Marine and Coastal Management | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

The largest genetic study of humpback whales in the southern hemisphere has been conducted, reports Science Daily.

DNA samples of 1 500 whales were analysed, and the results have been published in PLoS ONE, an interactive open-access journal for scientific and medical research. South African researchers at Marine and Coastal Management and the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town, as well as contributors from the Wildlife Conservation Society, The American Museum of Natural History, and researchers from Brazil, France, Oman and Gabon participated in the study.

Humpback whales have been studied in depth in the northern hemisphere, but little was previously known about those in the southern oceans.

The study found that humpback whales had been found to move between oceans, the first such recording, especially along the two oceans around Africa. The songs of these humpback whales in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans were found to be similar, probably indicating that they connect in the Antarctic. The humpback whales in the northern Indian Ocean and Arabian peninsula are far less likely to migrate, and only number 200.

A study conducted by the Cascadia Research Collective in the USA found that humpback whales travelled up to 8 300 km to Costa Rica from the Antarctic, in 161 days. This is the longest ever humpback whale migration recorded. The study also found that whale spent their winter in waters of between 21 – 28 C.

For more information about the humpback whale research, click here.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio : www.whalecottage.com

Captain Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has incensed South Africans in calling for a ban on South African wine sales until Mike Meyer, of Marine and Coastal Management, labelled by Watson as the “Butcher of Kommetjie Beach”, be sacked.

Watson is so passionate about saving whales that he takes the Japanese head on every year in the Antarctic waters off Australia.

He was reacting to the slaughter of 44 pilot whales on 30 May at Long Beach in Kommetjie, under the directive of Meyer. Marine and Coastal Management, the Dolphin Action Protection Group, the NSRI and SPCA, along with hundreds of volunteers, tried to help the whales back into the stormy ocean, but only 14 made it back to sea, the others rebeaching. These are the whales that Meyer had shot with a rifle, a traumatic event for the volunteers and members of the public present.

Criticism of the events of the day are that the public did not assist the whale rescue operation by wanting to have a look at what was going on, and by not accepting instructions; no clear directives were given to the volunteers and public, as no one seemed to be in charge of the rescue operation; and that the volunteers were not well trained enough. Better volunteer training and a clear disaster plan should be prepared in the event of future whale beachings, say the parties involved in the whale rescue.

Watson’s call for the ban has been described as a “vicious and personal attack” on Meyer, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs, which is supporting Meyer’s decision. The Cape Argus, reporting on the Sea Shepherd wine ban threat, wrote as follows: “Most of his statement about Meyer is too defamatory to print”.

Watson slates both Meyer and Marine Coastal Management, and its handling of the whale beaching on Long Beach. “Meyer simply called himself a scientist and proclaimed the animals doomed, and thus gave the order for execution. This man does not possess a single scientific degree. He is a bureaucrat, not a scientist, not a vet, and not even a former student of marine biology or any discipline involving marine species. In short he is an unqualified sadistic thug and an embarrassment to the government and the people of South Africa.” said Watson.

Watson has visited South Africa, and has been a speaker at a Whale Festival in Hermanus. His full statement can be read on http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/editorial-090602-1.html