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topic: Marine Mammals
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Education & research bring Rio’s dolphins back from the brink of extinction
- The Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) is one of the most common cetaceans in Brazil but also one of the most vulnerable, with numbers dwindling by up to 93% in the last 40 years.
- One of the worst affected regions is Guanabara Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, where Guiana dolphins face daily industrial contamination, sewage and noise pollution, causing chronic stress that leads to weakened immune systems and reproduction difficulties.
- A recently published study found high toxin concentrations in Guiana dolphins in neighboring Sepetiba Bay, which has significantly impacted the health of the population, the researchers found.
- Environmentalists are banking on research and education to help protect the species and consequently the marine environment. So far, a protected environment in Sepetiba Bay has helped stem dolphin mortality, and efforts are being made in Guanabara to clean up the bay, but more is required to restore and save the population.
Irrawaddy dolphin death in Thailand’s Songkhla Lake underscores conservation needs
- As few as 14 critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins remain in the world’s smallest freshwater population of the species, in southern Thailand’s Songkhla Lake.
- The recent death of one of the remaining few raised the alarm among cetacean specialists, who say more must be done to save the imperiled population.
- Teetering on the brink of extinction, the dolphins face a slew of threats from entanglement in fishing nets, depletion of fish populations, and deteriorating lake conditions due to increasing pressures from agriculture, industry and infrastructure development.
- Experts say a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to reverse the dolphin’s trajectory of decline is on the horizon in the form of major funding for dolphin conservation linked to a road bridge megaproject, but they warn it will only be successful if government agencies can put aside their competing agendas.
Report: Rising slaughter of small whales and dolphins threatens ocean balance
- Killings of small whales, porpoises and dolphins are rising, with more than 100,000 of these marine mammals slaughtered each year, according to a new report from German and British NGOs.
- Many regions report increased catches driven by demand for dolphin meat as food and shark bait in areas impacted by economic crisis and dwindling fish stocks.
- Failure to address unsustainable exploitation of small cetaceans exacerbates ecological imbalance and heavy metal toxicity risks to humans who eat them, according to the report.
- Insufficient legislation and enforcement remain critical issues, according to the report, which calls for international collaboration and stronger protection measures.
Summit on migratory species sides with science, throws shade on deep-sea mining
- Representatives from 133 member states of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) met in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from Feb. 12-17 to discuss measures to protect migratory species on a global scale.
- Many decisions at the meeting, known as COP14, focused on the protection of marine species, including the listing of several species in the convention’s appendices, a draft decision on vessel strikes, and an updated resolution on climate change that urges parties to take measures to protect species from future threats.
- The convention also adopted a resolution urging parties not to engage with or support deep-sea mining until more scientific evidence is acquired. This resolution garnered criticism from the secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-mandated body that governs deep-sea mining in international waters.
- While attendees say COP14 had many successes, some experts say that more action and resources are required to keeping species from sliding toward extinction.
Find the manatee: New AI model spots sea cows from images
- A new computer model developed by engineers at the Florida Atlantic University uses deep learning to count manatees in images captured by cameras.
- The model has been trained to identify manatees in shallow waters, and can be used to identify where they aggregate, which can, in turn, be helpful to plan conservation actions and design rules for boaters and divers.
- However, the model can’t yet distinguish between adults and calves, or between males and females, both of which are details that are vital for conservation and research purposes.
- The engineering team says it plans to continue training the model in the months ahead, while also working with biologists to get their feedback on how to improve it further.
Cambodia sea turtle nests spark hope amid coastal development & species decline
- Conservationists in Cambodia have found nine sea turtle nests on a remote island off the country’s southwest coast, sparking hopes for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas).
- It’s the first time sea turtle nests have been spotted in the country in a decade of species decline.
- Two nests have been excavated to assess hatching success; conservationists estimate the nests could hold as many as 1,000 eggs.
- Globally, sea turtle populations are declining, largely due to hunting for food and the animals’ shells, used in jewelry; other threats to sea turtles include tourism development, pollution and climate change.
Sumatran dugong hunter struggles to adapt to changing times
- The herbivorous dugong was classed as a vulnerable species in 1982 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- Hunters like Munsa in Bintan, a cluster of islands between Sumatra and Singapore, have retired from hunting the mammal in response to conservation initiatives.
- However, Munsa complains that the family’s income has plummeted, and that he needs government to provide alternative livelihoods.
U.S. auctions off endangered whale habitat for oil and gas drilling
- On Dec. 20, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held a lease sale to auction off oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Environmental groups and the U.S. Interior Department had tried to postpone this sale due to concerns about protecting the critically endangered Rice’s whale, a species whose key habitat overlaps with the lease sale areas.
- Scientists estimate there are fewer than 50 Rice’s whales left, and that the primary threat to the species is the oil and gas industry.
- While the lease sale went through without any protections for the Rice’s whale, environmental groups continue to explore legal and political avenues to ensure the species’ survival.
North Atlantic orcas reveal the troubling persistence of toxic ocean pollutants
- As the top predators in the ocean, killer whales suffer from the magnifying level of pollutants that build up in the marine food web.
- Scientists found that North Atlantic orcas feeding on marine mammals carry significantly higher levels of pollutants than orcas that eat fish.
- Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in the orcas’ blubber are ten times higher than the toxic threshold for these dangerous household chemicals.
Lethal or not? Australia’s beaches are a crucible for shark control methods
- For decades, Australia’s east-coast states have attempted to keep beachgoers safe from sharks by deploying entangling shark nets and culling species deemed dangerous.
- Recent figures published by the state of New South Wales reveal that almost all the animals caught in the nets during the 2022/23 summer season were “nontarget” species, including turtles, dolphins and endangered shark species, the majority of which died due to entanglement in the nets.
- In contrast, the west-coast state of Western Australia has abandoned a shark culling regime in favor of nonlethal alternatives, such as drone monitoring and “eco barriers,” swimming enclosures that keep marine life out but do not risk entanglement.
- Despite calls from environmental groups to exclusively adopt nonlethal technologies, shark control programs are continuing in both New South Wales and its northern neighbor, Queensland, during the 2023/24 Australian summer.
Dominica set to open world’s first reserve centered around sperm whales
- The tiny island nation of Dominica has announced that it will create a 788-square-kilometer (304-square-mile) reserve to protect endangered sperm whales.
- Most of the sperm whales that live off the coast of Dominica are part of the Eastern Caribbean Clan, which currently has a population of fewer than 300 individuals.
- Sperm whales in this region are threatened by fishing gear entanglement, pollution, boat strikes, and even tourism.
- The new reserve aims to protect whales by restricting activities such as fishing, vessel traffic and tourism, while not entirely banning them.
As population ‘flattens,’ North Atlantic right whales remain at risk
- A new population estimate for North Atlantic right whales found about 356 individuals left in 2022, which suggests the population trend is “flattening.”
- In 2021, scientists previously estimated there were 340 right whales, although this number was later revised to 364 to account for several newborn calves.
- Despite there not being a notable difference between the population estimates in 2021 and 2022, scientists say North Atlantic right whales are still in danger of going extinct and that urgent measures need to be put into place to protect them.
Iceland’s whaling paradox (commentary)
- As Iceland’s latest whaling season comes to a close, a heated debate continues over the ethics and sustainability of the country’s policy on these marine mammals.
- Filmmaker and activist Micah Garen — who co-directed the documentary “The Last Whaling Station” — shares his thoughts on what may be the nation’s last whaling season.
- “The paradox of whaling is the inherent contradiction between a utilitarian and Kantian world view. If you believe your choices matter, then ending whaling now is the only ethical, moral and philosophical choice we can make,” he argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
International outcry as Iceland lifts ban on what could be last whale hunt
- The Icelandic government has announced that commercial whaling will recommence following a two-month suspension of the activity, albeit with increased monitoring and stricter hunting regulations.
- The government temporarily banned whaling in June due to animal welfare concerns, but the ban expired on Aug. 31.
- The decision to restart whaling has drawn criticism from environmentalists and animal rights advocates.
- Only one company in Iceland currently has a whaling license, and it’s set to expire this year, with no guarantee the government will renew it for the coming years.
Expected ship traffic to LNG Canada port could see whale deaths also rise
- The nutrient-rich ancestral waters of the Gitga’at First Nation in northern British Columbia are a critical habitat for fin, humpback and killer whales.
- The development of a $35.5 billion LNG terminal threatens these whales, as shipping traffic in the region is projected to surge, leading to more frequent encounters between whales and ships, a recent study warns.
- It uses whale movement data and predicted ship traffic modeling to conclude that two fin whales and 18 humpback whales could be killed each year in ship strikes in Gitga’at territorial waters.
- Researchers suggest mitigation measures like reducing ship speeds in whale hotspots and restricting ship traffic during August, when whales are most abundant in these waters.
Study reveals turtles’ millennia-old food affair with North African seagrass
- Researchers have traced the 3,000-year-old “food footprints” of endangered green sea turtles around the Mediterranean.
- By comparing turtle bone samples from Bronze and Iron Age archaeological sites to skin samples from turtles they’re tracking by satellite today, they’ve uncovered turtles’ enduring preference for the same sea meadows.
- The findings highlight the importance of protecting these underwater meadows, which face degradation due to conversion, pollution and climate change.
Keep it down: U.N. report lists ways to reduce ocean noise pollution
- A new report published by the U.N.’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) outlines possible solutions to human-caused ocean noise that impacts marine life.
- It focuses on three main types of underwater noise: shipping, seismic air gun surveys, and pile driving.
- Lindy Weilgart, the report author, said she believes it’s essential to move toward finding solutions rather than only studying the impacts of human-caused ocean noise.
- An outside expert praised the report but also questioned the likelihood of the suggestions being followed, and argued that the noise impacts of wind turbines have not been fully considered.
‘No future’: Iceland cancels whale hunt over animal welfare concerns
- Citing animal welfare concerns, Iceland has suspended its whale hunting season until Aug. 31.
- This decision follows the release of a government-commissioned independent report that found that many whales suffer immensely after being harpooned.
- Iceland had been set to kill around 200 fin whales, up from the 148 it killed in 2022.
U.S. says Mexico failed to uphold international treaty protecting vaquita porpoise
- The United States said the government of Mexico has failed to stem the illegal harvest and commercial export of totoaba, which has directly impacted the vaquita.
- The vaquita has dwindled to around just 10 specimens in recent years, the result of getting caught in gillnets targeting totoaba, whose swim bladder is treasured on the Chinese black market.
- US law allows for an embargo on wildlife trade when a country isn’t doing enough to combat illegal activity. However, it isn’t clear that President Joe Biden will take that step.
Melting Arctic sea ice is changing bowhead whale migrations, study finds
- Research has found that some bowhead whales in the Bering–Chukchi–Beaufort (BCB) population are no longer migrating to the northwestern Bering Sea in the winter but remain in the Canadian Beaufort Sea.
- These migratory shifts are occurring as sea ice declines in the region due to climate change.
- These changes could mean that bowhead whales become more susceptible to ship strikes, underwater noise, and entanglements, and that Indigenous communities may not be able to rely on bowhead whales for nutrition and cultural subsistence.
- However, this bowhead population is currently not threatened, and these changes may not be fully impacting Indigenous communities yet.
How do you study one of the world’s rarest whales?
- Researcher Dana Wright is one of a handful of scientists studying one of the world’s rarest creatures, the North Pacific right whale.
- With about 500 individuals remaining, and its eastern population that swims off the coast of North America totaling perhaps 30 individuals, it’s so rare that in a decade of research, she has yet to see a living individual of the population, though her colleagues have.
- How does one study a creature that’s so hard to document? With tools like bioacoustics, for example, and Wright has listened to tens of thousands of hours of recordings to aid the conservation of these endangered animals.
- The team continues to develop new approaches to solving the mystery of these whales’ migratory patterns and biology with a goal of identifying — and then protecting — the location of their winter calving grounds.
At the United Nations, Indigenous Ryukyuans say it’s time for U.S. military to leave Okinawa
- Opponents of the latest U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan, are calling for urgent intervention by the United Nations to halt the construction of the new base, release military groundwater test data on toxic spills, and close all 32 U.S. military bases.
- The new facility and other military bases have been linked to toxic environmental pollution and construction threatening marine species, along with historical land conflicts between native Okinawans and the mainland Japan and U.S. governments.
- Latest water tests by the Okinawa government reveal PFAS levels up to 42 times higher than Japan’s national water standards with contamination found in drinking and bathing water for roughly 450,000 people.
- Amid rising tensions with China and efforts to counter its influence in the region, Japan and the U.S. cite Okinawa’s proximity to Taiwan and location in the Indo-Pacific as a strategic reason for maintaining bases on the island.
Scientists and fishers team up to protect Bolivian river dolphin
- Hunting, fishing, pollution and degradation and loss of habitat are the main threats facing the Bolivian river dolphin, a species of river dolphin that is found in 10 protected areas in the country.
- For almost three decades, scientists have involved local commercial fishers in an effort to document and monitor the landlocked country’s sole cetacean.
- A team of reporters joined them in sailing 450 kilometers (280 miles) upriver during the most recent population census.
Rewilding animals could be key for climate: Report
- A new report published in Nature Climate Change suggests that trophic rewilding, or restoring and protecting the functional roles of animals in ecosystems, is an overlooked climate solution.
- Reintroducing just nine species or groups of species (including African forest elephants, American bison, fish, gray wolves, musk oxen, sea otters, sharks, whales and wildebeest) would help limit global warming to less than the 1.5°C (2.7°F) threshold set by the Paris Agreement, according to the report.
- Animals play a significant role in how much carbon plants, soil and sediments can capture, as they redistribute seeds and nutrients and disturb soil through digging, trampling, and nest-building.
- The report emphasizes the need for a change in mindset within science and policy to take advantage of the vast potential of wildlife, while working closely with local communities to address social issues that can affect conservation efforts.
Avian flu hits Peru, killing thousands of sea birds and infecting some marine mammals
- H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus carried generally by wild birds, has arrived in Latin America, causing unprecedented mortality in sea bird colonies along the west coast.
- The virus has killed tens of thousands of sea birds in Peru alone, including some species that are considered endangered in the country, and scientists worry other vulnerable species like the Andean condor might also become infected.
- Hundreds of sea lions and a dolphin have also been infected, which raises concerns regarding transmission to humans and is especially worrisome if it is confirmed that mammals can infect each other.
- The outbreaks also threaten Peru’s guano industry, which provides affordable fertilizer to many small-scale farmers in the region, and could expose people harvesting guano to H5N1.
Recent seismic activity in Indian Ocean likely led pilot whales to beach on Sri Lanka shores
- Marine experts say the seismic activity in the Indian Ocean in the past few days likely pushed a pod of pilot whales onto Sri Lanka’s shores.
- Authorities and volunteers undertook a strenuous 15-and-a-half-hour operation to send a pod of pilot whales safely back into the sea.
- Rescuers managed to push 11 pilot whales back into the sea while three died on the shores.
- Recorded incidents of whales beaching up on Sri Lankan shores go back as far as 1889.
Potential impact on whales overlooked as deep-sea mining looks set to start, experts say
- Scientists say future deep-sea mining activities could impact cetaceans through noise pollution, which could interfere with their communication processes.
- According to an opinion piece, a team of experts say assessments of deep-sea mining impact have focused on species associated with the seabed rather than transitory megafauna that inhabit the proposed mining areas, and that urgent research is needed to understand the potential impact on cetaceans.
- However, a mining company says it is evaluating the potential impact of its proposed operations on cetaceans through the gathering of acoustic data during its recent mining test in the CCZ, which it will combine with three years of environmental baseline data.
- Deep-sea mining in international waters may begin later this year after the Pacific island nation of Nauru, which sponsors a subsidiary of a Canadian mining firm, requested accelerated approval of its mining operation.
U.S. refuses calls for immediate protection of North Atlantic right whales
- The U.S. government has rejected requests to implement emergency measures to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from vessel collisions during the species’ calving season, which takes place between November and April each year.
- Some protections for right whales are already in place, but experts say urgent modifications are needed to protect pregnant females, lactating mothers and calves.
- There are only about 340 individual North Atlantic right whales left in the world, and birth rates are low.
- The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed similar protections for right whales, including the enforcement of speed limits across more extensive areas of the ocean and for the rules to apply to more vessels — but charity workers are cautious about the outcome of this proposal.
Unsustainable fishing to be banned in Irrawaddy dolphin’s Bornean sanctuary
- Indonesia’s fisheries ministry is working with a conservation NGO to draw up plans prohibiting fishing gear considered dangerous to critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mahakam River in Borneo.
- The prohibition will apply to a stretch of the Mahakam that was designated a conservation area earlier this year and that’s home to 90% of the estimated 80 Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mahakam.
- Among the practices they’re seeking to ban are fishing with a type of gill net known as rengge, electrofishing, poison fishing, and fixed-net fishing known as sawaran and kombongan.
- Local fishers are said to be supportive of the plan: “They want to continue fisheries but they also want to get rid of unsustainable fishing … because they care about the dolphins as well.”
Extinct sea cow’s underwater engineering legacy lives on today, study finds
- In a new study, scientists said that the extinct Steller’s sea cow impacted kelp forests in the North Pacific by browsing at the surface, which would have encouraged the growth and strengthening of the algal understory.
- Not only would sea cows have positively impacted kelp forests in the past, but they may have also enhanced their resilience into modern times, according to the authors.
- Globally, kelp forests face many threats, including ocean warming, which can lead to an overabundance of predatory urchins.
- The authors suggest that it might be possible for humans to reproduce the species’ impact on the canopy of kelp forests to enhance kelp forest resilience.
Black Sea dolphin deaths prompt ecocide allegations against Russia
- On Dec. 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of ecocide during COP15, the U.N. biodiversity summit in Montreal, following unprecedented reports of dead dolphins and porpoises washing up on Black Sea beaches since Russia invaded Ukraine.
- On Dec. 2, researchers reported the first scientific analysis of changes in cetacean deaths and movement patterns since the war began in February.
- Mounting evidence is slowly painting a clearer picture of the mass mortality of Black Sea cetaceans.
- But estimates of the death toll vary and scientists diverge on whether research has progressed far enough to scientifically conclude the war’s effect.
Shipping lane change could be sea change for Sri Lanka’s blue whales
- Conservationists have welcomed an announcement by MSC, the world’s biggest container shipping line, that its ships will detour around a key feeding and nursing ground for blue whales off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
- Ship strikes are a leading cause of death for the large whales that frequent the waters around Sri Lanka, which also include to a lesser extent sperm whales and Bryde’s whales.
- Marine conservationist Asha de Vos says other shipping lines should follow MSC’s lead, and has also called on the Sri Lankan government to propose making the shipping lane change permanent.
- She also says whale deaths from ship strikes may be up to 10 times higher than recorded, given that current and wind conditions are more likely to wash carcasses out to sea than toward shore, making them less likely to be detected.
Wrong trend for right whales amid ‘devastating’ population decline
- A newly released estimate suggests that only 340 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales remained as of 2021, a 2.3% decline from 2020, when the population numbered around 348.
- Fewer calves have been born in 2022 so far, corroborating research that suggests that North Atlantic right whale species are becoming less capable of reproducing.
- No adult mortalities have been recorded in 2022, but experts say that only about a third of whale deaths are recorded.
‘Critically endangered’ listing for East African dugong population is needed (commentary)
- Though found in relative abundance in parts of northern Australia, the only known viable dugong population in East Africa calls the waters around the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park in Mozambique home.
- A new peer-reviewed paper proposes the East African dugong population be listed as ‘critically endangered’ on the IUCN Red List to protect the last few hundred animals that are left.
- While Bazaruto’s management has reduced illegal activities in the park that endanger them, these efforts may not be enough to save East Africa’s dugongs without the support of a new ‘critically endangered’ listing, a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
U.S. charts course for adopting ropeless fishing to reduce whale deaths
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has published a report laying out a strategy to allow the use of “ropeless” or “on-demand” fishing gear off the U.S. East Coast with the goal of reducing entanglements of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
- The gear uses acoustic signals to locate and retrieve gear, reducing the amount of time that vertical lines are present in the water column, where they can ensnare right whales and other types of marine life.
- Right whale numbers in the North Atlantic have declined precipitously in the past decade, as collisions with ships and entanglements have killed individuals and hampered the species’ ability to reproduce.
- NOAA’s Ropeless Roadmap estimates that on-demand fishing gear can substantially diminish the risk to right whales, while allowing economically and culturally important fisheries of the northeastern U.S. to continue.
Study paints ‘bleak picture’ for nearly all marine life without emissions cuts
- New research published in Nature Climate Change has found that nearly 90% of assessed marine life would be at high or critical risk by 2100 if the world continues upon a high-emissions pathway.
- It found that the risks would be more concentrated in the tropics, and that top predators would be more at risk than species lower down the food chain.
- However, if countries drastically reduce their emissions, the study found that climate risk would decrease for more than 98% of these species.
Experts fear end of vaquitas after green light for export of captive-bred totoaba fish
- After a 40-year prohibition, international wildlife trade regulator CITES has authorized the export of captive-bred totoaba fish from Mexico.
- Conservationists say they fear this decision will stimulate the illegal fishing of wild totoabas and that this will intensify the threats facing the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
- Only around eight individual vaquitas remain alive; they regularly drown in nets set illegally for totoabas in the Upper Gulf of California, where the two species overlap.
- The swim bladders of totoabas are sold in Asian markets at exorbitant prices because of their value as status symbols and their supposed medicinal properties.
Podcast: New whale calls and dolphin behaviors discovered with bioacoustics
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we take a look at two stories that show how bioacoustics research is helping us better understand the lives of marine mammals — and we take a listen to some of the recordings informing that research.
- Our first guest is Erin Ross-Marsh, the lead researcher behind a study of humpback whales at the Vema Seamount in the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Africa. Ross-Marsh tells us about the study’s finding that these humpbacks were making gunshot calls, a type of non-song call that was previously unknown in these particular whales, and plays some humpback songs, non-song calls, and gunshot calls for us to listen to.
- We also speak today with Sarah Trabue, a research assistant with the Wildlife Conservation Society who is the lead author of a recently published paper detailing the findings of a bioacoustic study of bottlenose dolphins in and around New York Harbor. Trabue tells us what the study reveals about dolphin behavior in the highly trafficked waters around New York City and plays for us some of the dolphin vocalizations recorded as part of the study.
Noise pollution spooks whales the way predators would, study finds
- Whales appear to react to human-made noise in the ocean, such as naval sonar, in a similar way to which they respond to the sounds of their predators like killer whales, according to recent research.
- The authors of the study played the sounds of sonar and killer whales when whales from four species were present.
- The whales responded by breaking off their feeding forays, leading scientists to conclude that noise pollution in the ocean could leave them weaker and more vulnerable to predation.
- The researchers also suggest that marine mammals in the Arctic may be especially at risk as climate change alters their environment in ways that may make them more vulnerable.
What’s popping? Humpbacks off South Africa, new acoustic study finds
- Researchers recently recorded humpback whales making popping sounds like a gunshot at the Vema Seamount off the coast of South Africa.
- It’s not currently known why humpbacks make these sounds, but researchers suspect it has to do with mating or feeding.
- The Vema Seamount is an important feeding ground for humpbacks and other species, leading experts to call for the region to be protected.
Death of last river dolphin in Laos rings alarm bells for Mekong population
- Earlier this year, the last Irrawaddy river dolphin in a transboundary pool between Cambodia and Laos became entangled in fishing gear and died, signifying the extinction of the species in Laos.
- The transboundary subpopulation had dwindled from 17 individuals in 1993, with experts blaming a range of factors — from the use of gill nets and other illegal fishing practices, to overfishing, genetic isolation, and the effects of upstream dams on river flow and prey availability.
- With the loss, there are now just an estimated 89 Irrawaddy dolphins left in the Mekong River, all within a 180-km (110-mi) stretch in Cambodia, where they face the same range of threats that wiped out the transboundary group.
- Authorities and conservationists say they are now resolved to strengthen protections and improve public awareness of the dolphins’ vulnerability to ensure the species has a future in the Mekong.
That dead whale on the beach? Let it be, study says. Or at least don’t blow it up
- When marine mammals wash ashore, government agencies often set about removing the carcass.
- Strategies include burying the body, transporting it to a landfill or incinerator, towing it out to sea, and in at least one misguided case, detonating it.
- But in removing dead, stranded cetaceans from beaches, we may be overlooking the environmental benefits they offer, according to a new study.
- The researchers recommend leaving carcasses to rot in place whenever possible, where the environmental benefits they offer include supporting communities of scavengers, such as threatened species like polar bears and California condors.
NGOs block gillnet fishing across 100,000 sq km of Great Barrier Reef
- In an effort to protect dugongs and other threatened species, WWF-Australia bought a commercial gillnet fishing license for a swath of ocean in the northern Great Barrier Reef, to establish a de-facto marine sanctuary spanning more than 100,000 km2 (38,600 mi2).
- Dugongs, turtles, dolphins and other marine animals are easily caught in gillnets, and experts say many fatalities go unreported.
- The newly protected region is an important feeding ground for dugongs, supporting a local population of about 7,000, experts say.
- WWF-Australia says it hopes the Australian and Queensland state governments will establish more permanent protections for dugongs on the Great Barrier Reef, and that Traditional Owners can use the area for sustainable fishing and tourism.
Behind viral story of bear visiting Nepal hospital lies bigger ailment
- A recent incident of an Asian black bear entering a hospital in eastern Nepal has highlighted the lack of conservation measures for one of the country’s least-understood megafauna.
- The onset of spring coincides with an increase in human-bear encounters, as the animals seek out easy sources of food after their winter hibernation.
- Nepal’s black bear population is estimated at around 1,000, but there’s no consensus on its global population, despite it being a threatened species.
- Already faced with threats from encounters with humans and from demand for bear bile for medicinal use, the animal could also see its range shrink by nearly half due to climate change.
Podcast: Hippos, manatees, and how the sounds of African wildlife aid their conservation
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we discuss two bioacoustics studies of African wildlife and listen to recordings of hippos and manatees.
- We speak with Nicolas Mathevon, a professor at the University of Saint-Etienne in France and co-author of a report published in Current Biology Magazine last month summarizing the results of a study that determined vocal recognition is used by hippos to manage relationships between territorial groups. Mathevon tells us about the study of vocal recognition in hippos, plays us some of the hippo calls used in the study, and tells us how the study’s findings could help improve conservation measures like translocations.
- We also speak with Clinton Factheu, a PhD Student at the University of Yaoundé 1 in Cameroon and a research assistant with the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization. Factheu recently co-authored a study published by the The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America that used passive acoustic monitoring to provide the first characterization of African manatee vocalizations. Factheu tells us about the research, explains why bioacoustic monitoring is one of the best ways to study a freshwater/marine mammal like the manatee, and plays a number of manatee calls for us.
‘There’s hope’ for North Atlantic right whales: Q&A with filmmaker Nadine Pequeneza
- The documentary “Last of the Right Whales” seeks to bring the plight of these gentle giants to audiences that are largely unaware of how close to extinction the species is today.
- North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) were historically decimated by hunting, but the biggest threats to the species today are ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.
- There are an estimated 336 of the animals remaining, more than 80% of which have experienced entanglement in ropes tethered to fishing gear on the sea floor.
- Documentary director Nadine Pequeneza spoke with Mongabay about bringing these threats to public attention, the importance of engaging with and not vilifying fishers, and why she holds out hope for the whale’s future.
Scientists’ secret weapon to monitor the Southern Ocean? Elephant seals
- Southern elephant seals living on Kerguelen Island, a sub-Antarctic island, are helping to gather information about the Southern Ocean with data-logging devices attached to their hair.
- For instance, the elephant seals have helped gather data on sea ice formation, ocean and ice shelf interactions, and frontal system dynamics.
- The Southern Ocean provides many ecosystem services for the planet, but the region is rapidly changing due to climate change.
Fighting a Chile mining project with science: Q&A with biologist Maritza Sepúlveda
- A recently approved mining project on the Chilean coast has sparked concerns from scientists about the potential impacts on the marine mammals living in the nearby Humboldt Archipelago.
- The channel between the islands and the mainland are home to 15 species of cetaceans, including fin whales, which feed in the area where the mining port will be built — putting them at threat of ship strikes.
- The mining project was previously rejected by the provincial after scientists raised their concerns; among them was marine biologist Maritza Sepúlveda, who studies the marine mammals of the Humboldt Archipelago.
- She says the marine reserve that currently covers just three of the eight islands in the archipelago needs to be expanded to cover a much wider area, noting that “animals don’t recognize administrative regions.”
2021’s top ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2021.
- Hopeful developments this year included big investments pledged for ocean conservation, baby steps toward the reduction of marine plastic pollution, and the description of two new whale species, Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei) and Ramari’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon eueu).
- At the same time, rising ocean temperatures, a byproduct of climate change, had profound effects on marine species up and down the food chain, and action on key measures to maintain ocean resilience in the face of multiple threats hung in the balance.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)
- Science has only just begun to find and describe all of the species on Earth; by some estimates, only 20% have been described.
- This year, Mongabay reported on newly described species from nearly every continent, including an Ecuadoran ant whose name broke the gender binary, an acrobatic North American skunk, an Australian “killer tobacco,” a fuzzy orange bat from West Africa, tiny screech owls from Brazil, and more.
- Though a species may be new to science, that doesn’t mean it has not yet been found and given a name by local and Indigenous communities.
If marine noise pollution is bad, deep-sea mining could add to the cacophony
- A new report suggests that the noise pollution produced by deep-sea mining activities could have far-reaching effects on the marine environment, from surface to seafloor.
- While there are many studies that measure the impacts of noise pollution on marine life, more research is needed to fully understand how sound from deep-sea mining could affect the ocean.
- Due to the paucity of information, experts say a precautionary approach to deep-sea mining noise is required and that clear regulations must be put into place by the International Seabed Authority.
- While deep-sea mining has yet to begin, a subsidiary of Canada-based The Metals Company plans to start mining in less than two years.
Stretch of Borneo’s Mahakam River eyed for protection to save Irrawaddy dolphins
- Conservationists in Indonesian Borneo are working to establish a protected area along the Mahakam River to save the remaining population of the nearly extinct Irrawaddy dolphin.
- The proposed conservation area is expected to alleviate the threats to the population of the freshwater dolphins, including river degradation and ship traffic.
- The latest population estimates suggest only around 80 of the endangered dolphins remain in the Mahakam.
New protections announced for Galápagos Islands and beyond at COP26
- Ecuador’s president announced on Nov. 1 an expansion of the existing Galápagos Islands marine reserve to encompass an additional 60,000 square kilometers (23,200 square miles).
- The majority of the addition would be established across the Cocos Ridge, which is an important migration route for species like hammerhead sharks and leatherback turtles.
- The following day, the presidents of Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica also announced that the four countries intended to create a large marine corridor between their four countries by extending and joining their current marine protected areas.
- Experts say that the new Galápagos marine reserve, in conjunction with the larger corridor, would help protect a range of migratory species.
Pingers on fishing nets found to save river dolphins in Indonesian Borneo
- A trial has demonstrated that underwater acoustic pingers can keep river dolphins at a safe distance from fishing nets, preventing fatal entanglements.
- Fishers in the Mahakam River in Indonesian Borneo collaborated with researchers to test the devices that emit a high-frequency sound that acts as a deterrent to the local population of freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins.
- Aside from protecting the dolphins, the devices were also found to increase fishers’ catches and reduce costly repairs to nets; experts describe this as a “win-win” solution.
- International river dolphin initiatives are now testing the devices in locations such as the Amazon, the Ganges and the Indus rivers to find out if they can be implemented at a much larger scale to safeguard dwindling river dolphin species worldwide.
Project maps soundscape of human noise in northern Adriatic and impact on marine life
- The bottlenose dolphin population of Croatia’s Lošinj archipelago is increasingly faced with problems from noise disturbance produced by boats, particularly in the summer tourist season.
- Noise pollution is known to impact a wide range of marine species, from turtles to tuna to cetaceans, but its long-term effects are still little-understood.
- The SOUNDSCAPE project that started in 2019 in the northern Adriatic Sea, between Italy and Croatia, is trying to better understand the problem at the regional level and identify solutions.
Keep polar bears and their extensive range safe from oil drilling (Commentary)
- In September 2021, a group of conservation groups sued the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to challenge a regulation they allege would allow oil and gas operators to harass, harm and potentially kill polar bears on land and sea in Arctic Alaska.
- In this commentary Steve Blackledge and Dyani Chapman of Environment America argue the battle to save the polar bear can’t be limited to the boundaries of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
- “We hope the courts will examine the facts on the ground and force the government back to the drawing board, leading to a regulation that’s far less threatening and much more protective of the polar bear.”
- The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
Experts see no way back for NZ firm blocked from trying to mine the seabed
- The New Zealand Supreme Court recently blocked consent for a seabed mining operation that would annually extract 50 million tons of iron ore from the seabed off the coast of South Taranaki.
- Environmentalists see this decision as a clear victory, but the mining company has stated its intention to reapply for mining permission.
- But experts say it’s unlikely the company, Trans-Tasman Resources Limited (TTR), will be able to regain consent due to fundamental issues with its application, such as the distinct lack of baseline studies on resident marine life and the potential impacts of mining.
- Conservationists say seabed mining in this part of New Zealand would cause irreversible damage to the ecosystem and threaten many rare and endangered species.
Overfishing threatens to wipe out bowmouth guitarfish in Indonesia, study says
- A study has found that uncontrolled fishing of wedgefish, a family of rays, in Indonesia threatens to push the bowmouth guitarfish to extinction.
- The bowmouth guitarfish and the white-spotted guitarfish are the most commonly caught wedgefish species in Indonesia, with their fins supplying the shark fin trade.
- Researchers have called on the government to impose full protection of juvenile wedgefish and a reduction in catches of bowmouth guitarfish specifically to ensure their survival.
- Both the bowmouth and white-spotted guitarfish are critically endangered species, but neither is included in Indonesia’s protected species list.
Faroe Islands to evaluate traditional hunt after slaughter of 1,400 dolphins
- The killing of 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands has sparked outrage among local people and attracted international criticism over the legitimacy of such hunts.
- The hunt was reportedly unauthorized and in violation of local Faroese law.
- In response, the Faroese prime minister announced that the government will evaluate the recent dolphin hunt as well as the tradition’s place in society.
Manatee deaths in Florida point to a global decline in seagrass ecosystems
- This year the U.S. state of Florida saw a record number of manatee deaths, and though investigations are still ongoing, experts attribute most of the deaths to the dieback of seagrass, a primary food source.
- The manatee deaths are part of a larger trend: around the world, seagrasses are on the decline, mainly because of increasingly clouded waters due to coastal development.
- Other drivers of this die-off include algal blooms, destructive fishing and boating practices, and the warmer, more acidic waters of climate change.
- There are spots of hope, yet seagrass scientists warn that we are on the brink of losing many of these important wildlife habitats and global carbon sinks.
Not just sea life: Migratory fish, birds and mammals also fall foul of plastic
- A new report from the U.N. Environment Programme and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals confirms that plastic pollution poses a major threat to land and freshwater migratory species.
- Mammals, birds and fish are affected through various means, including entanglement, ingestion of plastics, accumulation of microplastics in the food chain, and using plastics in nesting material.
- The report highlights that global capacity to manage plastic pollution is not keeping pace with projected growth in the plastics market.
- The authors call for measures that will ultimately drive change upstream to reduce the volume of plastics entering the marketplace.
Will ‘ropeless’ fishing gear be seaworthy in time to save endangered whales?
- Perhaps fewer than 360 North Atlantic right whales are alive today, according to researchers’ estimates.
- Scientists blame the declining population on the twin tolls exacted by ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.
- “Ropeless” fishing gear that minimizes the number of vertical lines in the water that ensnare right whales has emerged as a potential “home run” solution to the entanglement crisis.
- But fishers, industry groups and even ardent proponents of ropeless systems say that it’s not yet a viable replacement for traditional fishing gear in every situation.
Podcast: Examining ‘What Works In Conservation’
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we look at the latest edition of the “What Works In Conservation” report, recently released by the Conservation Evidence Group at the University of Cambridge in the UK.
- We welcome to the program Andrew Bladon, a research associate with the Conservation Evidence Group who tells us about what’s new in the “What Works In Conservation 2021” report, how the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of conservation actions is evaluated, and why it’s so important to continually reevaluate that evidence.
- We’re also joined by Hiromi Yamashita, a visiting professor at the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and an expert on the use of local and traditional knowledge in conservation. Yamashita tells us about her work to incorporate that knowledge into the Conservation Evidence Group’s work.
Trawling bycatch increases risk of marine life extinction in Brazil
- Up to 50 kilos of fish caught in Brazil are thrown away for every kilo that arrives on land; more than 400,000 tons of marine life were discarded between 2000 and 2018 in just four states.
- Less than 10% of the 25,618 fishing boats registered by the Brazilian government are monitored by satellites, and the program that tracks fishing boats by these satellites is not publicly open and not integrated with worldwide monitoring initiatives.
- At the global level, 19 countries, regions and territories have prohibited trawling in their waters, including two in South America: Chile and Peru.
Brazil a wreck on trawling control
- The country’s lack of statistics and technical information made way for greater deregulation and private sector influence in Jair Bolsonaro’s extremist government
- The lack of control amplifies the impacts of trawling, a technique that uses fine-mesh nets to “scrape” the seabed, sweeping up everything in their path; species of low commercial value return to the waters, almost always dead.
- The sardine catch in Brazil has already fallen from 80,000 tons to about 15,000 tons annually, and stocks of mullet and other species are also shrinking; commercial species that could disappear from the map jumped from 17 to 64 (376%) between 2004 and 2014.
Seagrass-grazing dugongs and green sea turtles supercharge the seeds they eat
- By consuming and pooping seagrass seeds, dugongs and green turtles play a vital role in maintaining vital, carbon-sequestering seagrass meadows, a new study reveals.
- Scientists working in the Great Barrier Reef found that seagrass seeds germinated up to 60% faster after they had passed through the gut of dugongs or green turtles, and also had two to four times greater germination probability.
- The research highlights the mutual relationship between seagrass and marine mega herbivores, and underscores the shared vulnerability if either party is undermined.
- Experts say we must do what we can to protect dugongs, turtles and other grazing marine animals if we wish to protect seagrass ecosystems and their many benefits.
Tallying the toll on marine life from the X-Press Pearl sinking (commentary)
- The recent spate of marine species deaths in Sri Lanka points to the burning and sinking of the MV X-Press Pearl freight ship carrying a cargo of hazardous chemicals.
- Conservationists are calling adequate action to ascertain the cause of death of these animals, especially as there is reason to believe that the majority died due to chemical contamination.
- Further research will be required to effectively mitigate impacts of such marine disasters, to which Sri Lanka is vulnerable, given its location in a busy shipping lane connecting the world with East Asia.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
‘Mismanaged to death’: Mexico opens up sole vaquita habitat to fishing
- The Mexican government has eradicated a “no tolerance” zone in the Upper Gulf of California meant to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
- The former refuge will now be open for fishing and there will be minimal monitoring and enforcement of illegal activity, experts say.
- Conservationists say this move will certainly lead to the extinction of the vaquita, whose numbers have recently dwindled down to about nine.
New ecolabel will certify ‘Whale-Safe’ shipping companies and cruise lines
- A new eco-label will certify freight and cruise companies that take steps to keep their ships from colliding with whales.
- To earn the label, companies must have 24/7 monitoring aboard their ships, share whale observation data through a digital platform, have procedures in place to act if a whale is sighted, and follow local speed and navigation rules.
- The challenge ahead is to persuade companies to sign up and comply — a task that will come down to pressure from customers and may be easier for some kinds of maritime companies than others, experts say.
Study confirms sightings of endangered blue whale in Philippine waters
- For years, a group of scientists have been tracking a mysterious whale that they initially labeled as belonging to another blue whale subspecies.
- Their decade-long efforts resulted in a new study that confirms the species as an endangered pygmy blue whale — an animal last recorded in Philippine waters in the 19th century.
- Researchers call the pygmy blue whale “Bughaw,” a Filipino word for the color blue.
- They say Bughaw’s presence could help establish Philippine waters as part of the extended migration path of the Indo-Australian population of pygmy blue whales.
Latest mass stranding raises concerns for endangered Caspian seals
- About 170 endangered Caspian seals were found dead on Russia’s Dagestan coast near the city of Makhachkala from May 4-6, with fishing activities most likely to blame.
- People harvest Caspian seals for their skin and even their blubber, which is made into an oil and promoted as a cure for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, according to experts.
- An expert says more than 15,000 Caspian seals are killed each year through fishing activities and then filtered into the wildlife trade.
- With only about 68,000 mature individuals left in the wild, experts say international cooperation by countries bordering the Caspian Sea is urgently needed to protect the imperiled species.
Indonesian researchers study how to help rays released as bycatch survive
- Researchers in Indonesia are studying the survival rate of manta rays and devil rays released after being caught unintentionally by fishers.
- The study, which has so far tagged five of the animals with satellite trackers, aims to come up with best practices to boost the survival of these threatened rays.
- Populations of mantas and devils rays, from the genus Mobula, have been hit by the global trade of their parts, particularly their gills, for traditional medicine and food.
From penguins to sharks to whales, swimming in circles is a surprisingly common trait
- Many marine animals are intentionally swimming in circles consecutively at a relatively constant speed more than twice, according to a new study using data from movement trackers.
- The researchers say the behavior is surprising in part because swimming in a straight line is known to be the most efficient way to move about.
- They found some of the animals swim in circles during different activities, including foraging, courtship, navigation and even possibly geomagnetic observations.
‘Minke whales for dinner’: Norway’s controversial whale hunt is still on
- Norway has announced that it will target up to 1,278 common minke whales in its upcoming whaling season, which is the same quota as the past two years.
- While the Norwegian government says its whaling program is sustainable, some scientists, conservationists and animal welfare experts counter this claim.
- These anti-whaling advocates also point to a growing body of evidence that suggests that whales play a pivotal role in regulating the marine ecosystem, and that whales are worth more alive than dead.
- There has been a global moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986, but Norway chooses to reject this ban.
When Chinook salmon is off the menu, other prey will do for endangered orcas
- A new study has found that endangered southern resident killer whales mainly consume endangered Chinook salmon, but will broaden their diet when this species isn’t available.
- The researchers obtained data through prey and fecal waste collected from resident killer whales over a 13-year period.
- Efforts to reinstate Chinook salmon populations through hatchery efforts can play an important role in supporting resident killer whale populations, although these programs need to be carefully managed to ensure that stocks are diverse, the study suggests.
In the fight to save the vaquita, conservationists take on cartels
- The critically endangered vaquita porpoise, a species endemic to the Sea of Cortez in the Upper Gulf of California in Mexico, is at severe risk of extinction due to illegal gillnet fishing for the critically endangered totoaba fish.
- Andrea Crosta of Earth League International (ELI) says the key to saving the species is arresting all criminals involved in the illegal totoaba trade, while other NGOs work to patrol the Sea of Cortez for illegal gillnet use or to introduce seafood sanctions.
- With only nine vaquita porpoises believed to be left in the world, most experts agree that this year will be critical to the vaquita’s survival.
Fewer than 100 of these giant whales make up a newly described species
- In January scientists announced the designation of a new whale species in the Gulf of Mexico they named Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei).
- The team previously collected genetic samples of the whales but didn’t confirm the new species until they had a complete skeleton.
- Only between 33 and 100 individual members of the species exist, researchers estimate. The species is listed as endangered in the U.S.
- The Gulf of Mexico is fraught with many human-made threats to the whales’ survival, including dense ship traffic, oil and gas exploration, and marine trash.
Mozambique’s new fisheries law expands protections but old problems persist
- Conservationists are praising a new fisheries law enacted by Mozambique this month for granting protection to an array of marine species, including whale sharks, manta rays and dolphins, and for empowering fishing communities.
- With a coastline of 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles), and more than two-thirds of people living within 150 km (93 mi) of the coast, enabling communities appears to be the only way for Mozambique to manage its coastal riches sustainably.
- The new law clarifies the path for community fisheries councils (CCPs) to become legal entities, which will allow them to designate community management areas and better implement rules regulating access to marine resources.
- Experts caution that entrenched problems like growing pressure on fisheries, lack of enforcement capabilities and financial independence, will not be resolved by laws alone.
Rare beaked whale sighting could be a world first for the species
- Researchers looking for elusive beaked whales in the South China Sea believe they spotted a pair of either the ginkgo-toothed or Deraniyagala’s beaked whale.
- Although they collected extensive observational data, they could not confirm the whales’ species without DNA samples.
- The sighting is nevertheless important: Knowledge of both beaked whale species has been limited to what researchers have learned from a handful of stranded whale carcasses and unconfirmed sightings.
- The encounter likely represents either the first ever live sighting of the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens), or the first live sighting of the nearly identical Deraniyagala’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon hotaula) in the western Pacific Ocean.
2020’s top ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2020.
- Hopeful developments this year included some long-overdue attention to Black and other underrepresented groups in marine science; new technologies to prevent deadly ship-whale collisions and track “dark” vessels at sea remotely; and surprising discoveries in the deep sea.
- At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more trash than ever being dumped in the sea, and stalled international negotiations aimed at protecting waters off Antarctica and in the high seas. 2020 also brought the first modern-day marine fish extinction.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
Environmentalists seek to block Bahamas oil drilling bid near U.S. coast
- This month, Bahamas Petroleum Company is set to begin exploratory oil drilling in Bahamian waters, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the Florida coast.
- Environmental groups have approached the Bahamian Supreme Court, seeking an immediate stay on the company’s drilling operations; they say the government unlawfully granted permits to drill.
- Environmentalists, many of them based in the U.S., oppose the project citing potential impacts on nearby marine protected areas, fish stocks, and the effect of spills in Bahamian and U.S. waters.
- The company says that the island nation’s economy, battered by the effects of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and COVID-19 this year, could rebound on the back of oil revenues and much-needed jobs from drilling.
Whale of a find: Scientists spot beaked whale believed to be a new species
- Scientists on board a Sea Shepherd vessel say they found a new species of beaked whale near the San Benito Islands off Mexico’s Pacific coast.
- The species differs visually and acoustically from other beaked whales species, according to the researchers.
- The team took photographs, video recordings and acoustical recordings of the species, and also performed environmental genetic sampling to help confirm the existence of a new species.
- However, other experts say that detailed descriptions of the animals’ physical features and skeletal structure are needed before a new species can be accurately identified.
Can whales and dolphins catch COVID-19 from wastewater? It’s murky
- A new study identifies 15 marine mammal species, including whales, dolphins, seals and sea otters, that could be susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 virus through contact with wastewater.
- According to the researchers, vulnerable populations of marine animals that congregate near wastewater discharge sites face elevated risks.
- To minimize these risks, the researchers suggest closely monitoring vulnerable populations for possible infection and vaccinating if necessary, and also restricting access to at-risk captive marine mammals.
- However, other experts say it is implausible for marine animals to get sick through contact with wastewater since virus transmission through water is unlikely.
Countries fall short of U.N. pledge to protect 10% of the ocean by 2020
- A decade ago, the international community pledged to protect 10% of the ocean by the end of 2020, under the auspices of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity.
- Despite adding new marine protected areas quickly, the international community is falling well short of that goal: only about 7.5% of the oceans is now protected, according to a generous assessment.
- Even proponents of marine protected areas acknowledge they are not always as effective as they could be.
- Conservationists are now pressing for the adoption of a more ambitious new international goal: protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030.
Are industrial chemicals killing rare whales and familiar dolphins?
- Dozens of whales and dolphins that beached themselves on the U.S. Atlantic Coast contained high levels of pollutants and heavy metals in their blubber and liver tissues, a new study shows.
- For the first time, scientists detected the widely used antibiotic Triclosan and the popular herbicide Atrazine in rare species that spend their lives hundreds of kilometers offshore.
- While the findings suggest these toxins may contribute to the demise of marine mammals, more research is needed to determine direct cause and effect.
Whale zone ahead: A cetacean speed trap tags ships going over the limit
- North Atlantic right whales, a critically endangered species with fewer than 366 remaining individuals, face two main threats: fishing gear entanglements and ship strikes.
- Many ships do not obey voluntary or mandatory speed restrictions in areas where North Atlantic right whales are present, raising the risk of fatal collisions.
- A new tool called Ship Speed Watch provides information on vessels that are not obeying speed restrictions.
- Conservationists say they hope it will help build awareness and strengthen regulations surrounding ship speeds.
Sri Lankans save pilot whales in epic rescue after mass stranding
- Volunteers braved a pandemic lockdown, darkness and risk of personal injury to help push over 100 short-finned pilot whales out to sea after they beached in southwestern Sri Lanka.
- The rescue effort, which involved towing the whales out using Jet Skis, ran overnight as the exhausted animals kept being washed ashore by the waves.
- In all, the rescuers managed to push back more than 100 whales, although at least five of the animals died.
- It was one of the largest mass strandings in Sri Lanka. Pilot whales are the cetacean group most susceptible to mass strandings, although the cause for the latest incident is still unclear.
‘No other choice’: Groups push to protect vast swaths of Antarctic seas
- A coalition of conservation groups is advocating for the establishment of three new marine protected areas (MPAs) in East Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea, which would encompass 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of the Southern Ocean, or 1% of the global ocean.
- These proposals will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is due to take place online because of the pandemic.
- Conservationists anticipate that China and Russia may not support these MPA proposals due to fishing interests in the region, although they are optimistic that the MPAs will eventually be approved.
New tool alerts ships when whales are near. But will they slow down?
- In 2018 and 2019 there were a record 27 documented whale-ship collisions off the coast of California, although the actual number is likely to be much higher.
- To reduce the number of deadly collisions, the Benioff Ocean Initiative launched Whale Safe on Sept. 17.
- The new mapping and analysis tool alerts mariners when whales are likely present in the busy Santa Barbara Channel near Los Angeles, drawing on data from an acoustic monitoring buoy, on-the-water sighting reports, and computer modeling.
- If whales are likely nearby, the developers hope large vessels will slow to speeds that are less harmful to whales in a collision. Their decision whether to do so remains voluntary.
Mauritians take to the street over oil spill and dolphin and whale deaths
- People gathered in the thousands in Mauritius’s capital, Port Louis, to protest the government’s response to a recent oil spill.
- The Japanese-owned freighter M.V. Wakashio crashed into the coral reef barrier off the island’s southeastern coast on July 25 and leaked about 1,000 tons of fuel oil into the sea near ecologically sensitive areas, before breaking in half a few weeks later.
- The stranding of at least 39 dolphins and whales near the site has sparked an outcry, though a link between the Wakashio shipwreck and the beachings has not yet been established.
- In a controversial move, the Mauritian government decided to sink the front half of the ship several kilometers away from the crash site in open waters, which some experts say could have impacted the dolphin and whale populations.
481 and counting: Norway’s whaling catch hits four-year high
- New data show that Norway has killed 481 minke whales so far this year, a number that surpasses the toll from the past three years.
- Norway continues its commercial whaling operation despite the International Whaling Commission placing a global moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982.
- While some whale meat and whale products are sold within Norway, the country also exports it to countries like Japan, Iceland and Denmark’s Faroe Islands.
- Whaling industry representatives say that whale meat sales have gone up in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic, while conservationists and animal welfare advocates say that most Norwegians are not interested in consuming whale meat.
Podcast: Singing and whistling cetaceans of southern Africa revealed by bioacoustics
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast we’re taking a look at two examples of how bioacoustics studies have discovered things we never knew before about marine life.
- Dr. Tess Gridley joins us to talk about the recent discovery of singing humpback whales in South Africa’s False Bay. Gridley plays us some of the recordings she and her team made documenting humpback songs in False Bay for the first time ever, and discusses the African Bioacoustics Community’s upcoming conference, which she hopes will help inspire even more bioacoustic research focused on African wildlife.
- We’re also joined by Sasha Dines, a PhD student at the University of Stellenbosch who is studying humpback dolphins. Dines’ work is focused on determining whether or not Indian Ocean humpback dolphins make signature whistle calls, which could be used to monitor the dolphins’ via passive acoustic monitoring arrays. She plays us some whistle calls of a humpback dolphin named Herme, and explains how bioacoustic monitoring could help improve not just monitoring but also conservation efforts for these endangered dolphins.
To flourish, Sri Lanka’s whale-watching industry must operate responsibly (commentary)
- Whale watching in Sri Lanka picked up in 2005, and the end of the civil war in 2009 ensured wider access to some of the finest coastal beaches in the Indian Ocean island.
- Expeditions that highlighted Sri Lanka as one of the top whale-watching destinations sparked an ever-expanding industry, giving rise to concerns about irresponsible public conduct and the need to minimize harm to marine mammals.
- In response, awareness-raising initiatives are being taken by various groups with emphasis on responsible whale watching according to existing guidelines and codes of conduct.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Narwhals beware: Killer whales are on the rise in the Arctic
- Climate change has led to dramatic ice loss in the Arctic, allowing killer whales to access parts of the Canadian Arctic they previously couldn’t.
- A new study found that a population of 136 to 190 killer whales spent the warmer summer months in Canada’s northern Baffin Island region between 2009 and 2018, and preyed on as many as 1,504 narwhals each season.
- While the overall narwhal population isn’t in immediate danger, a steady influx of killer whales could lead to ecosystem transformation through a top-down trophic cascade, according to the study.
Podcast: Animals have culture, too, and for some it’s crucial to their survival and conservation
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast we explore animal culture and social learning with author Carl Safina and whale researcher Hal Whitehead.
- Carl Safina examines the capacity of several animal species for social learning and transmitting knowledge across generations in his new book, Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace. Safina appears on the Mongabay Newscast today to explain how sperm whales, scarlet macaws, and chimpanzees are equipped to live in the world they live in as much by what they learn from other individuals in their social groups as by their genetic inheritance.
- Hal Whitehead, a professor at Canada’s Dalhousie University, was one of the first scientists to examine the complex social lives of sperm whales and the distinctive calls known as codas that they use to establish their group and personal identities. He appears on the podcast today to play us some recordings of sperm whale codas and tell us about sperm whale culture and social learning.
Caught on camera: Rare finless porpoises sighted in Hong Kong waters
- Video of the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise, a rare and elusive species, was recently captured by drone off the coast of South Lantau Island in Hong Kong.
- A 2002 study estimated there to be about 220 finless porpoises left in the Hong Kong area, while more recent reports give a slightly higher number.
- In 2019 alone, there were at least 42 strandings of finless porpoises in Hong Kong, which has raised concerns about the current population in that region.
- The finless porpoise has a large range across Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, but the elusive nature of the species makes it hard to survey.
Baby humpback whales bulk up in Hawaii ahead of migration [VIDEO]
- New video reveals baby humpback whales nursing in Hawaii, a sight rarely seen by humans.
- A team of researchers used non-invasive suction cups to outfit seven baby humpback whales with special tags for recording data on nursing as well as other whale behaviors.
- During their time in Hawaii, the whale calves must drink enough milk to fatten up for a one to two-month migration back to Alaska.
- The researchers hope to understand the needs of mother whales and their calves during their time in the tropical breeding grounds and for their long migration.
Economists put a price tag on living whales in Brazil: $82 billion
- Last year, a team of four economists published a report suggesting that living whales have a high market value for the services they provide in terms of ecotourism, carbon sequestration, and fishery enhancement. Each whale is worth about $2 million USD, they estimated.
- The economists, in collaboration with two conservation organizations, Instituto Baleia Jubarte and the Great Whale Conservancy, estimated that Brazil’s whale population is worth $82 billion.
- The team says it hopes the notion of valuing whales in Brazil, as well as in other coastal nations, can help protect whales from common fatalities like ship strikes, fishing gear entanglement, and deliberate hunting.
Researchers miss out on sperm whale superpod in Sri Lanka amid pandemic
- Since 2010, researchers have recorded sperm whale aggregations, or superpods, consisting of hundreds of the giant mammals in the waters off Sri Lanka from late March to early April.
- Researchers missed out on the narrow window to observe this year’s spectacle, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a nationwide shutdown; they also failed to carry out all scheduled workshops teaching tour boat operators about responsible whale-watching.
- Restrictions in response to COVID-19 have had similar impacts in other countries as well, disrupting planned field research.
Iceland won’t be killing any whales this year
- An Icelandic whaling business, IP-Utgerd, has announced that it will stop whaling altogether, while the largest whaling company in the country, Hvalur hf., has halted its whaling operations for the second year in a row.
- IP-Utgerd and Hvalur continued to whale in spite of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) placing a global moratorium on whaling in 1986.
- Conservationists say they hope that whaling ends permanently in Iceland, although it’s possible that Hvalur will resume hunting whales again in the near future.
Russia lists Caspian seals and orcas as endangered species after ‘whale jail’ controversy
- Mammal-eating orcas and Caspian seals were recently listed as endangered species by Russia, following the “whale jail” debacle that raised international concerns.
- This is the first time in more than 20 years that the Russian government has updated its red book of locally threatened species, so conservationists and animal advocates see this latest move as an enormous victory.
- This is also the first time that Russian authorities have acknowledged that there are two ecotypes of orcas — mammal-eating orcas and fish-eating orcas.
- Experts say they believe the new red book listings will put a halt to the international trade of orcas captured in Russian waters, although belugas may still be trafficked.
Decade after BP Deepwater Horizon spill, oil drilling is as dangerous as ever
- Ten years ago, the BP Deepwater Horizon exploratory rig exploded, killing 11 people and initiating the largest oil spill in the history of the United States.
- Nearly 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, causing catastrophic damage to the ecosystem and economy of the region.
- A newly published report by the nonprofit Oceana looks back at how this spill happened, the resulting ecological and economic impacts, and if this catastrophe has changed government or oil industry approaches to offshore drilling.
- Poor government oversight and inadequate safety culture paved the way for the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion. Now, a decade later, it appears these conditions, the prerequisites for disaster, have not improved.
COVID-19 forces Sea Shepherd to suspend patrols to protect last vaquitas
Marine conservation group Sea Shepherd has made the difficult decision to suspend its campaign to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California. “We haven’t had much choice because we’re dependent upon getting fuel from the Mexican government to do the patrols, and we weren’t able to get the fuel,” Captain […]
In Sri Lanka, gillnets targeting tuna claim dolphin lives
- Tuna fishers using gillnets in the Indian Ocean caught 4.1 million dolphins and other cetaceans between 1950 and 2018, a new study estimates.
- Gillnets are a mainstay of the tuna fishery in the Indian Ocean, accounting for nearly 34% of the region’s total tuna catch.
- Sri Lanka, one of the countries studied, is home to 15 dolphin species, but just one — the spinner dolphin — accounted for more than half of the recorded cetacean catch in gillnets.
- Experts have called for phasing out destructive fishing methods such as gillnets, while local authorities are offering incentives to fishers for every non-target species released alive from their nets.
Audio: Songs and sounds of Bering Sea whales and seals reveal a story of change
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we listen to recordings of marine mammals in the Arctic with Dr. Howard Rosenbaum, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Ocean Giants Program.
- Rosenbaum co-authored a recent study that used bioacoustics to better understand how seasonal variation in sea surface temperatures and sea ice extent affect populations of five species of endemic Arctic marine mammals: bearded seals, beluga whales, bowhead whales, ribbon seals, and walrus.
- We listen to recordings of marine mammals used in the study as well as recordings of ships: Rosenbaum joins us to discuss how those ship sounds can affect Arctic wildlife and how the results of the study will help scientists track the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystems.
New right whale protection measures announced by Canadian government
- Canada has announced new protection measures for North Atlantic right whales, which face severe threats to their survival due to human activities off the Atlantic Coast of North America.
- Most recent right whale deaths have occurred in Canadian waters, which scientists attribute, at least partly, to the fact that the whales have moved into areas where there were no regulations in place to address threats like ship strikes and entanglement.
- Scientists say the new regulations proposed by the Canadian government are encouraging. Meanwhile, if the Trump Administration gets its way, the United States will be moving in the exact opposite direction on protections for whales in its waters.
Bid to get ‘aquatic wild meat’ off the menu and under protection
- The term “aquatic wild meat,” or “marine bushmeat,” refers to the hunting of marine mammals, reptiles, seabirds and now some sharks and rays.
- The hunting takes place all over the world and has increased in recent years as small-scale fishers have lost access to fish and other marine resources.
- Last week, delegates representing more than 80 countries took steps to address the issue of aquatic wild meat at the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals conference in Gandhinagar, India.
- Other outcomes of the conference included adding 10 new species to the convention’s protected lists, including the jaguar and Asian elephant, recognizing the culture of wild animals, and calling for migratory species to be considered in national climate and energy policies.
Listening to marine mammals is helping scientists understand Arctic impacts of climate change
- A 4-year bioacoustic study of marine mammals in the northern Bering Sea will help scientists track the impacts of global climate change on Arctic ecosystems.
- A team of researchers studied how seasonal variation in sea surface temperatures and sea ice extent affect populations of five species of endemic Arctic marine mammals: bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), ribbon seals (Histriophoca fasciata), and walrus (Odobenus rosmarus).
- The researchers captured more than 33,000 individual vocalizations from whales, walruses, and seals over the course of the study, which was conducted between 2012 and 2016. They say that their findings showed consistent seasonal distribution and movement patterns for most of the studied species, supporting previous scientific and traditional knowledge about the distribution of marine mammals in the northern Bering Sea, while providing more precise data than was previously available.
Key cetacean site in Philippines sees drop in dolphin, whale sightings
- A recent survey has confirmed a declining trend in sightings of dolphins and whales in the Tañon Strait in the central Philippines, a waterway declared an Important Marine Mammal Area by the IUCN.
- The strait is a migratory route for at least 11 cetacean species, including the vulnerable Gray’s spinner dolphin and the endangered false killer whale, but four surveys carried out since 1999 have shown a sharp decline in population and species sightings.
- One bright spot in the latest survey was the sighting of rose-bellied dwarf spinner dolphins, only the second time that the species has ever been spotted in Philippine waters.
- The strait is one of the country’s busiest sea lanes, encountering heavy fishing and tourism activities, which researchers say may be a factor for the downward trend. They call for further collaboration to enact stringent measures on fishing and tourism activities to protect the area.
One of four North Atlantic right whale calves spotted so far this breeding season struck by ship
- One of just four North Atlantic right whale calves spotted off the southeast coast of the United States so far this winter was discovered last week to have suffered deep propeller wounds to both sides of its head.
- The injured calf was photographed by an aerial survey team about 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) off the coast of the state of Georgia while swimming with its mother on January 8. The two S-shaped gashes observed by the survey team were most likely caused by the propeller of a boat, but humans will probably not be able to intervene and help the calf.
- The North Atlantic right whale population has been on the decline since 2010, due almost entirely to the impacts of human activities, especially collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear.
2019’s top 10 ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2019.
- Hopeful developments included progress toward an international treaty to protect biodiversity on the high seas and a rebound in the western South Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) to nearly its pre-whaling population size.
- Meanwhile, research documenting rapidly unfurling effects of climate change in the ocean painted a dire picture of the present and future ocean. These include accelerating sea level rise, more severe marine heatwaves and more frequent coral bleaching events.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
Audio: The best animal calls featured on the Mongabay Newscast in 2019
- This is our last episode of 2019, so we took a look back at the bioacoustic recordings we featured here on the Mongabay Newscast over the past year and today we will be playing some of our favorites for you.
- As regular listeners to the Mongabay Newscast already know, bioacoustics is the study of how animals use and perceive sound, and how their acoustical adaptations reflect their behaviors and their relationships with their habitats and surroundings. Bioacoustics is still a fairly young field of study, but it is currently being used to study everything from how wildlife populations respond to the impacts of climate change to how entire ecosystems are impacted by human activities.
- On today’s episode, we listen to recordings of stitchbirds in New Zealand, river dolphins in Brazil, humpback whales in the Pacific, right whales in the Atlantic, and gibbons in Indonesia.
Orca grandmothers help improve survival odds of their grandkids, study finds
- Grandmother orcas that are no longer breeding help improve their grandcalves’ chances of survival, a new study has found.
- By analyzing the lives of 378 orca grandchildren in two resident groups in the Northeast Pacific, the researchers found that calves whose maternal grandmother died within the last two years had a mortality rate 4.5 times higher than a calf with a living grandmother.
- The effect was particularly amplified when salmon populations, which resident pods rely on, were low, the authors found, and less so when salmon was abundant.
- Since elderly females lead younger members of their group to salmon hotspots in the ocean, and salmon populations are declining in general, the study highlights grandmothers’ crucial role in the survival of the mammals.
Canaries in the coal mine? North Atlantic right whale use of key habitat changing rapidly
- A team of researchers with the Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Syracuse University recently published the results of a six-year study that focused on the North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in Massachusetts Bay, which, together with Cape Cod Bay, comprises one of seven areas in the Gulf of Maine that the whales use during seasonal congregations.
- The team used an automated detection algorithm to determine the presence of right whale “up‐calls” in 47,000 hours of recordings made with 19 bioacoustic recording devices deployed across 4,000 square kilometers (about 1,544 square miles) of Massachusetts Bay.
- The number of whales present during the peak season increased every year of the study except for 2009-2010, “when acoustic presence was unusually low,” according to the study. But the researchers also detected an increased presence of right whales during parts of what should be their off‐season, from late summer to early fall. That could have serious implications for efforts to conserve the species.
Shrinking sea ice in the Arctic opens new pathways for animal disease
- Scientists have discovered that periods of minimal sea ice in the Arctic between 2001 and 2016 were followed by spikes in a deadly disease that affects seals, sea lions and sea otters.
- The team used satellite imagery showing decreases in sea ice combined with GPS collar data tracking animal movements over the 15-year study period.
- After periods of sea ice contraction, the odds that a sampled animal would be affected by the disease were more than nine times higher than typical years.
Nearly extinct vaquita mothers with calves spotted in recent expeditions
- The latest expeditions in the Gulf of California, Mexico, to survey the vaquita, the world’s smallest cetacean, have yielded sightings of both vaquita mothers and calves. This, researchers say, indicates that the mammals are still reproducing despite threats.
- In a survey carried out between August and September, researchers spotted what they say were likely six distinct individual vaquitas.
- During a subsequent expedition in October, researchers say they spotted vaquitas several times, including six different vaquitas in two groups, and three pairs of mothers and calves.
- This news is hopeful, but the mammal’s future is still perilous due to the continued use of illegal fishing nets in its habitat, experts say.
Elephant seal native to Antarctica spotted for first time in tropical Sri Lanka
- A juvenile southern elephant seal from the Antarctic region was recently spotted off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
- The seal appeared exhausted, and while there have been calls to capture it to assess its health and/or raise it in captivity, experts recommend leaving it alone and giving it time to find its way back home.
- The species has rarely been recorded venturing into tropical waters.
- In its native habitat, it’s threatened by the melting of the pack ice on which it breeds, as a result of global warming.
Last of the belugas from Russia’s ‘whale jail’ released
- Late last year, drone footage revealed 87 belugas and 11 orcas packed in cramped, icy pens at Srednyaya Bay in Russia’s Far East.
- Following international outrage, Russian authorities began an investigation and started releasing the whales to the Sea of Okhotsk, the place the mammals had been originally captured from.
- On Nov. 10, Russian authorities announced that the last of the 50 beluga whales had been released to Uspeniya Bay, in the Primorsky Region, about 62 miles away from the holding facility. But it’s not the whales’ native habitat, conservationists say.
- Activists and conservationists have criticized the lack of transparency in the release effort and the manner in which the whales have been moved to the sea without a proper rehabilitation process in place.
There’s a new fin whale subspecies in the North Pacific
- The northern fin whale subspecies was previously believed to include populations in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, but a recent genetic analysis of more than 150 fin whale samples from both ocean basins and the Southern Hemisphere showed that the two populations actually qualify as two separate subspecies.
- By comparing DNA from fin whales in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic, researchers determined that the populations have been genetically distinct for hundreds of thousands of years.
- Improving our understanding of fin whale taxonomy can have important implications for the conservation of the species, which is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
’Rampant’ fishing continues as vaquita numbers dwindle
- An expedition surveying the Gulf of California for the critically endangered vaquita porpoise has reported seeing more than 70 fishing boats in a protected refuge.
- Vaquita numbers have been decimated in the past decade as a result of gillnet fishing for another critically endgangered species, the totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder can fetch more than $20,000 per kilogram ($9,000 per pound) in Asian markets.
- Local fishing organizations in the region say that the government has stopped compensating them after a gillnet ban, aimed at protecting the vaquita from extinction, went into effect in 2015.
Once close to extinction, western South Atlantic humpback population close to full recovery
- According to a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science last week, there were nearly 27,000 western South Atlantic humpbacks as of 1830, but the population was reduced by some 95 percent, to just 450 whales, by the mid-1950s. In the 12 years between 1904 and 1916 alone, the population lost approximately 25,000 individuals.
- Protection measures for humpbacks adopted in the 1960s and the broader moratorium on all commercial whaling adopted by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in the 1980s appear to have reversed that downward trajectory, however. There has been no hunting of the species since 1972, the report states, which is when the recovery really took off.
- “Once protected, [western South Atlantic] humpback whales have recovered strongly, and their current abundance is close to 25,000 whales,” the authors of the study write. That means that the current population is estimated to be at 93 percent of its numbers prior to the exploitation by whalers that nearly extirpated the entire population.
Expedition finds new humpback breeding ground and sends first deep divers to Amazon Reef
- A number of marine species, from whales and dolphins to sea turtles and sharks, are known to migrate through the waters off the coast of French Guiana, the same biodiversity-rich waters that harbor the Amazon Reef, which was discovered in 2016.
- Scientists with the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) onboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza discovered and documented humpbacks as well as tropical whale species feeding and breeding in the area, which they say is a first.
- As part of the same expedition, the first dives down to the Amazon Reef were undertaken in order to document the reef ecosystem via high-resolution photography and collect biological samples.
Will a massive marine protected area safeguard Cook Islands’ ocean?
- In 2017, the Cook Islands government passed the Marae Moana Act, which designated the country’s entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as a multiple-use marine protected area (MPA).
- Spanning almost 2 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles) — an area roughly the size of Mexico — the MPA is the biggest of its kind in the world.
- Now, as bureaucrats, NGOs and traditional leaders get to grips with implementing Marae Moana, many stakeholders are wondering what the act will mean in practice and whether it can meaningfully change the way the ocean is managed.
Audio: Humpback whales across the Pacific Ocean are singing the same song
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with Jim Darling, a marine biologist who is here to play us some recordings of remarkably similar humpback whale songs from around the world.
- Darling and colleagues found that North Pacific humpback whale songs can be incredibly similar to each other — nearly identical, in fact. That means that our view of the whales as living in distinct groups might very well be wrong. And that view dictates a lot of the conservation measures we’ve designed to protect imperiled populations of humpbacks.
- Darling joins us today to talk about his humpback research and play us some of those recordings so you can hear the similarity for yourself.
Tests show multi-rotor UAVs can improve cetacean behavioral studies
- Researchers assessing the utility of small, multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to survey and study humpback whales found that video data collected from a UAV improved upon data recorded by an expert observer from a research vessel, a standard technique.
- The observer mischaracterized certain behaviors, primarily socializing and nurturing, as other activities, such as traveling or resting, that the aerial viewpoint of the UAV captured clearly, even when the animals were below the surface.
- The whales did not show changes in behavior when the UAV approached or remained present at 30 meters above them.
- Their results suggest that small UAVs add value to cetacean behavioral research as a non-invasive research tool that can capture information that is otherwise difficult to detect from the angle and distance of a ship or shore observer.
Baby whale wears a camera, reveals its travel and nursing behavior: video
- A video taken by a camera carried by a baby whale shows underwater nursing behavior from the calf’s perspective.
- The CATS Cam camera used in the filming incorporates multiple environmental sensors, such as depth and temperature, as well as movement and acceleration by the calf.
- The unusual perspective may help researchers better understand the nursing process of a baby whale, including surfacing to breathe while its mother remains underwater and suckling from mammary slits on each side of its mom.
Vaquita habitat now listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’
- The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to list the Sea of Cortez and its islands in Mexico’s Gulf of California, the only place where the critically endangered vaquita is known to occur, on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
- The porpoise’s numbers have dropped drastically, from around 300 in the mid-2000s to just 10 individuals, according to the latest estimate, mostly as a result of getting entangled in gillnets used in the poaching of totoaba fish.
- The continuing illegal totoaba trade poses a threat to the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site, the World Heritage Committee said, recommending that the site be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Audio: Listen to the first-ever recordings of right whales breaking into song
- On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with Jessica Crance, a research biologist with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who recently discovered right whales singing for the first time ever.
- Gunshot calls made by right whales are exactly what their name suggests they are — loud, concussive bursts of noise. Perhaps that doesn’t sound terribly musical, but the critically endangered eastern population of North Pacific right whales appears to use gunshot calls in a repeating pattern — the first instance ever recorded of a right whale population breaking into song.
- Jessica Crance led the research team at NOAA that documented North Pacific right whales breaking into song in the Bering Sea. On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, Crance will play recordings of two different right whale song types and discuss what we know about why the critically endangered whales might be singing in the first place.
Japan resumes commercial whale hunting
- For years, Japan exploited a loophole in international rules to continue hunting whales despite being a member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) bound by the commercial whaling moratorium that went into effect in 1986. The country has now quit the IWC altogether and resumed commercial whaling.
- The first minke whale caught under the country’s new commercial whaling program was landed yesterday at Kushiro port in northern Japan, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency, a London-based NGO.
- IWC members Norway and Iceland are the only other countries on Earth that currently hunt whales commercially. But Iceland’s two whaling companies have announced that they’ll be sitting out the summer 2019 whaling season, meaning that, for the first time in 17 years, no whales will be caught in Iceland’s waters.
Six endangered North Atlantic right whales died last month alone
- In June this year, six endangered North Atlantic right whales were spotted dead in Canadian waters, including a 40-year-old breeding grandmother, and a 34-year-old grandfather.
- With only some 400 North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) estimated to survive today, researchers and conservation groups are worried.
- Necropsies carried out so far suggest that some of the whales died from collisions with ships.
- Entanglement in fishing gear is another leading cause of death among this extremely threatened species of baleen whale.
Researchers discover right whales singing for the first time ever
- Right whales — three species of large baleen whales in the genus Eubalaena — have never been known to sing. As far as scientists knew, right whale vocalizations consisted entirely of individual calls, as opposed to the repeated, patterned phrases of true whale songs.
- But according to a study published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America this month, the extremely rare eastern North Pacific right whale appears to use its gunshot calls in a repeating pattern — the first instance ever recorded of a right whale population breaking into song.
- A research team with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) analyzed 17-years’-worth of data from autonomous recorders deployed in the Bering Sea and documented four distinct right whale song types at five different locations between the years 2009 and 2017.
Sponges supply DNA for new method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity
- Tracking environmental DNA (eDNA) is fast becoming a popular method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity, but current methods are expensive and cumbersome.
- Filter-feeding sponges can act as natural sieves to collect and concentrate eDNA from seawater.
- Using sponge samples collected from the Antarctic and the Mediterranean Sea, researchers identified 31 organisms, including fish, penguins, and seals, clearly separated by location.
- Although the method is still a proof of concept, it may lead to the development of simpler, less expensive technologies for aquatic eDNA collection.
Chinese nationals arrested in US after smuggling totoaba swim bladders worth $3.7 million from Mexico
- According to a report this week by Quartz, two Chinese nationals were arrested last month in the state of California with $3.7-million-worth of totoaba swim bladders that they had smuggled from Mexico.
- More than 800 totoaba maws were confiscated by Mexican authorities last year in two separate busts of Chinese nationals who were attempting to smuggle the swim bladders out of the country. Also last year, Chinese customs officials confiscated 980 pounds of totoaba maws, estimated to be worth as much as $26 million.
- These enforcement actions are welcome news, Andrea Crosta, executive director of wildlife trade watchdog group Elephant Action League wrote in a commentary for Mongabay earlier this year. But he added that, without further action to directly disrupt the totoaba maw supply chain and the operations of the wildlife crime networks involved in the illegal trade, there is “absolutely no chance” to save the vaquita.
Canada passes ‘Free Willy’ bill to ban captivity of all whales, dolphins
- On June 10, Canada’s House of Commons passed a bill that bans the practice of keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity in the country.
- Bill S-203 also prohibits breeding of the animals and collecting reproductive materials from them. The only exceptions to these provisions will be in cases of rescues and rehabilitation, licensed scientific research, or “in the best interests of the cetacean’s welfare.”
- The legislation, also known as the “Free Willy” bill, allows Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland in Niagara Falls, the only two facilities in Canada that still house cetaceans, to continue to keep their animals as long as they do not breed or bring in any new individuals.
New pilot whale subspecies revealed: Q&A with marine biologist Amy Van Cise
- For centuries, Japanese seafarers have noted two distinct types of pilot whale in their waters: One with a squarish head and dark body, the other a bit bigger with a round head and a light patch on its back.
- The two types have long been officially classified simply as forms of the same species, short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), but a new genetic study finds that they are actually distinct subspecies.
- The finding is just the latest shake-up of the cetacean family tree after the discoveries of new whale species in recent years.
- Mongabay spoke with the new study’s lead author, Amy Van Cise, a marine biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, about the science of whale taxonomy and what her team’s discovery means for the conservation of short-finned pilot whales.
Audio: Chatty river dolphins in Brazil might help us understand evolution of marine mammal communication
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with Gabriel Melo-Santos, whose study of Araguaian river dolphins in Brazil has revealed that the species is much chattier than we’d previously known — and could potentially help us better understand the evolution of underwater communication in marine mammals.
- The Araguaian river dolphin was only described to science in 2014, and there’s a lot we don’t yet know about the freshwater cetacean species. It was believed that the solitary nature of the dolphins meant that they wouldn’t have much use for communication, but Gabriel Melo-Santos led a team of researchers that recorded 20 hours of vocalizations and documented 237 distinct types of sounds made by the dolphins.
- In this Field Notes segment, Melo-Santos plays some of the recordings he’s made of Araguaian river dolphins, explains how he managed to study the elusive creatures thanks to their fondness for a certain fish market in Brazil, and discusses how the study of Araguaian river dolphin vocalizations could yield insights into how their sea-faring relatives use their own calls to maintain social cohesion.
Recently discovered Brazilian river dolphin’s calls could help us understand evolution of marine mammal communication
- Until recently it was believed that the solitary nature of Araguaian dolphins meant that they wouldn’t have much use for communication. But scientists have now documented hundreds of sounds made by the dolphins — and they say that these vocalizations could help us better understand the evolution of underwater communication among marine mammals.
- Using underwater cameras and microphones to record interactions between the dolphins, researchers recorded 20 hours of vocalizations, which they classified into 13 different types of “tonal sounds” and 66 types of “pulsed calls.” In total, they identified 237 distinct types of calls.
- The most common sounds the dolphins made were “short two-component calls,” the researchers report in the study. About 35 percent of these calls were made by calves while reuniting with their mothers, which suggests that the calls are an important component of mother-calf communication.
Building the world’s biggest MPA: Q&A with Goldman winner Jacqueline Evans
- In July 2017, the South Pacific nation of the Cook Islands made a bold bid to convert its entire territorial waters, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), into a mixed-use marine protected area.
- Called Marae Moana, or “sacred ocean,” the MPA spans almost 2 million square kilometers (772,200 square miles), making it the biggest in the world, although only parts of it are strictly protected from fishing and other extractive activities.
- Jacqueline Evans, a marine conservationist, was the driving force behind the MPA.
- This week, Evans was awarded a prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her work on Marae Moana.
Omura’s whale much more widespread across the globe than previously thought
- The global range of the world’s most recently discovered large whale species is starting to come into focus — as are the man-made threats to the species.
- Salvatore Cerchio of the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts led a team that published a paper in Frontiers in Marine Science in March that includes a map of all known sightings of the elusive Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai), demonstrating that the whale has a much larger range than previously thought.
- Given the new information they had about the global range of Omura’s whale, the researchers determined the whales face threats from, “at minimum, ship strikes, fisheries bycatch and entanglement, local directed hunting, petroleum exploration (seismic surveys), and coastal industrial development.”
Russia plans to release nearly 100 belugas, orcas from icy ‘whale jail’
- Russian authorities have announced that they will release all 97 whales currently being held captive in Russia’s Far East.
- The whales made news in November last year when an aerial drone video showed several of them cramped inside small, rectangular sea pens at Srednyaya Bay, which the local media labeled a “whale jail.”
- The initial video showed some 90 belugas and 11 killer whales or orcas in the pens, caught by four companies that allegedly planned to illegally sell the animals to Chinese aquariums and amusement parks. Experts believe some of the whales may have since died.
‘Plastic Soup:’ Photos and Q&A with author of new book documenting plastic pollution and solutions
- Earth’s oceans are drowning in plastic. Humans created 311 million metric tons of the stuff in 2014, and it is expected that we’ll be making four times as much by 2050 — yet only about 5 percent of plastic is currently recycled. It’s been estimated that 8 million metric tons of the plastic that goes to waste is dumped into our oceans every year — which is equivalent to a full garbage truck of plastic being dumped into the oceans every minute.
- In a series of stunning photos and informative graphics, new book Plastic Soup: An Atlas of Ocean Pollution documents the plastic pollution crisis engulfing Earth’s seas, the impacts of that pollution on wildlife and people, and initiatives that have been created to tackle the problem.
- The book, set to be published tomorrow by Island Press, was written by Michiel Roscam Abbing, a political scientist who reports on the latest scientific research around plastics for the Plastic Soup Foundation. Mongabay spoke with Abbing via email to get a sneak peek at what’s in the book, including a handful of its most compelling images and graphics.
Suspected totoaba poachers shot by authorities in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez
- Three suspected totoaba poachers were reportedly shot yesterday by Mexican marines following a confrontation over illegal gillnets that had been confiscated.
- According to local news outlet Fronteras, the governor of the Mexican state of Baja California, Francisco Vega, has confirmed that three people were injured in a shootout between suspected poachers and Mexican marines early Thursday morning in San Felipe, a small fishing town on the coast of the Sea of Cortez.
- Gillnets are a piece of fishing tackle that have been banned in the Sea of Cortez because vaquita, a small porpoise considered the most endangered mammal on the planet, become entangled in them and drown. It is believed there are only 10 vaquita left in the Sea of Cortez, also known as the Upper Gulf of California, the vaquita’s only known range.
Sea otters leave behind unique archaeological traces, study finds
- Sea otters are the only marine mammals known to use stone tools. Now, a new study has found that by striking shells on rocks, sea otters leave behind distinct archaeological signatures.
- These marks can be used to trace sea otters in locations where they are now extinct.
- The study also found clear damage patterns on mussel shells left around the stationary rocks. These shell break patterns provide a new way to distinguish the evidence of sea otter food consumption from that of humans, researchers say.
Audio: What underwater sounds can tell us about Indian Ocean humpback dolphins
- On today’s episode, we speak with marine biologist Isha Bopardikar, an independent researcher who is using bioacoustics to study humpback dolphins off the west coast of India.
- Last month, Mongabay’s India bureau published an article with the headline “What underwater sounds tell us about marine life.” As Mongabay contributor Sejal Mehta notes in the piece, the world beneath the ocean’s surface is a noisy place, with animals sounding off for a number of purposes. Now, of course, humanity is interjecting more and more frequently, intruding on the underwater soundscape.
- As Isha Bopardikar tells Mehta in the Mongabay India piece, in order to understand how marine animals use the underwater space and how human activities affect their behavior, we need hard data. That’s where her current work off the west coast of India comes in. In this Fields Notes segment, Bopardikar plays for us some of her dolphin recordings and explains how they are informing her research.
Tear down the dams: New coalition strives to enshrine rights of orcas
- A new coalition of scientists, indigenous peoples, community groups and lawyers is pushing for legal recognition of the rights of an endangered orca population living in the Salish Sea.
- The population, known as the Southern Resident Killer Whales, numbers just 75 individuals, down from 98 in 1995.
- The orcas are imperiled by noise and chemical pollution, the impending construction of Canada’s Trans-Mountain pipeline, and, most of all, severe salmon shortages caused by the damming of the rivers that feed into the sea.
‘Like seeing a dinosaur’: Scientists locate mystery killer whales
- For years, there have been stories and photographs of “odd-looking” killer whales lurking in some of the roughest parts of the sub-Antarctic seas.
- Named Type D killer whales, these whales are quite different from regular killer whales: they’re smaller, their heads are more rounded, they have considerably smaller white eye patches, and their dorsal fins are narrower with sharp pointed tips.
- Now, researchers have finally located and filmed a group of these mysterious Type D killer whales off the tip of southern Chile.
- They have also collected tiny bits of tissues from the animals that they hope to use to analyze the whales’ DNA to see if they’re actually new to science.
Wildlife conservation strategies must take animals’ social lives into account: Researchers
- In a paper published in Science last month, an international team of researchers argues that the growing body of evidence on the importance of social learning and animal cultures must be taken more fully into account in order to improve wildlife conservation efforts.
- “Animal culture” consists of information and behaviors shared amongst members of a wildlife community, such as a flock of migratory birds, a herd of elephants, or a pod of whales. For whooping cranes to retain knowledge of migration routes across generations, for instance, this knowledge must be passed between members of the flock through what scientists call “social learning.”
- Despite the mounting evidence of the far-reaching implications of social learning for the preservation of wildlife, however, international policy forums that devise large-scale conservation strategies “have so far not engaged substantially with the challenges and opportunities presented by this new scientific perspective,” the researchers note.
Vaquita still doomed without further disruption of totoaba cartels (commentary)
- According to our sources on the ground in Baja California, recent arrests of totoaba traffickers in China and pressure on the Chinese traders in Mexico are beginning to have an effect on the illegal totoaba supply chain.
- This is the most important news for the vaquita, the world’s smallest and most threatened porpoise, in years, and a result of — and proof that — intelligence activities and law enforcement can disrupt these criminal enterprises and significantly slow their illegal operations. Intelligence operations produce results.
- Without these efforts aimed at direct disruption of the supply chain itself and the operations of the wildlife crime networks involved, there is absolutely no chance to win the war in the Sea of Cortez, save the vaquita, and save the rest of the region’s extraordinary marine life.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Blue whales remember best times and places to find prey
- A new study demonstrates that blue whales in the northern Pacific Ocean use their memories, instead of cues in the environment, to guide them to the best feeding spots.
- The researchers used 10 years of data to discern the movements of 60 blue whales.
- They compared the whales’ locations with spots with high concentrations of prey over the same period.
- The whales’ reliance on memory could make them vulnerable to changes in the ocean brought about by climate change.
Plastics found in dolphins, seals, and whales in UK waters
- In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports last month, a research team from the UK’s University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory detailed their findings after studying the digestive tracts of 50 individuals from 10 species of dolphins, seals, and whales that had been stranded on the coast of Britain.
- “Microplastics were ubiquitous with particles detected in every animal examined,” the authors of the study write.
- Just 5.5 microplastic particles were found in each animal, on average, which suggests that the particles might be simply passing through the marine mammals’ bodies, the researchers said. But the animals’ stomachs were found to contain more microplastics than their intestines, pointing to “a potential site of temporary retention,” they added.
Audio: Good news from Mexico monarch reserve despite looming deforestation, mine threat
- On today’s episode, we talk with Mongabay contributor Martha Pskowski, who recently traveled to central Mexico to report on threats to monarch butterflies in their overwintering grounds.
- Tourists typically arrive in droves to see the butterflies at the reserves set up in their overwintering grounds, and right now is a particularly good time to see the butterflies, as Mexico’s national commissioner for protected natural areas has announced that, after years of declines, the number of monarchs spending their winter in Mexico is up 144 percent from last year.
- As Pskowski found on her recent reporting trip to two different monarch butterfly reserves in the Mexican states of Michoacán and the State of Mexico, the annual arrival of the monarchs is a major component of the local economy, but the butterflies still face a variety of threats to their survival once they reach their overwintering grounds.
Indigenous peoples unite in fight to heal the Salish Sea
- Indigenous communities on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border have called for a moratorium on a proposed port terminal in British Columbia and for a cumulative environmental assessment to be carried out.
- The communities fear an increase in ship traffic will be the final nail in the coffin of a local orca population that is already under severe stress.
- The Lummi Nation, on the U.S. side of the border, faced a similar fight in 2016, when they succeeded in blocking the construction of a coal port in Washington state.
Marine mammal and sea turtle populations benefitting from Endangered Species Act listing
- New research published in the journal PLoS ONE this month finds that the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) is effectively aiding in the recovery of beleaguered populations of marine mammals and sea turtles.
- Marine mammals and sea turtles comprise 62 of the 163 marine species that are currently afforded ESA protections. Researchers collected annual abundance estimates for populations of all 62 of those marine mammal and sea turtle species in order to analyze population trends and the magnitude of observed changes in population numbers.
- The research team hypothesized that populations that have been listed under the ESA for longer periods of time would be more likely to be recovering than those species listed recently, regardless of whether they were listed as “threatened” or the more severe “endangered,” and that’s exactly what they found.
Japan leaving IWC, to resume commercial whaling
- The government of Japan confirmed today that it is withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and will resume commercial whaling operations in the North Pacific.
- The IWC, an inter-governmental organization founded in 1946 focused on whale conservation and management of the whaling industry, adopted a moratorium on hunting whales in 1982.
- The moratorium allows for IWC member nations to issue whaling permits for scientific research purposes. Japan has openly flouted the moratorium by issuing such permits and selling the harvested whale meat ever since the moratorium took effect in 1986.
2018’s top 10 ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2018.
- Hopeful developments included international efforts to curb plastic pollution and negotiate an international treaty to protect the high seas.
- Meanwhile, research documenting unprecedented ocean warming, acidification, and oxygen decline spotlighted the real-time unfolding of climate change.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
U.S. whale entanglement figures steady in 2017
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded 76 whale entanglements in U.S. waters in 2017.
- Floating fishing gear and other trash in the sea can impede a whale’s ability to feed and swim.
- Humpback were most often seen entangled; historically, the species usually accounts for about two-thirds of reports in a given year.
- Despite North Atlantic right whales only having been involved in two known entanglements in 2017, scientists say that any run-in with gear or trash threatens the recovery of the species, which now numbers around 450 animals.
Trump Admin moves closer to authorizing oil and gas exploration off the Atlantic coast
- The Trump Administration announced today that it will issue five Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHAs) for airgun blasting off the Atlantic coast. Seismic airgun blasting is used to search for oil and gas deposits deep beneath the floor of the ocean.
- Seismic surveying involves ships towing airgun arrays that continually blast intense bursts of compressed air into the water every 10 to 12 seconds as a means of determining what resources might lie beneath the ocean floor. These seismic airguns are so loud that the noise can travel as many as 2,500 miles underwater.
- Environmentalists were quick to decry the Administration’s decision to issue the IHAs on the grounds that marine mammals will face severe threats as a result of seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Whale stress levels influenced by human activity, earwax study suggests
- Using earwax collected from baleen (filter-feeding) whales in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, scientists have been able to map the animals’ stress levels in relation to human activities over 146 years.
- Between 1870 and 2016, the whales’ stress levels closely corresponded to activities such as industrial whaling, naval operations during World War II, and rising sea-surface temperature, the study found.
- The effects on the whales of climate change, increased fishing and krill harvests, and sea ice decline need to be studied further, the researchers say.
Human activities are impeding population growth of North Atlantic right whales
- New research finds that deaths caused by human activities are not just impacting individual North Atlantic right whales and their immediate family units, but actually impeding population growth and recovery of the species, which has been declining since 2010.
- Peter Corkeron, head of a whale research initiative at NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, led an international team that studied the western North Atlantic population and three populations of southern right whales, in order to determine whether or not the slow growth rate of North Atlantic right whales is attributable to humans.
- More than 80 percent of North Atlantic right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once in their lives, and 59 percent have been entangled two or more times, the researchers found. The increased energy demands imposed on entangled whales can reduce the likelihood that a female will successfully give birth.
How porpoise sounds helped researchers test acoustic devices
- A team of scientists used playbacks of recorded and artificial porpoise clicks to develop an adaptable method to assess the area in which acoustic monitoring devices can reliably detect these sounds
- Researchers need to know how far away they can expect acoustic data loggers to capture the sounds of target animals to estimate the density of those animals from the recordings.
- The cetacean data loggers could reliably detect the click signals up to nearly 200 meters (656 feet), which translated to a circular sampling area of 11 hectares (27 acres) per device.
- The data logger algorithms could correctly classify the clicks as porpoise sounds only up to 72 meters (236 feet), representing a reliable sampling areas of just 1.6 hectares (4 acres) that could be used to estimate the density of a specific species, an issue affecting researchers working with more than one echolocating species.
Whales and dolphins change the way they communicate in a noisy ocean
- Two independent teams of biologists looked at the impact of ambient sound from ships on whales and dolphins.
- The research on whales revealed that noise from a passing ship led humpbacks in the vicinity to stop singing, sometimes for 30 minutes after the ship had passed.
- In the study on dolphins, the scientists showed that dolphins abbreviated their whistles in response to the sound.
- Both teams raised concerns about whether sound in the ocean increases the stress on marine mammals and how it might affect their ability to communicate with fellow members of the same species.
‘The posterchild for entangled marine mammals around the globe:’ Q&A with author of ‘Vaquita’
Earlier this year, Mongabay reported that there might be as few as 12 vaquita left in the world, down from 30 in 2017. The vaquita population has been driven to the brink of extinction by the illegal trade in swim bladders from a fish called totoaba, which are highly sought after by practitioners of traditional […]
Watching the wildlife return: Q&A with a rural Senegalese river monitor
- In the mid-2000s, villagers from the Jola ethnic group in the Casamance region of Senegal noticed a decline in local fish stocks and forest cover, and an increase in water salinity, all of which threatened their food supply and way of life.
- They formed a fishing association in 2006 that grew into a community-wide conservation group known as the Kawawana ICCA in 2010, and have since turned their dire situation around by reviving traditional fishing and forestry methods.
- As part of that effort, the Kawawana ICCA established a team to check up on the state of the river and forest, counting birds, fish, crocodiles, otters and dolphins, whose presence indicates healthy fish stocks, and monitoring rainfall and river salinity.
- Bassirou Sambou, 53, a fisherman by trade, heads that effort. Mongabay interviewed him as part of a larger reporting project about the Kawawana ICCA.
Senegal: After reviving fish and forests, Jola villages tackle new threats
- Thirteen years ago, the eight Jola villages in Mangagoulack, in Senegal’s Casamance region, were indebted and hungry, with overfishing, rising saltwater levels and rampant deforestation of mangroves contributing to a downward spiral.
- In 2006, the community formed an association and began work toward drawing up a code of conduct based on traditional fishing and land-management techniques. The group, now known as the Kawawana ICCA, operates through consensual decision-making and has pledged to remain independent from the government and NGOs.
- By 2012, the river was full of fish, oysters and other wildlife once again. Local people rejoiced at the renewed supply of food and income.
- Today, climate change, a dam, state indifference to poachers, and a youth exodus are putting their hard-won standard of living at risk. Kawawana has served as a model for other communities in the region, and now the villagers hope that working together will help them face down their problems and fortify their gains.
Whales not enough sustenance for polar bears in fast-changing climate
- Scientists believe that whale carcasses may have helped polar bears survive past upswings in temperatures that melted the sea ice from which they usually hunt seals.
- As the current changing climate threatens to make the Arctic ice-free during the summer, this strategy may help some populations of polar bears to survive.
- But according to new study, whale carcasses won’t provide enough food for most bear populations because there are fewer whales than there once were, and human settlements, industry and shipping could affect the bears’ access to any carcasses that do wash ashore.
Young right whale dies, likely from entanglement in fishing gear
- A young North Atlantic right whale died off the coast of Massachusetts in August, probably as the result of entanglement in fishing gear.
- After centuries of hunting, the right whale population in the North Atlantic has failed to recover, in large part because they’re prone to getting entangled in fishing gear.
- Only about 450 of the animals remain, after 17 died between late 2016 and 2017, and no new calves were observed last winter.
Largely banned industrial chemicals could wipe out killer whales, study warns
- New research shows that despite countries phasing out polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) more than 40 years ago, the chemicals remain a major threat to killer whales around the world, and could wipe out most populations in just 30 to 50 years.
- Killer whale populations that occur in least PCB-polluted parts of the ocean, such as those around the poles, Norway and Iceland, still have a large number of individuals and are at low risk.
- However, populations occurring in waters that have had historically high concentrations of PCBs, such as those around Japan, Brazil, the northeast Pacific, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the U.K., are all tending toward complete collapse in the next few decades, according to the study’s modeled scenarios.
Taking it slow can help reduce impacts of Arctic shipping on whales (commentary)
- Thanks to climate change, traveling through the Northwest Passage is quickly becoming an exotic option for cruise ship passengers — and an enticing shortcut for cargo ships.
- But an increasingly ice-free Arctic means more than just a chance for a new sightseeing adventure: Significantly increased ship traffic is altering the submarine calm of one of the quietest places on Earth. That could have serious implications for marine mammals and fish that rely on sound for group cohesion, socializing, finding mates, navigating, and detecting threats.
- As we grow sensitive to plastics and other toxins that plague ocean species, we must remember that while noise is the one form of pollution that we cannot see, we can work together to turn down the volume.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
On an island in the sun, coal power is king over abundant solar
- Locals and environmentalists have opposed a plan to expand a coal-fired power plan in northern Bali, Indonesia.
- They are worried that the expansion will exacerbate the existing impact of the plant on the environment and locals’ health and livelihoods.
- A particular concern focuses on the survival of dolphins and endemic species living in close proximity to the plant, with Greenpeace saying the dolphins have particularly been affected since the plant came on line in 2015.
- Another major worry is air pollution, with many locals complaining of respiratory ailments as a result of the fumes and coal dust emitted from the plant.
Red flags abound as a warming Arctic opens up to shipping
- Ship traffic through the Arctic is expected to increase dramatically as global warming renders a growing proportion of the region ice-free.
- Conservationists warn that the higher number of vessels raises the risks of pollution, oil spills, and disturbances to marine mammals from propeller noise.
- They propose a slate of regulatory measures that could help mitigate the anticipated impacts, which could then be extended to other vulnerable maritime regions.
Solution to ocean’s plastic waste problem ‘starts with product design’
- Solutions aimed at tackling the problem of plastic in the ocean need to focus on the design of plastic products, a group of researchers said at the ESOF18 conference in Toulouse, France.
- Some of the proposed solutions, such as those aimed at gathering plastic rubbish at sea with nets, are “concerning,” chemist Alexandra Ter Halle said, as they could also harm marine life.
- Though plastics themselves do pose significant dangers to marine life, plastic products can also help to limit our environmental footprint, marine biologist Richard Thompson said, so we should find ways to make them reusable and easily recyclable.
Audio: How to use drones without stressing wildlife
- On today’s episode, we discuss the increasing use of drones by wildlife lovers, researchers, and businesses, how that might be stressing animals out, and how drone hobbyists can actually make a meaningful contribution to science while avoiding the harassment of wildlife.
- Our guest is Alicia Amerson, a marine biologist, drone pilot, and science communicator. She tells us why it’s critical that we have best practices for drones in place before we allow companies like Amazon and Uber to deploy fleets of drones in our skies.
- “I want to hit the panic button and create policy” before we have drone-based delivery services by companies like Amazon and Uber “and look and collect data to make sure that we understand what populations are using the skies before we release all of these drones into our world. And so you have to create best practices and policies before all this really gets out of control.”
Investigation reveals illegal trade cartels decimating vaquita porpoises
- An investigation has exposed new details of the illegal trade in the totoaba fish’s swim bladder.
- Totoaba swim bladders are used in traditional medicine and can fetch thousands of dollars per kilogram in Chinese markets.
- Illegal fishing for totoaba is the primary reason vaquita porpoises are headed toward extinction.
- Elephant Action League’s investigation has identified the people involved and the routes they use to smuggle the bladders to buyers in China.
Ice-free passage for ships through the Arctic could cause problems for marine mammals
- A new study suggests that increased ship traffic in the Arctic, as ice there melts due to climate change, could disturb marine mammal species.
- In their assessment of 80 subpopulations living along the Northwest Passage and Russia’s Northern Sea Route, 42 are likely to be affected by a greater number of commercial ships, researchers found.
- The team suggests that mitigation measures, such as those employed in other parts of the world to protect North Atlantic right whales, could be effective.
Shark fisheries hunting dolphins, other marine mammals as bait: Study
- Global shark fisheries have for decades engaged in the deliberate catch of dolphins, seals and other marine mammals to use as bait for sharks, a new study has found.
- The researchers found the practice picked up when prices for shark fin, a prized delicacy in Chinese cuisine, went up from the late 1990s onward.
- The researchers have warned that the targeting of these species could hit unsustainable levels, and have called for more studies into the species in question as well as better enforcement of existing law protecting marine mammals.
Biomass study finds people are wiping out wild mammals
- A team of scientists mined previous studies for estimates of the total mass of carbon found in each group of organisms on Earth as a way to measure relative biomass.
- Plants house some 450 gigatons of the 550 gigatons — or about 80 percent — of the carbon found in all of Earth’s life-forms, the team found, and bacteria account for another 15 percent.
- Humans represent just a hundredth of a percent of the Earth’s biomass, but we’ve driven down the biomass of land animals by 85 percent and marine mammals by about 80 percent since the beginning of the last major extinction about 50,000 years ago.
Audio: Sylvia Earle on why we must act now to save the oceans
- On today’s episode, renowned marine biologist Sylvia Earle joins us for an in-depth conversation about marine conservation.
- Legendary oceanographer, marine biologist, and environmentalist Sylvia Earle, sometimes known as “Her Deepness” or “The Sturgeon General,” is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and former chief scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A documentary film about her work called Mission Blue won a 2015 News & Documentary Emmy.
- She joins us today to discuss how effective marine protected areas are at conserving the oceans and their inhabitants, her Hope Spots program that is identifying some of the most valuable marine environments on the planet, and the latest advances in marine conservation that she is most hopeful about.
More than 800 totoaba swim bladders confiscated by Mexican authorities in smuggling busts
- In two separate arrests of Chinese nationals, Mexican police confiscated more than 800 swim bladders from a large fish called the totoaba.
- Totoaba swim bladders are used in traditional medicine and can fetch thousands of dollars per kilogram in Chinese markets.
- Fishing for totoaba has also pushed a small porpoise called the vaquita close to extinction. One recent estimate puts the number of animals left in the wild at 12.
Audio: Bowhead whales in the Arctic sing hundreds of complex songs
- Scientists have recorded 184 elaborate, very different bowhead whale songs in a bowhead subpopulation living east of Greenland. This makes it the largest set of bowhead whale song recordings ever.
- The bowhead’s vocal repertoire is rivaled only by a few species of songbirds, researchers say.
- But why these whales have so many different song types and why they change their songs each year is still a mystery.
NOAA publishes global list of fisheries and their risks to marine mammals
- The list, published in draft form in late 2017 as part of requirements laid out by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, includes nearly 4,000 fisheries across some 135 countries.
- NOAA says the list represents ‘a strong step forward’ in developing sustainable fisheries.
- These fisheries have until 2022 to demonstrate that the methods they use to catch fish and other marine animals either pose little risk to marine mammals or employ comparable methods to similar operations in the United States.
‘Ropeless’ consortium aims to end entanglements of declining North Atlantic right whales
- ‘Fishermen, engineers, manufacturers, scientists and managers’ have come together to develop ropeless fishing gear to keep North Atlantic right whales from getting entangled.
- Only 451 right whales are left, and it’s likely that fewer than 100 are breeding females.
- Research teams have recorded no new calves this breeding season, which ended this month.
- Scientists warn that the North Atlantic right whale could go extinct if the trend in their numbers doesn’t change.
Microplastic pollution in world’s oceans poses major threat to filter-feeding megafauna
- A study published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution last month looks at how filter-feeding marine animals like baleen whales, manta rays, and whale sharks are impacted by microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
- Filter-feeding megafauna must swallow hundreds to thousands of cubic meters of water every day in order to catch enough plankton to keep themselves nourished. That means that these species are probably ingesting microplastics both directly from polluted water and indirectly through the consumption of contaminated plankton prey.
- Microplastic particles can block nutrient absorption and damage the digestive tracts of the filter-feeding marine life that ingest them, while toxins and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) found in plastic can accumulate in the bodies of marine wildlife over time, changing biological processes such as growth and reproduction and even leading to decreased fertility.
Audio: Exploring humanity’s deep connection to water, plus the sounds of the Sandhill crane migration
- On today’s episode, we discuss humanity’s deep connection to water and hear sounds of one of the most ancient animal migrations on Earth, that of the Sandhill crane.
- Our first guest today is marine biologist and conservationist Wallace J. Nichols, the author of Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, & Better at What You Do.
- Our second guests are Ben Gottesman and Emma Brinley Buckley, researchers who are using bioacoustics to document Sandhill cranes on the Platte River in the U.S. state of Nebraska as the birds make a stopover during their annual migration. We’ll hear recordings of the cranes and other important species in this Field Notes segment.
Only 12 vaquita porpoises remain, watchdog group reports
- The International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita reported in 2017 that there were just 30 vaquita left in the Upper Gulf of California, the body of water that separates Baja California from mainland Mexico and the species’ only known range.
- Mongabay contacted Andrea Crosta, director of the international wildlife trade watchdog group Elephant Action League, just before his return to Mexico in early March 2018.
- After his previous trip in February 2018, Crosta said his sources reported that no more than a dozen vaquitas remain.
- The primary cause of death for the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is becoming entangled in gillnets used to illegally catch totoaba, a giant Mexican fish whose swim bladders are in high demand, especially in China.
Drone photography allows scientists to measure marine mammals without a catch
- Scientists tested the accuracy of determining marine mammal size by analyzing aerial photography taken from a small drone as a less costly, less stressful alternative to manual capture and measurement.
- To be precise in their measurements of leopard seals, the researchers took overhead photographs at three different altitudes, and three scientists measured the photographs of each seal independently.
- They found that the new aerial photography method produces results comparable to standard manual methods.
Watch: A minke whale’s view of the Antarctic
- Scientists in Antarctica have attached a “whale cam” to the back of a southern minke whale for the very first time.
- The video footage is giving scientists a sneak peek into a day in the life of a minke, one of the most poorly understood baleen whales.
- At one point, the camera slid down the side of the animal and this side view ended up capturing remarkable footage of the whale feeding.
Whale of a tale: Protecting Panama’s humpbacks from ship collisions
- The key to alleviating whale strikes in the Panama Canal ended up being inspired by a solution used on land — and led to a years-long struggle for a Panama Canal pilot and a whale biologist to help reduce whale strikes in the Gulf of Panama, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
- Similar to how roads are now sometimes built to curve around the natural habitats of land creatures, Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS) create shipping lanes that restrict marine traffic to certain areas.
- But in order to get all shipping to abide by this system, countries need the approval of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN body that regulates shipping safety and navigation around the world.
Company to probe for minerals close to Mekong River dolphin habitat
- The Phnom Penh Post reported today that Medusa Mining, an Australian company, plans to invest $3 million over four years in explorations for gold, copper, oil, gas and precious stones in tributaries of the Mekong River in Cambodia.
- Irrawaddy river dolphins, an endangered species of cetacean, live in the Mekong adjacent to the areas slated for exploration.
- Only about 80 dolphins remain in the Mekong River, and, although their numbers are on the rise, they face threats from gillnets, dams, boat traffic and water pollution, which could be exacerbated by mining activity.
Florida’s iguanas falling from trees in cold snap
- Green iguanas are not native to southern Florida, but typically do well in the region’s mild temperatures.
- During the recent cold snap, stunned iguanas have been losing their grip on their tree perches and falling to the ground, semi-frozen.
- Some sea animals are also showing signs of stress from the cold, including sea turtles and manatees.
2017’s top 10 ocean news stories
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2017.
- Huge new ocean protected areas and steps toward an international treaty to protect the high seas brought hope.
- Meanwhile, the U.S.’s decision to drop out of the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and an intensely destructive Atlantic hurricane season spotlighted the unfolding threat of climate change.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
African Parks backs marine reserve brimming with wildlife in Mozambique
- The conservation NGO African Parks signed an agreement to manage Bazaruto Archipelago National Park in Mozambique.
- Leaders established the park in 1971, but recent illegal fishing and unregulated tourism has threatened the ecosystem and its economic value, African Parks said.
- The park is home to 2,000 species of fish and hundreds of species of birds, reptiles and mammals, including some of the last dugongs in the western Indian Ocean.
Audio: Amazon tribe’s traditional medicine encyclopedia gets an update, and conservation effectiveness in Madagascar examined
- On today’s episode, we’ll get an update on an ambitious effort to document traditional indigenous healing and medicinal practices in the Amazon and speak with the reporter behind Mongabay’s popular new series on conservation efforts in Madagascar.
- Our first guest on today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast is Christopher Herndon, who, as co-founder and president of the group Acaté Amazon Conservation, has supported the Matsés people in planting healing gardens, which are basically living pharmacies as well as classrooms, and to document their traditional healing and plant knowledge in an encyclopedia.
- Our second guest is Mongabay contributor Rowan Moore Gerety, the writer behind our recent series on the effectiveness of conservation interventions in Madagascar.
Huge new ocean reserves announced in Mexico, Arctic
- The past couple weeks have brought major news about two important marine protected area projects.
- On November 24, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a decree creating the Revillagigedo Archipelago National Park, protecting nearly 150,000 square kilometers (close to 58,000 square miles) from all fishing and extractive activities. It is said to be the largest ocean reserve ever created by Mexico.
- Less than a week later, on the night of November 30, countries including Canada, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States, among others, announced that they had reached an agreement to protect 2.8 million square kilometers (more than 1 million square miles) of the central Arctic Ocean from commercial fishing.
Entanglements hamper reproduction as right whale population slides
- Just 451 North Atlantic right whales remain, down from 458 in 2016 and 483 in 2010.
- Entanglements in fishing gear and ship strikes remain the two most important threats to right whale survival.
- A study published in November in the journal Ecology and Evolution finds that fewer females are surviving than males and the interval between calving is growing longer.
From friends to strangers: The decline of the Irrawaddy dolphin (commentary)
- Now critically endangered, the last of the Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are concentrated in nine deep-water pools over a 190-kilometer stretch of the Mekong between Cambodia’s Sambor district and Khone Falls on the Lao border.
- Today the Mekong’s dolphins face a new threat. The proposed Sambor Dam on the river’s mainstream would catalyze the extinction of the remaining dolphin population and have disastrous consequences for many other fish species, as well as the communities that depend on them.
- Can Cambodia bring this river dolphin back from the brink of extinction?
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Audio: Dr. Jane Goodall on being proven right about animals having personalities, plus updates direct from COP23
- On today’s episode, we speak with the legendary Jane Goodall, who truly needs no introduction, and will have a direct report from the United Nations’ climate talks happening now in Bonn, Germany.
- Just before Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler was scheduled to speak with Goodall recently, research came out that vindicated her contention, which she’s held for nearly 60 years, that animals have personalities just like people. So we decided to record her thoughts about that for the Mongabay Newscast.
- Our second guest today is Mongabay contributor and Wake Forest University journalism professor Justin Catanoso, who appears on the podcast direct from COP23 to tell us how the UN climate talks are going in Bonn, Germany, what the mood is like amongst delegates, and how the US delegation is factoring into the talks as the Trump Administration continues to pursue a pullout from the Paris Climate Agreement.
4 sperm whales dead after mass stranding in Sumatra
- A pod of 10 sperm whales beached earlier this week in shallow waters in western Indonesia.
- Despite attempts by authorities and residents to push the animals back out into deeper water, four of the whales died after being stranded overnight.
- Experts are looking into what caused the whales to swim so close to shore.
VaquitaCPR ends capture program in Gulf of California after vaquita dies in captivity
- VaquitaCPR, the emergency conservation team pulled together by the Mexican government in a desperate attempt to save the vaquita from extinction, announced last Friday that its capture program had come to an end.
- Just two of the marine mammals were taken into captivity by VaquitaCPR’s scientists, and neither was able to adapt to human care. The second, a breeding-age female that was not pregnant or lactating, responded poorly to being under the care of humans and died as the team was attempting to return her to the wild.
- With the vaquita population continuing to plummet, a prohibition on the use of gillnets adopted by the Mexican government does not appear to have made much difference thus far — but environmentalists say that much tougher enforcement of the ban is the only way to save the vaquita at this point.
Breeding-age female vaquita dies after being taken into captivity
- A team of marine mammal experts assembled by the Mexican government created a project called VaquitaCPR that aims to capture the remaining 30 vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) and keep them safe in specially built floating “sea pens.”
- Late last month, scientists with VaquitaCPR took the first of the marine mammals into captivity. Though the 6-month-old calf became so stressed by its capture that the team quickly chose to release it back into the wild, Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, a scientist with the Mexican government who heads the VaquitaCPR program, suggested that the fact that they were able to successfully find and capture a vaquita at all was an encouraging sign.
- This past weekend, however, it was announced that another vaquita — a breeding-age female — was taken into captivity and subsequently died. This has prompted calls to shut down the vaquita capture program altogether.
Recent report: Totoaba trafficking a conservation and security problem
- The NGO C4ADS reports that the trade of totoaba swim bladders to feed Asian markets is as much a security issue as a conservation problem.
- Fishermen and women in the Gulf of California have continued to pursue the critically endangered fish, despite the ban on gillnets, which have also decimated the vaquita porpoise.
- Vaquita in the wild number fewer than 30 animals, scientists say.
- C4ADS has published the results of its investigation with evidence of the overlap between totoaba traders and drug traffickers on a new website, and will published their recent report in Spanish.
‘Record’ number of migratory species protected at October wildlife summit
- The Convention on Migratory Species adopted 34 proposals to protect species threatened with extinction.
- Attendees adopted proposals to bolster protections for chimpanzees, giraffes, leopards, lions and whale sharks.
- India will host the next such meeting in 2020.
First vaquita ‘rescued’ in bid to save the porpoise from extinction
- A project to save a small, critically endangered porpoise called the vaquita in the Gulf of California succeeded in capturing a 6-month-old calf in mid-October.
- Veterinarians noticed signs of stress, so they made the decision to release it back into the wild, rather than keep it in a sea pen.
- The project’s leaders are heartened by the experience and hope to round up more vaquita to keep them safe from the still-present threat of gillnet entanglement in the northern Sea of Cortez.
Audio: Indonesian rainforests for sale and bat calls of the Amazon
- This episode of the Mongabay Newscast takes a look at the first installment of our new investigative series, “Indonesia for Sale,” and features the sounds of Amazonian bats.
- Mongabay’s Indonesia-based editor Phil Jacobson joins the Newscast to tell us all about “Indonesia for Sale” and the first piece in the series, “The palm oil fiefdom.”
- We also speak with Adrià López-Baucells, a PhD student in bat ecology who has conducted acoustic studies of bats in the central Amazon for the past several years. In this Field Notes segment, López-Baucells plays some of the recordings he used to study the effects of Amazon forest fragmentation on bat foraging behavior.
Mexico takes ‘unprecedented’ action to save vaquita
- A team of marine mammal experts have begun a search for the last vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) in a last-ditch effort to capture the remaining 30 porpoises until they’re no longer threatened by gillnets.
- VaquitaCPR seeks to house the vaquita in sea pens and includes plans for long-term care and breeding.
- Though seen as ‘risky’ and ‘bold,’ many conservation organizations agree that finding the animals before it’s too late is the only option.
Second Irrawaddy dolphin death in Borneo linked to fishing nets
- A second rare Irrawaddy dolphin has washed up dead on a beach in eastern Borneo this year.
- Injuries believed to have been inflicted by a fishing net are the most likely cause of death, a biologist says.
- An NGO has called on authorities to educate fishermen about minimizing bycatch and to map out dolphin migratory paths and habitats in the area.
‘Ships, sonar and surveys’: Film explores impacts of a noisy ocean
- Sonar, air gun charges for oil and gas exploration, and ship traffic in the ocean can interfere with marine mammal communication, cause physiological problems and drive animals to strand on beaches.
- A new film, “Sonic Sea,” traces the risks of an increasingly noisy ocean to whales, dolphins and porpoises.
- The film is a finalist for the Best Science in Nature prize at the 2017 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Jackson, Wyoming.
- The winners will be announced Sept. 28.
Move to open U.S. Atlantic coast to oil drilling meets increased opposition
- In April, Trump issued an executive order aimed at implementing his so-called “America-First Offshore Energy Strategy,” which called for a review of the 2017-2022 Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program finalized under the Obama Administration and proposed that all U.S. waters be considered for offshore drilling.
- The executive order also instructed federal agencies to “streamline” the permitting process for “seismic research and data collection” and “expedite all stages of consideration” of Incidental Harassment Authorizations required under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
- A species of particular concern is the North Atlantic right whale, which is listed as critically endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. There are only about 500 of the whales left, and their only known calving ground is off the coast of the southeast US, including the area where seismic surveying has been proposed.
Hard but worth it: researchers fight invasives on Subantarctic islands (commentary)
- Sealers and subsequent human visitors to the Southern Ocean’s windswept islands brought with them a variety of invasive species, such as mice, rats, cats, sheep, and goats, that have wrought havoc on the islands’ native wildlife and ecosystems.
- On Marion Island, midway between South Africa and Antarctica, researchers and conservationists completed the largest successful cat eradication on an island in history in 1993.
- Marion Island’s wildlife has largely rebounded from the sealers and cats, but invasive mice continue to take a toll.
- The author points to other recent successful eradications of invasive species on Subantarctic islands and argues that they are a wise investment with benefits for wildlife as well as research into the region’s ecology and the effects of climate change. The views expressed are the author’s own, not necessarily Mongabay’s.
Surprisingly, Indonesia’s most famous dive site is also a playground for whales and dolphins (commentary)
- Raja Ampat — an island chain in Indonesia’s West Papua province — is world renowned for its beautiful and unique marine biodiversity. But its marine mammals have not received as much attention.
- Half of the 31 whale and dolphin species found in all of Indonesia — 16 different types — have been regularly observed there.
- However, a designated long-term study of the behavior of whales and dolphins there has yet to be conducted. We don’t know much about them; more to the point, we don’t know how to effectively protect them.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Audio: The fight to save Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem
- One of the richest, most biodiverse tropical forests on the planet, Leuser is currently being targeted for expansion of oil palm plantations by a number of companies.
- Tillack explains just what makes Leuser so unique and valuable, details some of her organization’s investigations into the ongoing clearance of Leuser in violation of Indonesia’s moratorium on deforestation for new oil palm plantations, and how consumers like you and me can help decide the fate of the region.
- We also welcome to the show research ecologist Marconi Campos Cerqueira for our latest Field Notes segment. Cerqueira has recently completed a study that used bioacoustic monitoring to examine bird ranges in the mountains of Puerto Rico, and he’ll share some of his recordings with us on today’s show.
Leonardo DiCaprio teams up with Mexico’s president and wealthiest individual to save the vaquita
- A report by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita released in February found that there are as few as 30 vaquita left in the Upper Gulf of California, the small marine cetacean species’ only known range.
- Despite the ban adopted by Mexico two years ago, unlawful use of gillnets remains widespread in the Upper Gulf of California, where they’re used to catch totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder is much prized by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.
- Both the Carlos Slim Foundation and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation will reportedly be backing the agreement by committing funds to local development projects and alternative fishing gear options.
- In order to further crack down on illegal fishing activities, the agreement also includes a prohibition on night fishing and measures to tighten entry and exit controls in the vaquita reserve, according to the AP.
Vaquita survival hinges on stopping international swim bladder trade
- Recent investigations by the Elephant Action League and WWF have uncovered the complicated trade in fish swim bladders from the Gulf of California that is pushing a porpoise known as the vaquita toward extinction.
- A two-year-old gillnet ban so far has not yet stemmed the declining numbers of vaquita, which are down 50 percent since 2015 and 90 percent since 2011.
- Not more than 30 vaquita remain in the wild, making it the most endangered cetacean on the planet.
- The swim bladders can sell for as much as $20,000 per kilogram.
Gabon pledges ‘massive’ protected network for oceans
- The network of marine protected areas covers some 53,000 square kilometers (20,463 square miles) of ocean, an area larger than Costa Rica.
- The marine parks and reserves could also draw tourists eager to catch a glimpse of the humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) and leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) that all shuttle through Gabonese waters.
- Government officials are in the process of overhauling how they manage fisheries, and they hope the move to protect Gabon’s territorial waters will improve the country’s food security and give its citizens a better chance to earn a living from fishing.
Underwater cameras let scientists dive beneath the surface with dolphins
- Using custom-made, noninvasive underwater cameras that they attached directly to the dolphins’ bodies, researchers with the University of Sydney and the University of Alaska Southeast captured more than 500 minutes of footage, allowing them to observe behaviors that humans rarely have the privilege of witnessing.
- The study’s lead author, Heidi Pearson, a dolphin specialist and assistant professor of marine biology at the University of Alaska Southeast, said that the cameras provide such a fine degree of information that they could open up whole new avenues of research for protecting endangered species.
- While the cameras themselves may represent the cutting-edge in technology, Pearson and team attached them to eight wild dusky dolphins off the coast of New Zealand with the aid of decidedly low-tech implements: a long pole and some Velcro pads.
Protected species in Gulf of Mexico could take decades to recover from Deepwater Horizon oil spill
- The Deepwater Horizon oil spill killed thousands of marine mammals and sea turtles in the Gulf, according to findings detailed in a special issue of the journal Endangered Species Research, published in January, comprised of 20 studies that collectively represent more than five years’-worth of data collection and analysis by scientists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their partners.
- The research was performed as part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), a process required under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 in which NOAA investigates the types of injuries to wildlife caused by an oil spill, determines the number of animals that were harmed, and develops a restoration plan designed to address the primary threats to impacted species.
- In a statement, NOAA offered this succinct summation of the results of the studies: “The research indicates that populations of several marine mammal and sea turtle species will take decades to rebound. Significant habitat restoration in the region will also be needed.”
Audio: A deep dive into the study of marine wildlife through bioacoustics
- Here at the Mongabay Newscast, we’re very interested in acoustic ecology, perhaps for obvious reasons: Acoustic ecology, sometimes known as ecoacoustics or soundscape studies, is the study of the relationship between human beings and the natural environment as mediated through bioacoustics, or the sounds that are produced by and affect living organisms.
- In order to highlight the findings of this exciting line of research, we’ve created our ongoing Field Notes segment. And in this particular Field Note, which takes up the entire episode, Leah Barclay plays for us several of the underwater recordings she’s made of humpback whales, the Great Barrier Reef, water insects, and more.
- Find all that plus the top news in this episode of the Mongabay Newscast!
Illegal trade threatens nearly half the world’s natural heritage sites: WWF
- Poaching, illegal logging and illegal fishing of rare species protected under CITES occurs in 45 percent of the natural World Heritage sites, a new WWF report says.
- Illegal harvesting degrades the unique values that gave the heritage sites the status in the first place, the report says.
- Current approaches to preventing illegal harvesting of CITES listed species in World Heritage sites is not working, the report concludes.
Audio: Paul Simon on his new tour in support of E.O. Wilson’s Half-Earth initiative
- The 12-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter recently announced on Mongabay.com that he is embarking on a 17-date US concert tour, with all proceeds benefitting Half-Earth, an initiative of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation.
- Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso interviewed Paul Simon about his long-time friendship with E.O. Wilson and why Dr. Wilson’s Half-Earth idea inspired him to get involved in this environmental cause.
- We also feature another Field Notes segment, this time with Zuzana Burivalova, a conservation scientist at Princeton University who has recorded the soundscapes of over 100 sites in the Indonesian part of Borneo.
Audio: An in-depth look at Mongabay’s collaboration with The Intercept Brasil
- Branford is a regular contributor to Mongabay who has been reporting from Brazil since 1979 when she was with the Financial Times and then the BBC.
- One of the articles in the series resulted in an official investigation by the Brazilian government before it was even published — and the investigators have already recommended possible reparations for an indigenous Amazonian tribe.
- We also round up the top news of the past two weeks.
There are now just 30 vaquita left in the wild
- According to a recent report by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA), there are now just 30 vaquita left in the Upper Gulf of California, the body of water that separates Baja California from mainland Mexico and the species’ only known range.
- About 49 percent of the remaining vaquita population was lost between 2015 and 2016, CIRVA found.
- The primary cause of death for the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is becoming entangled in gillnets used to catch totoaba, a giant Mexican fish whose swim bladders are much in demand, especially in China.
First-ever underwater photos of newly discovered Amazon Reef have surfaced
- Extending from French Guiana to Maranhão State in northern Brazil, the Amazon Reef is a 9500-square-kilometer (or nearly 3,700-square-mile) system of corals, sponges, and rhodoliths (a colorful marine algae that resembles coral) located where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean — a region currently threatened by oil exploration activities.
- When the reef was discovered in April 2016, Fabiano Thompson of Brazil’s Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, who was part of the team of scientists who made the discovery, told Mongabay that “The oceanographic conditions (biogeochemistry and microbiology) of this system are unique, not found in other places of the planet.”
- The mouth of the Amazon River basin also provides valuable habitat for a range of species, including the American manatee, the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle, dolphins, and giant river otters, which are listed as Endangered on the IUCN’s Red List.
Newscast #8: Top new species discoveries of 2016, and how fig trees can save rainforests
- The new species we discover every year prove that we still aren’t even aware of every creature with whom we share planet Earth, so there’s literally more to protect than we can possibly know.
- We also speak with author Mike Shanahan, whose new book ‘Gods, Wasps, and Stranglers: The secret history and redemptive future of fig trees’ looks at the tropical species’ biology and key ecological role, as well as its deep cultural (and spiritual) place in human history.
- Thanks to everyone who made the launch of the Mongabay Newscast in 2016 such a success!
Scientists say current plan to protect the vaquita will not save the species
- Between 2011 and 2015, the vaquita population decreased by an estimated 80 percent as a result of bycatch in gillnets set illegally to capture totoaba. There are believed to be fewer than 60 left.
- After the White House meeting, President Nieto agreed to permanently ban gillnets in the vaquita’s range (an emergency 2-year ban was adopted in May 2015), in addition to other measures.
- But a team of Mexican and American researchers determined that, while the temporary gillnet ban now in place and the proposal to switch to new trawl gear will likely alleviate the immediate bycatch problem threatening the vaquita, the current conservation plan “neglects local livelihoods, the traditions and heritage of the community, the ecological integrity of the area and increases dependence on fishing subsidies.”
World’s largest marine protected area created in Antarctica
- Last week, 25 governments unanimously agreed to create the world’s largest marine protected area off Antarctica.
- The new marine protected area, expected to come into force in December 2017, will set out to protect some 1.55 million square kilometers of the Ross Sea around Antarctica.
- According to the agreement, 72 percent of the marine area will be set aside as a “no-take” zone, in which all forms of fishing will be banned. The protections will end in 35 years.
New tool lets anyone find out if deep sea mining is happening in their ocean backyard
- Marine scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara’s Benioff Ocean Initiative developed the web-based tool, Deep Sea Mining Watch, to allow anyone to watch vessels engaged in deep sea mining activities anywhere in the world.
- Deep sea mining is relatively new, but it’s exactly what it sounds like: mineral extraction from the ocean floor, at depths ranging from 800 to 6,000 meters (about 2,600 to 20,000 feet).
- The team of scientists behind Deep Sea Mining Watch have already used the tool to comb through the mountain of global vessel data generated by all the world’s ships in order to extract high-resolution GPS tracks showing where mining activities have already started.
A week of grim tidings for critically endangered right whales
- The population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales numbers just 500.
- The whales’ population has grown in recent decades, but its growth rate appears to be declining due to a combination of human-caused deaths and a drop in calving, researchers say.
- The recent spate of deaths and entanglements, combined with the flagging population, an unexplained shift in habitat, and the poor health of many whales spotted this summer has researchers concerned for the future of the species.
Time running out to save world’s most endangered porpoise, environmentalists warn
- The critically endangered vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is often referred to as “the world’s most endangered cetacean species,” but not because of any direct threat, like overfishing.
- The most severe threats to the remaining vaquita is incidental death due to becoming entangled in fishing gear such as gillnets or being killed by commercial shrimp trawlers.
- But it is China’s demand for swim bladders from a giant Mexican fish called the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) that is really putting the species at the greatest risk, and the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a major opportunity to take the necessary steps to protect the vaquita.
Obama creates Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument
- The newly designated marine protected area comprises of underwater canyons and mountains that are home to numerous rare and endangered marine species like the Kemp’s ridley turtles, sperm, fin and sei whales and vibrant deep-sea corals.
- The marine protected area lies in a region that is projected to warm nearly three times faster than the global average, and the warming waters are threatening majority of fish species in the region including salmon, lobster, and scallops, the White House said.
- While recreational fishermen will be allowed within the boundaries of the monument, red crab and lobster fisheries will be permitted seven years to exit the monument area.
$48 million fund to help expand marine protected areas
- At the ongoing U.S. State Department’s Our Ocean 2016 Conference, in Washington, D.C., the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Waitt Foundation, the blue moon fund (bmf), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), together announced a commitment of $48 million to expand and improve marine protected area (MPA) coverage across the world’s oceans.
- The $48 million funds will be used for activities such as outreach to stakeholders, working with local governments to get MPAs created, and supporting management of MPAs.
- Funds will initially be used to expand MPAs in the tropics in areas with high biodiversity that also have a high human dependence on the marine environment.
Ocean warming is “greatest hidden challenge of our generation,” according to IUCN
- A report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Monday finds that the effects of global warming on oceans are not a concern for the future — fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and even humans are already being impacted by rising temperatures in oceanic waters.
- More than 93 percent of the global warming that has resulted from human activities since the 1970s was absorbed by Earth’s oceans, and data show a “sustained and accelerating upward trend in ocean warming,” according to the report.
- Entire groups of species such as plankton, fish, jellyfish, turtles and seabirds have been driven up to 10 degrees of latitude towards the Earth’s poles as they seek to keep within the environmental conditions to which they’re adapted.
NOAA establishes final rule on marine mammal bycatch for seafood imports
- The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries issued a final rule earlier this month to implement import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which was enacted in 1972.
- The rule aims to prohibit seafood imports from countries where fisheries kill more marine mammals such as whales and dolphins than U.S. standards allow.
- Bycatch is the greatest direct cause of marine mammal injury and death in the United States and around the world, according to the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission.
Humpback whales rescue seals and other animals from killer whales
- After reviewing over 100 interactions between humpback whales and killer whales, researchers have found that not only do humpbacks aggressively protect their own calves from killer whales, they also tend to rush to the aid of other distraught species like seals.
- A humpback might be able to fight a killer whale because of its gigantic size and massive flippers, researchers say.
- One possible reason for the humpbacks’ seemingly selfless act could be to increase the chance of protecting their own calves from killer whales. Sometimes this ends up protecting other species.
Manatees to make a comeback in Guadeloupe for the first time in over a century
- Kai and Junior, two male manatees, will be sent to the Grand Cul-de-sac Marin, a protected bay in Guadeloupe that will keep the manatees away from boating traffic.
- They will soon be joined by 13 more manatees from various zoological institutions, forming the founding group.
- This group’s future offspring will then be reintroduced to the wild, Singapore’s River Safari team says.
Mexico bans gillnets to protect rare vaquita porpoise
- From September, Mexico will permanently ban the use of gillnets throughout the range of vaquita porpoise in the upper Gulf of California.
- Night fishing will also be phased out by the end of this year.
- Fishermen will have to use specific landing and unloading sites to help enforce protection measures, according to Mexico’s National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission.
Top 10 stories you should be aware of this World Oceans Day, according to Carl Safina
- Safina’s latest book, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, came out in 2015, and is due for a paperback release on July 12 via Picador.
- “It’s about the thought and emotional range of non-human animals, but including humans,” Safina told Mongabay.
- Safina’s list of stand-out stories includes several oceans and marine life stories, a couple that just show how similar to humans animals can really be, and a few that will interest anyone concerned with the plight of the natural world.
Only 60 vaquita porpoises remain in the world
- In 1997, about 570 vaquita porpoises (Phocoena sinus) were estimated to occur in the world.
- Now, only about 60 vaquitas remain, in a small 1,500 square-mile area in northern Gulf of California, according to a recent report.
- Conservationists say that last year’s emergency two-year ban on gillnet fishing throughout the vaquita range, implemented by the Mexican government, must become permanent for vaquita population to recover.
Hundreds of baby dolphin deaths linked to BP oil spill
- Between 2010 and 2014, more than a thousand common bottle-nosed dolphins washed ashore in the Gulf of Mexico.
- A large proportion of the dead dolphins were perinates: late-term dolphins that had died inside the womb or very young newborns.
- Exposure to the 2010 BP oil spill could have caused late-term abortions of in-utero dolphins, or early death of newborns, researchers conclude in a new paper published in Diseases of Aquatic Organisms.
The vaquita could go extinct this year as totoaba poaching continues to increase
- There were “way less than 100” vaquita left last spring according to biologists involved in assessing the population, and this year some unofficial estimates put their number at less than 50.
- At least three vaquita have already been killed this season, and the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group said that necropsies of the vaquita confirmed the cause of death for all three was most likely gillnets, which vaquita become ensnared in after poachers illegally set the nets to catch totoaba.
- Mexico has adopted an emergency two-year gillnet fishing ban throughout the vaquita range, but illegal fishing for totoaba is increasing.
Japan kills 333 whales, including 200 pregnant females
- Last week, Japan’s whaling fleet returned with a harvest of 333 Minke whales, including 200 pregnant females.
- This latest hunt seems to be in apparent violation of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) 2014 ruling ordering Japan to halt all whaling.
- Japan maintains that the killing of whales, including juveniles and pregnant females, is necessary to determine whether the Anatarctic whale population is healthy for future commercial whaling.
- The country plans to kill about 4,000 whales over the next 12 years.
Another catastrophe: Ship carrying 1,235 metric tons of coal sinks in Sundarbans
- On Saturday, “MV Sea Horse-1”, a cargo vessel carrying 1,235 metric tons of coal, sank in the Shela River in Sundarbans.
- The incident occurred near Tambulbunia, a critical habitat for the threatened Irrawaddy dolphin and the endangered Gangetic dolphin, researcher said.
- Following Saturday’s incident, the government has suspended other ships from plying the Shela River.
‘Aquatic cocaine’: Illegal trade in swim bladders of rare fish puts world’s rarest porpoise at risk of extinction
- Dried swim bladders of totoabas (also called “maw”) have been dubbed “aquatic cocaine” due to the high prices they fetch mainly in Chinese markets.
- Illegal trade in the swim bladder of the totoabas, has placed not just the totoabas but also the world’s smallest and rarest marine mammal, the vaquita, at risk of extinction, according to report.
- EIA’s investigation has also identified numerous online platforms, such as Facebook, that actively trade in fish maw, including discussions on best routes to smuggle maws into Hong Kong and China.
New study identifies acoustic sanctuaries for marine mammals
- A new study has identified some of acoustic sanctuaries off the coast of British Columbia in the hope that they may be protected.
- Researchers emphasize that these opportunity sites can be protected with little change to current shipping patterns, which makes them a relatively easy target for conservation.
- Seizing the opportunity to protect acoustic sanctuaries now, is invaluable to the longevity of protected marine mammals.
New dams may expose Canadian seafood consumers to higher levels of neurotoxin
- Methylmercury, a dangerous neurotoxin, can build up in the bodies of marine mammals and fish, threatening the humans who eat them.
- New research suggests dams and reservoirs in sub-Arctic regions may release methylmercury downstream.
- Native residents who depend on hunting and fishing are especially at risk.
Preservatives from cosmetics build up in the bodies of far-flung marine mammals
- Scientists have detected parabens, a common cosmetic preservative, in marine mammals from coastal areas of the United States.
- The chemical concentrations were highest in coastal animals like dolphins and sea otters, but also showed up in polar bears in remote regions.
- Researchers don’t yet know how toxic these chemicals are, but parabens can disrupt hormones in the body.
BP oil spill may be causing failed pregnancies in dolphins
- During a health assessment of bottlenose dolphins in 2011 following BP oil spill, researchers found that 10 of 32 sampled dolphins were pregnant.
- Researchers monitored the dolphins for next four years and found that only two produced viable calves.
- Researchers even observed one female dolphin pushing her dead baby in the water.
Photos: Drone captures stunning images of killer whales
- A specialized drone has captured thousands of striking high-resolution images of killer whale populations in the United States.
- The research program is a collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and Vancouver Aquarium.
- Drone images reveal that the endangered southern resident population of killer whales in the San Juan Islands is up by five individuals this year.
Dolphins caught in fishing nets: to eat or not to eat?
- Small-scale fishermen and women in West African fishing communities commonly treat accidentally caught dolphins as an opportunistic source of food, according to a recent study
- Cultural differences often govern consumption patterns of dolphin meat, the study found.
- Protecting dolphins in the region would require protection of fish stocks in the West African waters and prevention of overfishing by industrial fishing vessels from developed countries, researchers said.
Russia bans driftnet fishing, a reprieve for seabirds and marine mammals
Tufted puffins in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The species is commonly caught in driftnet salmon fishing gear in the waters off Russia’s far eastern shore. Photo credit: Steve Ebbert, USFWS. On July 1, President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law banning driftnet fishing in Russian waters. Driftnets, floating walls of net that […]
Population of Maui’s dolphins slips below 50
A New Zealand dolphin, one of whose two subspecies, the Maui’s dolphin, is critically endangered with a quickly diminishing population. Photo credit: Steve Dawson/NABU International Foundation for Nature. Maui’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) are edging closer to extinction. Strikingly marked, with a dark, rounded dorsal fin that has been likened to a Mickey Mouse ear, […]
Expert panel rebukes Japan’s new whaling proposal
Antarctic minke whale caught be Japanese vessel, the Yushin Maru, in 2008. Photo by: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Japan must halt its whaling activities in the Southern Ocean as it found no evidence that the killing of hundreds of Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera […]
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