Holiday Greetings with Storms and Whales

The designation means the two areas of ocean – from Swiftsure Bank at the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait north to La Perouse Bank near Tofino; and the western Dixon Entrance north of Haida Gwaii – are now legally protected against habitat-destroying activities that could hinder the survival or recovery of the whales.

“Critical habitat” is defined under the Species at Risk Act as “the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species that is identified as the species’ critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action play for the species.”…
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"We are undertaking a herculean effort to save these iconic creatures," Inslee said in a prepared statement. "It will take action at every level of the environment across our entire state."

Inslee, who is mulling a Democratic presidential run in 2020, detailed the plans as part of his announcement of his priorities for the 2019-2021 state budget. The money would go toward protecting and restoring habitat for salmon, especially chinook, the orcas’ favored prey; boosting production from salmon hatcheries; storm-water cleanup; and quieting vessel traffic.

Nearly $300 million would go toward complying with a court order that requires the state to replace culverts that block the path of migrating salmon.

Money would also support developing plans to move or kill seals and sea lions that feast on Columbia River salmon where they get blocked by dams or other structures, and changing state water quality standards to allow more water to be spilled over dams, helping young salmon reach the ocean.

Inslee called for a new capital gains tax and an increase in business taxes to help cover the tab.

The governor also said he intends to ban commercial whale-watching of the local endangered orcas – known as the southern residents – for three years. He stressed that whale-watching will be allowed for other whales in Washington waters, including nonresident orcas that pass through, and that the state would undertake efforts to promote the industry to offset any lost business.

Inslee said he intended to permanently double the size of the "no-go zone" for vessels around orcas to 400 yards (365 meters) and create a "go slow zone" with reduced speed limits within a half-mile (926 meters). The Department of Fish and Wildlife would get $1.1 million for public education and enforcement.

His plans call for converting two state ferries to quieter electric hybrids and building two others as hybrids….
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"Logging is a term referring to when whales and dolphins are resting," said Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce Ocean Friends Director. "This rare type of “play logging’ adds to our knowledge of their complex lives."

Lorax was observed playing with the log for nearly an hour, Hamilton said.

"I watched her repeatedly going back and forth diving with the large log, lifting it onto her head and actively playing with it. Her playtime lasted for over 45 minutes. Then she joined two other humpbacks," he said….
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Cermaq Canada said the humpback was discovered by two employees inside the company’s Millar Channel farm site around 8 a.m. on Dec. 2 and that the employees immediately notified management and got to work on possible solutions to free the animal.

"The decision was made to remove two panels of the predator net and allow the whale to swim free of the cage on his or her own volition," the announcement read. "During the predator net panel removal, precautions were taken to secure the predator net to ensure the whale would not become entangled, and shortly after the divers cleared the area, the whale swam out of the cage and moved away from the farm."

Tofino-based environmental group Clayoquot Action believes the incident is an example of the dangers salmon farms are posing in local waters.

"We’re very, very, thankful that this animal is okay. Although, there’s really no way to tell what stress was caused on the whale or if there are any injuries to the whale, even though there were none visible," Clayoquot Action co-founder Bonny Glambeck told the Westerly….
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“Folks, there’s about 200 dolphins straight ahead,” Irizawa remembers hearing before heading straight to a top vehicle deck for an unobstructed view.

“I’ve never seen anything so awesome,” he said, adding other passengers were speechless.

“You could tell they were having fun. They were so full of joy just breaching and coming up and playing with the ship, in a way,” he said….
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They are most commonly seen off the west coast of Britain, around the Inner Hebrides, the west coast of Ireland, and Cornwall and Devon.

Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) live all over the world: in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the Mediterranean, Red and Black seas. They are happy in temperate waters and can be found both far out in open ocean and near to coastlines.

Common dolphins need the water to be at a certain temperature. Experts think that an increase in sightings around the Scottish Hebrides could mean they are responding to warmer waters in the area.
The Hebrides are near the northernmost limit of the range for these dolphins and there has been a 0.5 degC temperature rise in the water around Britain in the last decade, which could be contributing to the change in their distribution….
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Sailors were 120 nautical miles off the Gibraltar coast as the dolphins began swimming highlighted by fluorescent light emitted by the plankton….
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