Tag Archives: humpback whale
Oregon crabbers and environmentalists are at odds as a commission votes on rules to protect whales
In the wheelhouse of a crab boat named Heidi Sue, Mike Pettis watched the gray whale surface and shoot water through its blowhole. Tangled around its tail was a polypropylene rope used to pull up crab traps. That was in 2004, off the waters of Waldport, Oregon. Pettis, a crab fisherman, said it’s the only time in his 44 years of fishing he has ever seen a whale caught in crab lines, and he believes that is proof such encounters are “extremely rare.” The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to vote Friday on whether to permanently set stricter rules and pot limits put in place in 2020 to protect whales. The restrictions, which were originally supposed to end after this season, would reduce the number of traps, known as pots, and how deep they can drop in the spring and summer months when humpbacks are more likely to encounter them. >click to read< 09:01
The Whale slaughter continues, but is this just the beginning? By Jim Lovgren
Another Humpback Whale washed ashore on a New Jersey beach on March 1st , the 12th known Whale to die since the start of December, along the New York, New Jersey shoreline, coincident with multiple research vessels using active Sonar, seismic Pingers, and Ultra High Resolution Seismic sparkers. As more research vessels ply our waters, more dead Whales wash up on the beach. This is just the start of the gigantic ecosystem changing industrialization of the US continental shelf from the Gulf of Maine to Florida. We now have 23 dead Whales on the east coast within a three month period, and despite what government officials claim, it is not a normal amount. >click to read< 07:55
Restrictions lifted on beleaguered North Bay Dungeness crab fleet
The restrictions were imposed earlier this season to reduce the risk of marine animals becoming entangled in gear. Beginning this weekend, commercial crabbers south of Mendocino County can deploy 100% of their allotted crab pots, instead of operating at 50% reduction, as they have for the past two weeks. Extreme weather and rough seas proved an impediment this season, however, as have prices, which so far have kept the commercial fleet north of Sonoma County tied up at dock. Dick Ogg, vice president of the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association, was busy Thursday with his crew prepping gear on a rare clear day so they could try to fish this weekend. >click to read< 07:31
6 beached whales in 33 days — NJ groups say offshore wind may be to blame
Advocacy groups believe they know why the New Jersey region has seen half a dozen beached whales over the span of 33 days: offshore wind energy infrastructure. On Monday, two days after a 30-foot humpback washed ashore in Atlantic City, ocean advocacy organizations sent a letter to President Joe Biden, demanding an immediate investigation into the recent whale deaths and calling for a pause on all ongoing wind-energy activity offshore. “Never have we ever heard of six whales washing up within 33 days,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Long Branch-based Clean Ocean Action. “We don’t know how many whales may have died offshore.” >click to read< 10:14
ODFW public meeting highlights whale entanglement
Caren Braby, Marine Resources Program Manager for ODFW says the annual meeting covers vast topics relevant to the crabbing fleet, but it’s now become more urgent to focus the conversation on entanglements. “There have been an increased level of entanglements in crab gear over about the last seven years.” And as crabbers prepare for the upcoming Dungeness Crab season open on December 1, ODFW is gathering input from crabbers on just how well efforts are going to decide if a change in approach is needed. >click to read< 14:08
Ship strike probably killed whale off California coast
A humpback whale that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area over the weekend probably was killed by a collision with a ship, researchers said. A necropsy determined that the female adult whale had “injuries consistent with a ship strike,” including extensive bruising to the chest area along with a fractured vertebra, and her skull was dislocated from her spinal column, according to a statement from The Marine Mammal Center. Except for those injuries, the whale was in excellent condition, with ample fat and blubber reserves, the center said. >click to read< 08:46
Whale entanglements, crab gear, and what can be done
Whale populations are recovering, and whales are on the move early this year. That’s led to five humpback whale entanglements in crab gear, prompting the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to close the commercial Dungeness crab season two months early. With a population that is “definitely recovering” and five entanglements over a month and a half, Bartling conceded, “We’re in uncharted territory.” Three of the entanglements were confirmed with commercial California Dungeness crab gear, while the other two were “not identifiable, but the gear is consistent with what could be commercial Dungeness crab gear.” >click to read< 10:15
Commercial Lobster diver caught in the mouth of a humpback whale off Provincetown Friday morning
A commercial lobster diver was seriously injured Friday morning when he was caught in the mouth of a humpback whale feeding off Race Point, his sister said. Michael Packard, 56, of Wellfleet, is in stable condition at Cape Cod Hospital with at least one broken leg, Cynthia Packard said. “He was swallowed by the whale, he was in his mouth for about 20 seconds,” Cynthia Packard said in a phone interview Friday morning. Packard spoke with J ‘an J crewman Josiah Mayo, who relayed some of the details to her. >click to read< 14:46
Humpback whale boosts spirits in struggling Alaskan town
A humpback whale has been frequenting Ketchikan, Alaska, almost daily for the past month, helping to lift spirits as the city reels from a lack of tourism. The whale, nicknamed Phoenix, is feeding on herring and possibly salmon fry with dramatic upward lunges, sometimes just yards from onlookers on docks and walkways. As days shorten and a bleak winter approaches, more residents are discovering the joy of searching for Phoenix throughout the channel fronting the town. photos, >click to read< 08:02
Humpback Whale freed from 4,000 pounds of fishing gear
An injured whale was rescued from the waters between New York and New Jersey,,, The whale was reported to the Coast Guard after being spotted by a recreational boat off the coast of the Rockaways in New York City, across from Sandy Hook, in late July. An investigation showed it was entangled by several buoys and thousands of pounds of steel fishing gear. Although whale entanglements are not unusual, a rescue effort of this magnitude is, experts said. “Using a hacksaw rescuers were able to cut through the steel cable holding the whale and the whale was able to swim free,” Nickles said. >click to read< 08:08
Fewer Whales Caught in Crabbing Gear After Settlement, but,,, there’s always that but,,,
The National Marine Fisheries Service reported 18 whale entanglements through Aug. 23, 2019, compared to 40 ensnared whales found during the same period last year. “We are really happy that the numbers are lower this year, but we think there still needs to be progress made on reducing the risk of entanglement,” said Catherine Kilduff, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. >click to read< 09:06
Fisherman jumps on humpback whale to free it from rope, not everyone is impressed
A commercial fisherman jumped on a humpback whale off the Central California coast to free it from being entangled in a rope, reports said this week, citing a video capturing the event in September. A rope was wrapped around the whale’s back and tail when Sam Synstelien jumped onto the mammal off Morro Bay,,, The crew initially reported the problem to the Coast Guard, who “kind of finally said there’s nothing else you can do,” Taron said. He said he was told that the Coast Guard couldn’t respond for hours,,, >click to read<12:25
Humpback whale killed by ship will become feast for Washington tribe
A 31-foot (9.5-meter) humpback whale struck and killed by a ship is being turned into a feast by the Makah Indian Tribe. The tiny tribe with a reservation on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state has been butchering the whale that was pulled ashore Thursday. “It is sacred,” Nathan Tyler, chairman of the Makah Indian Tribe, told The Seattle Times . “We have deep regrets about the whale being struck by a ship and dying, but it will live on, through our culture.” Tribal fisherman discovered the whale Thursday in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Sekiu. >click to read<21:58
Trump administration settles lawsuit, agrees to protect humpback whale habitat
The suit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, a nonprofit that represents American Indian tribes, was settled Friday in federal court in San Francisco. The National Marine Fisheries Service agreed to designate critical habitat for the animals by mid-2019 and finalize those boundaries a year later. It means the migration routes of three endangered or threatened populations of humpbacks on the West Coast will be protected. >click to read<09:40
Humpback whale washes up in Virginia Beach, aquarium officials conduct necropsy
A humpback whale washed up near the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier on Sunday, the first in the area since National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries declared an Unusual Mortality Event for humpback whale strandings along the Atlantic Coast. The juvenile female was at least 2 years old, measured 30 feet long and weighed about 6 tons, said Susan Barco, research coordinator for the Virginia Aquarium’s research and conservation division. click here to read the story 10:36
Cruise ship arrives in port with massive whale carcass on bow
A cruise ship reached an Alaska port with a surprise on its bow: the carcass of a humpback whale. The Grand Princess, a 290 metre ship pulled into Ketchikan yesterday with the marine mammal lodged on its submerged, bulbous bow, a device designed to avoid wave-making. Princess spokesman Brian O’Connor said the company was surprised and saddened to discover the whale. “It is unknown how or when this happened as the ship felt no impact,” he said in a statement. “It is also unknown, at this time, whether the whale was alive or already deceased before becoming lodged on the bow.” The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is investigating the incident. click here to read the story 15:28
Today’s Whale News. 8th right whale found dead, 1 more entangled, whale rescues resume, young Humback detangled of Cali.
An eighth North Atlantic right whale has been found dead and another is entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Marine Animal Response Society said in a Facebook post.
All eight deaths have occurred in the gulf since the beginning of June, which experts are calling an “unprecedented event.” click here to read the story
U.S. officials are lifting a ban on some whale disentanglement efforts after briefly banning the practice that last week led to the death of a Canadian fisherman. But the ban will stay in effect for right whales, “whose unpredictable behavior is particularly challenging during rescue attempts,” Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, said Tuesday. click here to read the story
A crew of 20-25 people spent eight hours Tuesday freeing a juvenile humpback whale that had been entangled in fishing gear off the coast of Crescent City since Thursday. click here to read the story 11:30
41 humpback whale deaths in Atlantic force fed probe
An unusually high number of dead humpback whales washing ashore along the Atlantic coast has prompted marine mammal experts to open a federal investigation of the cause. But the cause may never be fully determined, according to experts. Since January 2016, 41 of the mammals have washed ashore from North Carolina to Maine. The only cause of death determined so far are cases in which the whales showed signs of being hit by a vessel. But ship strikes only account for a quarter of the deaths. The high number of deaths forced the country’s top marine agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to declare an “Unusual Mortality Event,” prompting the federal probe. click here to read the story 19:57
British Columbia: Dead humpback found entangled in fish farm anchoring equipment
A dead humpback whale has been found stuck in equipment at an empty fish farm on B.C.’s central coast. Marine Harvest Canada says in a news release that the whale was found on Nov. 15 entangled in an anchor support line at a site in Sheep Passage. The company says staff and contractors were in the process of dismantling the site’s anchoring system after another whale got entangled in the equipment in September. The previous whale was safely released, and the entire site is now dismantled. The federal fisheries department has been notified about the dead humpback and will be investigating the incident. Marine Harvest Canada says before the incident in September, nothing like this had ever occurred in their 30 years of operation, and engineers are now testing all their sites to prevent this from happening again. link 16:46
NMFS proposes reclassifying the humpback whale into 14 distinct population segments
NOAA Fisheries
New England Set Gear Fishermen – Final Rule – Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. Are you Affected?
NMFS issues this final rule to amend the regulations implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction. This rule revises the management measures for reducing the incidental mortality and serious injury to the North Atlantic right whale, humpback whale, and fin whale in commercial trap/pot and gillnet fisheries to further the goals of the MMPA, and the ESA. . Read final rule in the Federal Register 18:49
A silver lining in the humpback whale of a tale – DFO to change status from “threatened” to a “species of special concern.”
According to the IUCN, the global population of humpbacks is approximately 80,000. That is broken down to 18,000-20,000 in the North Pacific, 50,000 in the Southern Hemisphere, and some 12,000 in the North Atlantic. Before hunting was banned, there were barely 1,500 humpbacks in the North Pacific. Today’s numbers are a clear indicator of how successful conservation measures can be when they are rigidly kept. Read more here 10:43
Newfoundland Fisherman rescues humpback whale with piece of lumber
“I heard a blowing, saw a humpback 20 feet long, in between a wharf and a floating dock,” said Pardy. continued
