Humpback Whales Breaching

Teams of scientists and researchers trying to help save a struggling young Southern Resident orca may have discovered what is ailing her.

NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region reports that results from health samples are coming in from several top labs around the US.

In a fecal sample collected last weekend from J16, J42, and J50, they found moderate levels of Contracaecum, a nematode parasite sometimes found in marine mammals.

The NOAA says the worm is not usually a problem for healthy animals, but can be if they are emaciated or otherwise compromised such as J50.

The parasite can penetrate the stomach lining, introducing bacterial infection to the bloodstream, or it can bore into internal organs….
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The world has watched Southern Resident killer whale Tahlequah (J35) carry her dead calf, her child, for over two weeks. It’s a visible grief. This is what extinction could look like. At the same time, another young whale, J50, appears to be starving. Politicians can no longer avert their eyes, or their attention, and neither can we.

We have been working with partners to compel emergency action from the federal government since February 2018 and, given the dire situation that has unfolded over the last few weeks, we are now asking that they go further than the measures we have previously called for.

The Southern Resident killer whale population needs your voice to demand that the new federal Fisheries Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, issue an emergency order that also includes the following actions:

– Immediate closure of marine recreational and marine commercial Chinook fisheries 1.
– Suspension of all commercial and recreational whale watching targeting the Southern Residents.
– Active enforcement of these measures.

The Canadian government has the legal tools to act; similar actions restricting fisheries and whale watching are also needed on the U.S. side of the border. While we grieve the loss of yet another Southern Resident, we must also do all we can to ensure the remaining whales have the best possible chance of survival. This emergency is all too apparent….
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A sunny day or weekend in the Powell River region provides ample opportunity to view spectacular marine life. Many boaters in the area have already been treated to the sight of orcas and humpback whales in the past few weeks, however, these interactions require awareness and respect, said Wild Ocean Whale Society founder Susan Mackay.

"We have about 40 humpbacks in the area; basically straight across from Comox up to Chatham Point," said Mackay. "We’ve had a few pods of orca go through as well."…
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On June 20, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada concluded that the southern residents are "facing threats, which are considered imminent in the sense that intervention is required to allow for survival and eventual recovery." Soon thereafter, new restrictions on Chinook salmon fishing, mandatory vessel distance requirements, additional efforts to monitor the quality of the marine environment – supported by a multimillion dollar financial commitment – were implemented. While necessary, these measures are, by themselves, insufficient and overdue.

What, then, must be done to save the southern residents? In the short term, the conclusion reached by the ministers should trigger the Emergency Protection Order process under the Species at Risk Act. In short, this requires the ministers to recommend to the Prime Minister and Cabinet that regulatory action protecting the species and its habitat be produced. An Emergency Protection Order for the southern residents could further restrict vessel traffic and speed…
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Dolphins have always been known for their intelligence – but it seems they’re even cleverer than we thought, after one South Carolina resident captured the amazing moment bottlenose dolphins took themselves to the beach for a bite to eat:

The video shows the dolphins taking part in a unique feeding ritual called ‘strand feeding’, which sees them work together to herd a school of fish onto the beach before literally launching themselves out of the water to feed.

Once the dolphins snap the tasty treats into their mouths, they simply slip elegantly back into the water.

These marine creatures clearly didn’t feel too desperate to catch the fish, as Ashley Wolfe, the person who captured the clip on Folly Beach, said they often waited for a helping hand – or kick.

She said: “On this occasion, the dolphin actually waited for me to kick a beached fish back toward him before re-entering the water.”…
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Genetic research shows seals, whales and dugongs all at risk, due to separate but similar evolutionary pressures.

The oddities of evolution may have left many marine mammals without defences against some particularly nasty human pollutants, new research in the journal Science reports.

What they discovered was that cetaceans (whales and dolphins), sirenians (manatees and dugongs) and pinnipeds (seals) have all lost the function of a gene called Paraoxonase 1 (PON1). By comparison, the 56 terrestrial species the team looked at all had intact and functioning PON1 genes.
… However, the gene also works to break down a particularly toxic form of organophosphate that are the by-product of oft-used pesticides manufactured by humans. In fact, PON1 is the organisms’ sole defence against them.

Unfortunately, these incredibly powerful neurotoxins are introduced to marine environments in huge volumes through agricultural run-off. The authors identify particular areas of concern, including Florida in the US and Queensland in Australia, as sites with significant marine mammal populations that are showing elevated levels of organophosphate pollution.

Where once PON1 was useless, it may now be crucial. Sadly, the return of selection pressure on the gene may take a terrible toll on marine mammal populations, reminding us once again of what a danger we have become for the other residents of our little blue planet….
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