Whales Dying During Migration

Discussion in 'Science & Nature' started by Don Alaska, Jun 27, 2019.

  1. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Gray whales are dying in numbers not seen since 2000, apparently from starvation. Something is interrupting the food chain. It could be the warmer than normal Pacific, or...Fukushima continuing to poison the Pacific Ocean. They don't seem to know for sure...or they aren't willing to announce it. If it were due to Global Warming, I am sure it would be headlines around the world.

    https://www.scmp.com/news/world/uni...27/grey-whales-are-starving-death-pacific-and

    We have had a dozen die recently in Alaska waters, but those are not mentioned in the article, nor are the ones dying in Mexican waters. Over 150 so far in total have been found dead.
     
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  2. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    I do not know if it has any relevance, but a lot of Pilot and even some Humpbacks beach themselves especially around Baja nearly every year for the last 10-15 years.
    The majority of those theorizing the incidents say that the whales become disoriented. Sounds a bit fishy (pun unintended) but since I am not a student of whale migration I’m at a loss for a knowledgeable opinion.
     
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  3. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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    NOAA Is Investigating 70 Gray Whale Deaths Along the West Coast
    [​IMG]

    "Each spring, the whales migrate about 5,000 miles from their birthing grounds in Mexico to their feeding grounds in Alaska. The whales only feed while in Arctic waters, feasting on small crustaceans called amphipods. They have to fuel up enough to survive their entire 10,000-mile round trip migration route, reports Kate Williams at The Oregonian."

    "If they don’t pack on the blubber while in Alaska, they won’t have enough energy to complete their journey down south and back again. That seems to be the case with the majority of whales examined so far. Most of the deceased animals are emaciated with very little body fat. It’s likely that the 70 whales are are just a fraction of the whales that have died on the migratory journey so far this spring, since most whales actually sink to the ocean floor when they die."

    "So far, researchers have two main theories as to why the animals are starving. One is that the North Pacific gray whale population has essentially reached the carrying capacity of its environment, or the level that food resources can sustain. It’s possible there were too many whales and too few amphipods for the entire population to get its share during last summer’s feeding frenzy."

    Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...ong-west-coast-180972333/#tIe2Cp7BYakyKC3m.99
    Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
    Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
     
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  4. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    I guess they went from almost extinct to over populated.
    Can the carcass be used for anything like products made from blubber or animal food from the meat? Just to think of them rotting on a beach seems like a waste. It would be sad to see dead whales like that in person. They are usually so majestic looking.
     
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  5. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Up here they allow the Natives to harvest the whale products if it is fresh and easily accessible. It doesn't go to waste that way, but when you don't know for certain what killed the animal, it seems a bit "iffy".
     
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  6. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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  7. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    I didn't even think about them possibly dying from some toxin and being unsafe to consume. It just seems like tragedy and waste rolled into one,
     
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  8. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    And from the Associated Press...

    TOKYO (AP) — Japan has resumed commercial whaling after 31 years, meeting a long-cherished goal of traditionalists that's seen as a largely lost cause.


    Whaling boats embarked Monday on their first commercial hunts since 1988, when Japan switched to so-called research whaling, but will stay within the country's exclusive economic waters. Japan's six-month notice to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission took effect Sunday.
     
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  9. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Beth Gallagher
    Years ago, when Rust Oleum Paints came out, they were advertised as containing "fish oil", presumably whale-oil. They no longer do that. However, whales present an enormous amount of product from each catch.

    Is it slaughter? Depends on the point of view, no? We "slaughter" enormous amounts of other animals, both fish and mammals, and that seems acceptable. Several hundred thousand hogs daily, even more beef cattle, inestimable quantities of the big fish, like tuna. I love those big chunks of Ahi Ahi our buffet serves, Yellowfin Tuna, up to 700 lbs. each. Doubt I would eat whale meat, though.

    What will the International Theater have to say about this new "whaling"?

    Frank
     
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  10. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I believe the International Whaling Commission was established for the conservation of certain species and management of the industry. There has been some outcry from other nations who belong to the organization over Japan's withdrawal from the commission and resuming whaling. From what I have read, there is no longer a huge demand for whale meat in Japan so it may be a short-lived venture.
     
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  11. Julia Curtis

    Julia Curtis Very Well-Known Member
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    I couldn't read that because you have to subscribe.o_O
     
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  12. Thomas Windom

    Thomas Windom Very Well-Known Member
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    I’d like to know if they autopsy them, see if they’ve ingested our garbage from the Pacific gyre.

    https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

    It’s know that elephants that raid garbage dumps die painful deaths from ingesting plastic bags containing edible items.

    I’d call humans pigs but pigs aren’t even close in terms of littering and destroying our environment.
     
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  13. Julia Curtis

    Julia Curtis Very Well-Known Member
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    Nacropsies yes they do.
     
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  14. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    I wonder if it is all the plastic in the oceans which is mistaken for food by birds and other animals. You can find videos of birds feeding plastic bits to babies and then necropsies done on them where the little things are dead, full of plastic. The whales that don't sift their food, like blue whales, would be at risk. I have always worried about that. Sea Turtles and seals are hung up on fishing lines, hooks, scraps of nets and waste like the holders of pop cans and bottles. A floating plastic bag can block up intestines with the help of other garbage.
     
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  15. Thomas Windom

    Thomas Windom Very Well-Known Member
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    We don’t need to hunt animals for food or sport to endanger them. We can just go about our merry way, discarding the garbage of our “civilization” to pollute our own home planet for all living things.
     
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