Unmanned aerial vehicle used to study gray whales from above

Date:May 28, 2015

Source:NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Credit: NOAA

Summary:Scientists are using an unmanned aerial vehicle to take very precise overhead images of migrating gray whale mothers and calves. This research will help scientists understand how environmental conditions control the reproductive success of individual whales and ultimately of the population.

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Whale carcass washes up underneath busy Seattle ferry dock

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A dead gray whale floated underneath a busy commuter ferry terminal in downtown Seattle, sending a putrid odor onto the dock on Thursday and diverting some passenger ferries to another slip before it was moved to a nearby pier, an official said.

Transportation officials had wanted to move the carcass away from the ferry terminal before the busy evening rush hour.

"It's the smell," said Susan Harris, a spokeswoman with Washington State Ferries. "More than anything, it's upsetting for people to see."

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would soon move the body again to a more remote pier to perform a necropsy and determine cause of death, she said.

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Viral Video: Whale Smacks Girl in Head

By Laura Poppick, Staff Writer   |   February 28, 2014 11:50am ET

On most occasions, whale watching offers a calming opportunity to reconnect with nature and witness the graceful acts of Earth's largest modern mammals.

Until, that is, those graceful animals beat you over the head with their flipper. That was the unfortunate result of a whale-watching trip in a lagoon in Baja California, Mexico, on Saturday (Feb. 22), when 20-year-old Canadian Chelsea Crawford was smacked on the side of her head by a gray whale's flipper. Crawford managed to remain inside the small whale-watching boat, and did not experience any major injuries, the Canadian news channel CTV Atlantic reported on Wednesday (Feb. 26).

Read more

Migrating whales provide entertainment for dolphins - Photo

September 2013. In the photo, a group of long-beaked common dolphins are hitching a free ride on the bow wave of a migrating gray whale. Taken near Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California, the photo was shot from about 600 feet by scientists with the Cetacean Health and Life History Program at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

Migration

Every year, almost the entire population of eastern North Pacific gray whales migrates from their feeding grounds in the Arctic down to their breeding and calving grounds off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. And most years, NOAA scientists survey and photograph the whales from the air. By analysing the high-resolution photos, scientists can tell how well-nourished the animals are, how many females are pregnant, and how many new calves are born.

Health check

One reason for doing this is to keep an eye on the health of the gray whale population. But in addition to that, the photographic study is an indirect way of monitoring the Arctic ecosystem. The primary feeding grounds for the eastern north Pacific population of gray whales are in the Arctic. The rest of the year they fast or eat very little. So their physical condition during migration reflects conditions in their feeding grounds in the Arctic.

Climate change

"We know the Arctic is changing, and changing pretty rapidly," said Wayne Perryman, a biologist with NOAA's Cetacean Health and Life History Program. "We want to know how this is impacting the gray whale population."

For example, many of the species that gray whales feed on are shifting northward as the Arctic warms. This means that gray whales have to migrate further north to feed. For pregnant females, who by the time they arrive in the Arctic have been fasting for many months, this extra travel may be energetically taxing. One of the things that Perryman and his colleagues are studying is the relationship between the length of the migration and the rate of successful pregnancies.

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Gray whale spotted off Namibia

A rare and mysterious visitor in Walvis Bay

May 2013. Gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, range in the high Arctic (Pacific) and northern Pacific Oceans, venturing as far south as Baja California and Mexico on the west coast of America and the Korean Peninsula to breed in summer. Gray whales did occur in the North Atlantic Ocean, but was hunted to extinction in the 1700's, but was never known to venture south of the equator. Or so we thought.

On 04 May 2013, tour boats on a dolphin cruise to Pelican Point (Namibia) saw a strange whale. Several more sightings during the following week seemed to indicate the unlikely fact that a Gray whale was visiting Walvis Bay! On Sunday 12 May a member of the Walvis Bay strandings network confirmed the reports that there was a Gray whale in the locality. This is the first known record of this species in the Southern Hemisphere. The question is now "what is the origin of this whale?"

Gray whale in the Mediterranean

In May 2010 a Gray whale was seen off Israel in the Mediterranean sea and (presumably) the same whale was seen 22 days later in Spanish waters, also in the Mediterranean. This sighting raised much speculation on the origin of the whale and the reasons for its appearance. It was suggested that the whale originated from the eastern Pacific population and was able to navigate around the north of Canada due to the reduction in size of the Arctic ice cap caused by global warming. This climatic trend would potentially allow these whales to re-colonise their historic range in the North Atlantic.

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Gray Whale Recovery Fuels Whalewatching Success

Kieran Mulvaney, Discovery News

The pregnant females leave first, setting out from the winter breeding grounds of Mexico’s Baja California on the long journey north to Arctic waters off Alaska and Siberia. During the process the nautical families treat viewers along the west coast of the United States and Canada to one of the great sights of the natural world: the annual migration of the eastern Pacific gray whales.

Gray whale breaching.
CREDIT: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration 

For those pregnant whales, this year’s migration has been underway for about two weeks. For the whales that bring up the rear – mothers with calves – it will be perhaps another month yet until the young whales are ready to begin the journey. In between, in order, come non-pregnant females without calves, adult males, and then immature whales; all of them will swim up to 10,000 km (6,200 miles) to the north and then, after a summer of gorging in the Arctic, will cover a similar distance on the return voyage.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/27675-gray-whale-recovery-fuels-whalewatching-success.html

Crews Unable to Find Gray Whale Tangled in Fishing Net

SAN ONOFRE, Calif. (KTLA) -- Rescue crews have been unable to find a gray whale tangled in fishing net, last seen in the waters off Orange County.

Authorities sent up Coast Guard helicopters on Wednesday to try to locate the whale, but had no luck.

The mammal was last spotted off the coast of San Onofre.


The older 40-foot whale was first spotted in Laguna Beach on Tuesday heading south along the coastline.

The animal is towing 50 to 100 feet of fishing line from its left pectoral fin, according to Melissa Sciacca, director of development at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

Rescuers also found that there was more fishing line entangled in the whale's mouth.

They managed to attach three inflatable buoys to the older whale, who appears to be in good health.

The whale fought against rescuers, unaware that they were trying to help.

"This whale, I think, was letting us know we were a little bit too close," said Dana Friedman, of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.


"He smacked our boat and we felt it. We saw this whale shaking his tail in a side-to-side fashion, which is something they do if they want to use their tail as a weapon."

They were able to free a portion of the line on Tuesday, but then they had to suspend the rescue operation for the night.

Marine experts said the fact that the whale is swimming south is concerning, because at this time of year, Gray whales migrate north.

Last month, two gray whales also got tangled up in netting off the Orange County coast.

Both were rescued, but one may have later died.

The California gray whale is a protected species.


http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktla-whale-tangled-in-fishing-net,0,1687123.story

Russia's oil ambitions off Sakhalin Island could extinct whale species

Katharine Helmore
18th January 2011

The Western North Pacific gray whale is under threat of extinction, say WWF, as Russian plans a third oil platform off Sakhalin Island to meet rising demands from Asia

A Russian oil giant's plans to expand oil production in far eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean threaten the dwindling population of endangered western gray whales, say WWF.

Environmentalists fear the construction of a new oil platform off Sakhalin Island by the majority-state owned Sakhalin Energy Company could wipe out the remaining 130 western gray whales.

The shallow waters off Russia's largest island provide a vital feeding ground for the endangered species, which migrate there each summer. Gray whales exist on both sides of the Pacific, but the Eastern population are not thought to mix with the endangered Western species found off Sakhalin Island.

The oil rich seabed off the island, holding an estimated 14 billion barrels of oil deposits, has been widely exploited in recent years to supply China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand with oil and gas. Although oil exports have boosted the local economy it has been at the cost of marine life. More shipping traffic will only contribute further risk to an already threatened species and a higher chance of a potentially devastating oil spill.

'There are only 30 female western gray whales of breeding age remaining and the population is already on the brink of disappearing forever,' said Aleksey Knizhnikov, from WWF-Russia. 'The loss of even a few breeding whales could mean the end for the population.'

Sakhalin Energy has previously been praised by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for postponing a summer scheduled seismic survey, something the company duly boasted of on its website. However following a meeting in early December 2010, WWF learnt that the Sakhalin Energy Company, part-owned by Shell, plans to go ahead with a survey this summer to find a suitable site for the third platform.

Summer surveys disrupt the feeding patterns of whales but are favoured by oil companies as they try to avoid the harsh Russian winters.

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/734741/russias_oil_ambitions_off_sakhalin_island_could_extinct_whale_species.html

Tourists get physical kissing grey whale calves off Baja Peninsula

RIGHT: A grey whale calf is petted by tourists in San Ignacio Lagoon on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico

2nd June, 2010

When these grey whales decided to get up close and personal with a group of tourists, the magical meeting was sealed with a kiss.

The gentle giants investigated as the whale-watchers’ boat sailed into their summer home – a lagoon off the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.

The US and Canadian tourists were able to pet and hug the mammals, so close had they surfaced, with one woman even puckering up for a peck on the lips with a calf.

‘The love-in was amazing given our treatment of the whales throughout history,’ said Michael Nolan, who took the pictures in March.

‘To think, man has almost wiped out the California grey whale from the planet twice by whaling activities –first in the mid-1800s and again at the turn of the 20th century.

'It is all the more amazing that these whales have either forgiven or forgotten our past transgressions against them.

‘Now the fact they choose to actively interact with our boats gives us hope for the future relationships between both species.’

There about 20,000 grey whales in the eastern Pacific. They are generally comfortable around people and often like to interact with humans.

They are found in Asia, where they are critically endangered, and one was seen in the Mediterranean, off Israel, last month.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/829008-tourists-get-physical-kissing-grey-whale-calves-off-baja-peninsula

20,000 humpbacks start migration up Australia’s west coast

Western Australia wildlife officers prepare for a busy whale season
The annual migration of whales from Antarctica to warmer waters off Western Australia's northern coast has begun, and wildlife officers from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) are predicting a busier than usual whale season.

DEC senior wildlife officer Doug Coughran said humpback whales are now making appearances off the Perth coast, while southern right whales are moving along the south coast.

"Based on current science, more than 20,000 humpback whales will migrate to the State's north and some of these will be preparing to give birth," Mr Coughran said. "These whales should be a regular sight off the WA coast until the end of the year. We'll see humpbacks passing through Perth waters during June and July as they head north and then again from September as they return to their feeding grounds in Antarctica."

The 13,000 kilometres round-trip is made in small groups and humpback migrations were among the longest known in the animal kingdom. The west coast population migrates to the so-called ‘maternity ward' in the north of Western Australia is one of the largest and most successful recovering populations in the world.

"The reality is that as their numbers continue to rise, nature will need to take its course to separate the stronger animals from the weaker ones, in order to maintain a healthy population," he said.

Humpback whaling stopped in 1963

The whaling of humpbacks in Western Australia ceased in 1963 when the population was depleted to less than 500 individuals.

"To go from having less than 500 humpbacks on the west coast, to having more than 20,000 today is a spectacular wildlife recovery story," Coughran said.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/australia-humpbacks727.html

Big Oil still refusing to act to save some of world’s rarest whales

Scientists find whales more endangered in Exxon, BP and Rosneft oil areas
June 2009. Oil and gas exploration by energy giants Exxon, BP and Rosneft is seriously threatening one of the world's most critically endangered whales, according to a panel of top scientists in a new report.

The Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), composed of 11 scientists and representatives from Shell and Sakahlin Energy, met in April to discuss how oil and gas development affect the whales' main annual feeding area off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia.

Whales scared away by seismic activity.

The scientists found that in 2008 there was a large decrease in the number of whales in their annual feeding area near the shore during a period of loud industrial activity, including a seismic survey. This is significant because if the whales are displaced from this primary annual feeding area, they will have less success reproducing.

"Western gray whale cows with their calves feed near the shore, but the industrial noise resulting from oil and gas development activities is pushing them out of the area," Doug Norlen from Pacific Environment. "Any disturbance of these critically endangered whales' behavior is particularly concerning as there are only 130 of them left."


Exxon, BP and Rosneft refuse to act

However, Exxon, BP and Rosneft have refused to address their threats to the Western Gray Whale and these oil giants plan to carry out further activities in 2009 including seismic testing, construction and other loud activities that could displace whales from their annual feeding area.

"The new information presented at this meeting has heightened rather than diminished the Panel's concern that whale distribution and behaviour may have been seriously affected by industrial activities - on land and offshore - in 2008," according to the panel's report. PetitionMeanwhile, 35,000 people from across the world have signed on to a petition calling on five major oil companies including Exxon, BP and Rosneft to postpone any new development work in the vicinity of the Western Gray Whale feeding area this summer, and to work with experts find adequate measures to protect the critically endangered population. WWF is sending the petitions to oil companies this week, urging them to act immediately as the gray whales will start to arrive at their summer feeding area near Sakhalin in a couple of weeks."Tens of thousands of people are calling on Exxon, BP and Rosneft to immediately halt their potentially destructive activities at Sakhalin Island this summer, and these companies can either choose to act responsibly or stay their course and help push the western gray whale further toward extinction," said Aleksey Knizhnikov, WWF Russia.

The panel reiterated it call for a moratorium on all development activities in the area this summer. Because of those concerns, Sakhalin Energy - a partnership between Shell, Gasprom and other sharholders - agreed in April to cancel their proposed 2009 seismic activities in the whales' feeding area.

The Western Gray Whale is one of the world's most endangered whales, with only 25-30 breeding females remaining.


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/western-gray783.html