mostly entertaining approach. This trend accommodates the impulse tourists, the folks who walk by the dock and say, "I'm bored, let's try one of those whale watch things". Rising fuel prices and occasionally meager sightings add to pressures to survive the competition. What is disturbing is the belief that the average whale watcher may seek novelty, not quality, perhaps reflected in sporadic exit polls that do not demonstrate that people take home what they learn at sea.

The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) will hold its 24th annual Commission and Scientific Committee in Hobart, Australia in late October. CCAMLR came into force in 1982 to comply with the Antarctic Treaty's Article IX, largely in response to concerns that an increase in krill catches in the Southern Ocean could have a serious effect on populations of krill and other marine life, particularly species which mainly depend on krill for food. CCAMLR is responsible for managing the marine living resources, specifically excluding whales and seals, which are the subject of other conventions such as the IWC.

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is made up of many organizations, including CSI. ASOC will be submitting several papers for review at the CCAMLR. One will address anthropogenic noise impacts. While whaling is not normally a subject for CCAMLR there is a suggestion that a joint IWC/CCAMLR committee may be established and invited to express views on Japan's "scientific" whaling program, JARPA II. This may have been Japan's idea. ASOC supports the view that JARPA II is an IWC issue, and CSI would add that if Japan is indeed maneuvering to have it discussed their goal is likely to be insinuating CCAMLR support for their "scientific" whaling.

Books

Whales & Dolphins of the World was written Mark Simmonds, Director of Science for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. You know the facts are correct, the concerns are real, and the book is one you must have. But the photos! The best ever, a generation better than anything previous, they are from http://Seapics.com/, a company started by gifted marine life photographer Doug Perrine. This book is your Christmas shopping list. MIT Press, 2005, US$29.95, 160 pages, 180 full-color photos, one color map.

Swimming with Orca; My Life with New Zealand's Killer Whales is a book that will stir excitement, but its greatest value is in showing a new dimension of these magnificent creatures. The author, Dr. Ingrid Visser, is a unique scientist who has opened a window on orcas unimaginable a few years ago. She knows them, some know her, and the mutual respect is obvious. While conducting the first long term study of orcas in New Zealand, Ingrid occasionally responds to their obvious invitations for interaction with a sophisticated blend of science and open-minded awareness. Penguin Books, 2005.

Adventures of Riley-Dolphins in Danger is a new children's book written by Amanda Lumry and Laura Hurwitz, published by Eaglemont Press. It's part of the award winning series Adventures of Riley, featuring a boy, Riley, and his family. The series is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, World Wildlife Fund, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. This story is about Riley helping Dr. Michael Poole and his family save some spinner dolphins trapped inside the lagoon at Moorea in French Polynesia, and is based on two real incidents there.