The Importance of Whale Poop

Asha de Vos is a marine biologist, who studies the impact of whales on ocean ecology. Her TED presentation points up the enormous contribution whales make to the health of Earth's pelagic environment.  Who knew that poo could be such a valuable commodity.

Here is a link to Asha de Vos' TED presentation --- http://www.ted.com/talks/asha_de_vos_why_you_should_care_about_whale_poo?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2015-01-10&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=top_left_image

The Whale Man of Australia

Darren Jew lives a life that I would consider trading for. He spends his time photographing and making videos of whales and other marine life.  His work is the gold standard.  Amazingly beautiful imagery. His photos of whales, particularly Humpbacks, are powerful and beautiful.

I'm so glad that in my lifetime, people like Darren Jew came along at the same time photographic technology made it possible to showcase the beauty of the ocean. Now everyone can see why we need to appreciate the gifts of the sea. In the best of worlds,  the kind of inspiration Darren Jew creates with his camera can inspire people everywhere to become proper stewards of the biosphere.

Here is the link to Darren Jew's website. Be sure to check out the video on the index page...http://darrenjew.com/

How Whales Change the Climate

This is a beautiful video, showcasing some of the Earth's most compelling creatures.  I've always had a thing for whales. I hate the fact that there are people who want to kill and commoditize them. 

I admire humans who choose to put their own lives at risk to protect whales. It's no wonder that 'Whale Wars is one of my favorite TV series. 

Here is the link to 'How Whales Save the Climate... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M18HxXve3CM

Humpack Whales from Above

Another gorgeous You Tube video of Humpback Whales in Tonga. This video combines aerial and underwater footage of these magnificent creatures.

Here is the link... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCqxJfuthls. 

Humpback Whales in Tonga

Just ran across this short video that features some incredible underwater video of humpback whales in Tonga in the South Pacific. It was shot by an Australian photographer named Darren Jew. Darren works for Canon, which happens to be the brand of camera that I use.    This guy is really living the life.

I have spent time in Tonga. The life there is laid back, so much different than the pace of life here.  I have a friend, Richard Chesher, whom I first met in Tonga. He is a remarkable fellow; a marine biologist, who spends his time immersed in marine photography. His photos are amazing. Chesher lives in New Caledonia these days.  We didn't see any whales while I was in Tonga,  but we did hang out in one of Chesher's clam sanctuaries. That's an adventure I've already written about in an earlier blog about Chesher.  Click on his name in the subject column on the right side of the page.

Anyway,  this video of Darren Jew hanging out with humpbacks in Tonga is worth the admission.  Check it out.

Here is a link to the video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y2JfZC5X7M

Court Ends Japanese Whaling in the Antarctic

I have done several postings about the TV show, Whale Wars, that chronicle the ongoing struggle of the Sea Shepard Society to confront Japanese factory whaling in the Antarctic ocean.  Sea Shepard has been fighting this battle with Japanese whalers for about the last ten years.

The International Whaling Commission had imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in the 1980s.  To get around that ban, Japan had been claiming that their whaling activities were based on research that required them to kill and slaughter hundreds of whales every year.  Of course, all of the whale meat taken this way has ended up in Japanese meat markets.

Australia and New Zealand went to the UN's International Court of Justice to challenge Japan's 'research' whaling.    This past week, a panel of judges ruled 12-4 that Japan's 'research' whaling was a sham. It ordered an immediate end to the practice. Though it has publicly regretted the court's decision, Japan agreed to comply.

This is a huge victory of the Sea Shepard Society and those of us who believe that whales should be protected from human exploitation.

Even with this very positive step, there is much that needs to be done to mend humanity's relationship with our oceans. Beyond our continued overexploitation of the ocean's fisheries, humans are responsible for billions of tons of plastic and other kinds of toxic materials being dumped into the oceans. Making this right will take a massive effort by humanity. Accepting responsibility for the mess we've made means new policies that prohibit  our waterways and oceans from being used as dumping grounds. We must also aggressively develop technologies that will allow us to clean up the mess we've already made.   Rather than seeing this as a financial burden, we should be looking at it as an important pathway to sustainability that will create jobs and improve the quality of life of all the world's people.

Time to get busy and take care of our planetary home.

Drones do Dolphins and Whales

Drones are becoming more and more ubiquitous in our world.   Here is a video that shows whales and dolphins at sea from the viewpoint of a drone flying a few hundred feet above.  The best part come spatter in the video when the drone follows a humpback whale mom and her youngster.  Wonderful video.  It makes you wonderful about people who could hunt them and shoot exploding harpoons into their bodies.  Anyway, this is beautiful video. Enjoy.

Here is the 'You Tube' video of drones doing whales and dolphins...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo_f8mV5khg

Humpback Whales Startle Kayakers

I love video clips like this. Here we have a team of filmmakers from the Discovery Channel in Alaska getting up close and personal with a pod of humpback whales.

 

 

One of the ways humpbacks feed is by blowing air bubbles in a circle below a school of herring or other fish. The circles rise like a curtain, confusing the fish, causing them to cluster together inside the ring of bubbles. Then, the humpbacks come up from below, mouths agate, and swallow tons of water and fish at a time. The whales use their tongues to push the water out of their mouths, while retaining the fish.  It takes a lot of fish to slake the appetite of a 50 ton whale. This technique of feeding is very effective and remarkable to witness.

Here is a link to an amazing close up experience with humpbacks feeding in the Gulf of Alaska...  http://on.aol.com/video/north-america--humpback-whales-startle-kayakers-517860640

Saving a Humpback

It's a beautiful thing to see humans show compassion for another species. In this video shot in Mexico's Sea of Cortez in February, 2011, a group of people cross paths with a giant humpback whale, barely alive, trapped in a tighly wrapped cocoon of nylon gill net. At some personal risk, the humans worked with a knife to cut away the netting. After an hour, they restored the great whale's freedom. The humans were then treated to a joyful display of breeching and tail slapping by a magnificent creature, grateful to be free.

Here is the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBYPlcSD490

Adolescent Humpback Does an 'In Your Face'

This is an amazing photo shot by some guys out fishing in a small boat off the coast of British Columbia.  This young humpback whale suddenly breached exactly wherer the camera was pointed.

Even more remarkable is the video that was shot on an iphone at the same time.  Look for the surprise just over thirty seconds into the video.  

http://youtu.be/B10rHSW4OIA

Here's another video that has the same kind of unexpected excitement...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udm2YjKPKsE&feature=related

Here's yet another very cool close-up  whale video...

http://now.msn.com/humpback-whale-surprises-two-kayakers-in-viral-video

Whale Wars

I confess, watching the cable TV show Whale Wars on Animal Planet is a guilty pleasure.   It's one round after another of chase and confrontation in the remote, southern Pacific ocean,  between Japanese whalers and ships of the Sea Shepard Conservation Society, led by Paul Watson.  As reality TV, it works because there is something precious at stake in every episode. That would be the lives of the whales being hunted by the Japanese.  It's people who want to kill whales versus people who want to protect them. The stories are told from the perspective of Watson and his whale defenders. Without question, they are the ones who occupy the high ground in this ongoing struggle. Japanese officials have refused requests from Whale Wars producers to include their perspective.

It's hard to understand why anyone is hunting whales in 2012. Whaling was banned  by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) about two decades ago.  Whaling nations are under treaty obligations to abide by the IWC ruling. The Japanese have weaseled their way around that by claiming they are hunting whales for research, not commercial purposes. Nobody is fooled by this ruse. But until a few years ago, down in rhe chilly waters close to the antarctic, the Japanese did their 'research' without challenge.

Again the question is, why are the Japanese doing it?  Surveys indicate that less than five percent of the Japanese population eats whale meat.  Even when done for 'research', Japanese whaling produces more whale meat than their people consume. Financially, it has to be a loser.  It seems, at least in part, it's a generational thing. Young Japanese are not fans of whaling, It's the older ones, especially the old guys,  who arrogantly defend their right to kill whales.

Moreover, the Japanese flauting of the IWC whaling ban has emboldened the Norweigians, Icelanders, and more recently, the South Koreans to launch their own 'research' whaling operations.  What the Japanese and their imitators never tell you is what they are researching. What do they learn that they don't already know by killing more whales?

I was in Japan, in Osaka, a few years ago to shoot a segment for a video production.  Now, I have to say, there is a lot to admire about the Japanese. Their culture is very well ordered, and their technology is second to none. I traveled on a 'shinkansen' bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka. It was a marvel. Anyway, the first evening in Osaka after hours in a hotel bar, I experienced my own confrontation about whaling. I was invited to share a drink with a big boss from the government agency relevant to the technology I was showcasing.  It started out very friendly. My hosts were much more enthusiastic 'drinkers' than me, and I was dealing with jetlag to boot. Out of the blue, the big boss goes off on me about whaling. Why don't Americans like whaling?  You have no right to challenge us about whaling, he said politely but very firmly.   I responded that I was opposed to whaling personally. But, your people in the north (he was referring to Eskimos) have been killing them for thousands of years, he said.  I said, yes, for them its about survival.  Not anymore, he said.   It was getting very uncomfortable.  It was me and about twelve Japanese, including the big boss, whom all the rest worked for.  The big boss was clearly intent on showing off for his minions by hammering me for being an anti-whaling foreigner.  I stayed calm and tried to give as good as I was getting. The whole thing got pretty intense. In the end, I extracted myself by pleading exhaustion from jetlag.

Even today, no one should underestimate the fervor behind the Japanese government's defense of whaling. But, it is not representative of the Japanese people. More than anything, its a bunch of old guys, who think they're defending the national pride.  At worst, the younger Japanese are indifferent to whaling, and in fact, more than a few, speak out against it.

But, I digress.  I was talking about the guilty pleasure of Whale Wars.

On one side, you've got the Japanese antarctic whaling fleet. with something like four fast catcher vessels. The catcher finds a pod of whales, mostly fin, minke, or sei whales, then chases after them until they are exhausted. At that point, a guy standing in the bow of the catcher vessel fires an explosve tipped harpoon into one defenseless whale after another.  Then the catcher boat drags the dead whales to a larger factory ship.  The dead animals are lauled onto the big ship's deck, where workers use pike sized flencing knives to  reduce the whale carcassses in minutes to small pieces, for sale later to Japanese consumers.   The slaughter is ugly, but deadly efficient.

For many years, the Sea Shepard Society has had a presence in the whaling regions of the southern ocean.  It didn't have much of an impact until five years ago when Discovery's Animal Planet cable TV channel  started broadcasting, Whale Wars.   The series is now seen all over the world.  The money generated from the production has been used to expand the effort. They now have several ships capable of managing the rough weather in the southern oceans. The central figure in the TV series is Paul Watson.  He is surrounded by young men and women from many nations, a lot of them novices at seafaring. All appear to be courageous and totally committed to stopping the slaughter of whales.

The campaign being waged on Whale Wars has reached a point that the Japanese government is sending out large vessels to shadow the Sea Shepard boats and prevent them from interfering with whaling operations.  Last year's most harrowing episode featured a Japanese ship ramming and sinking a much smaller Sea Shepard vessel.

Most of the time, reality TV is mindless dreck. Case in point: anything Khardasian.  But Whale Wars is reality TV with a noble purpose. At times,  it can get very intense.  Other times,  the drama seems a bit contrived.  That's okay with me.   By watching the show, I'm helping to keep it on the air and helping to maintain the revenue stream that comes from the broadcasts.   The Japanese whalers and the government agency that is underwriting them have to be losing money. How long are they going to stay in this pissing contest if there's no money in it for them?  The younger generation of Japanese don't have much appetite for their government's support of whaling.  If Paul Watson and his  band of young whale warriors are able to keep up the fight long enough, they will prevail.   That's reason enough to tune in Friday nights for the latest episode of Whale Wars.

Here is a link to a teaser for Whale Wars.

http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/whale-wars/videos/videos.htm