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A brief news item caught my attention as it serves as a follow up to my recent post about the assessment of shark conservation at the recent BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Ocean Summit.
Hong Kong's Ocean Park - an aquatic amusement park similar to the Sea World parks in the U.S. - is initiating preliminary research on the viability of acquiring beluga whales from Russian waters, specifically the Okhotsk Sea.
According to Hong Kong's The Standard, the research could take anywhere from 5 to 10 years, but some conservationists are concerned that the research will be fast tracked to just a few years and that whales could be captured without fully knowing the impact on beluga whale populations in the area.
Naomi Rose, senior scientist with The Humane Society International, was quoted as saying, "'My guess is [Ocean Park officials] are going to acquire them from Russia, and if they sponsor this research ... it would take five years minimum, more like 10, before they would have sufficient information to determine any kind of safe removal level,' she said. 'They are not going to wait five to 10 years. They are going to do a couple of years of research and say: `Oh, we know now' and this is how many that would be safe.'"
Ocean Park is a very successful attraction in China. It includes a marine mammal park, major aquarium, and a variety of amusement park rides. In attendance, it ranks in the top 20 worldwide (15th in 2008), exceeding Hong Kong's Disneyland. It is also a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which requires members to seek animals from other institutions and acquiring wild animals only as a last resort.
Now, as I have previously said in this blog, I am not an advocate of marine mammals like whales and dolphins in captivity, particularly as these animals are pelagic. There just isn't an exhibit large enough to provide a healthy environment. But what I found interesting with the article and 
after reviewing the Ocean Park website is the growing schizophrenic position that Asian cultures are beginning to find themselves in. They can view sea creatures with awe and enthusiasm at Ocean Park - just like Western cultures - and then finish the day with a bowl of shark fin soup or whale meat. But this paradox can lead to an opportunity.
As Peter Knights of WildAid commented during the recent shark conservation panel I moderated for the BLUE Ocean Film Festival, many of the Chinese people, and other Asian countries, are not fully aware of the practices of shark finning, or dolphin/whale hunting. At the moment, they have their feet in two worlds - a cultural heritage that looks at many sea creatures as merely food items to be taken as needed and by any means possible, and a more contemporary approach where a greater appreciation for the animals and the ecological implications exists. It's a paradox that provides a fracture for conservationists to utilize if done rationally and carefully.
However, it is very easy for outside groups to alienate themselves and lose the opportunity to sway Asian public opinion in favor of protection and conservation if the approach is perceived more as condemnation and ridicule rather than a rational and tempered argument. Everyone responds to enlightenment and illumination when it is not at the expense of humiliation. That is the tightrope that shark and marine mammal conservationists must walk to effectively reach the Asian populace.
Read article in The Standard.
View Ocean Park's website.
Three news items about whales caught my attention:
Off the northwest coast of Maui, a juvenile humpback whale (30-35 feet) was reported entangled in polypropylene rope. Officials from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary were successful in removing hundreds of feet of rope but more still needs to be extracted from the whale's mouth. We have seen whales with fish nets or rope wrapped around the tail; entangled around the head and mouth would possibly explain this whale's reported weakened condition, being unable to feed properly. The whale is being tracked and officials hope to remove the remaining rope soon. Let's wish them luck and hope for the whale's speedy recovery. Derelict "ghost" nets and loose line pose a hazard to whales and the growth of industrial fishing - more boats, more nets - only increases the chances for an accidental encounter. Read The Maui News article.
Off the west coast of New Zealand, a sperm whale washed ashore, apparently the victim of a ship's propeller. The sharp cut across the whale's dorsal fin area exposed muscles and intestines and probably was an unfortunate slow death. Staff from New Zealand's Department of Conservation examined the whale and took biological samples, then allowed representatives of indigenous tribesmen bless and bury the whale in accordance to local custom. There have been issues in the past with sorting out safe shipping lanes that don't interfere with known whale migratory routes. A reduction in ship speed has proven somewhat effective in some areas, but the occasional accidental encounter seems inevitable. Read stuff.co.nz article.
As I mentioned on Tuesday, NOAA proposed a 3,000 square mile critical habitat for beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet. There is a required public response period before the proposal is enacted, and already the habitat opponents have got the PR wheels in motion. Meant to stir the blood of Alaskan citizens, here is a choice exaggeration from Alaskan Senator Don Young, declaring the proposal was "yet another attempt to halt resource production and development in Alaska and a step toward making the whole state a national park for the enjoyment of outsiders." What's clever here is that any input from national conservation groups or comments/petitions from non-Alaskans will appear like more interference from the "outsiders." Outside support for the proposal will be inevitable but there will need to be strong support from Alaskans too to combat this kind of clever PR positioning. Read UPI.com article.
Seems like whaling is not the only thing that puts these majestic creatures at risk. . .
Back in March of this year, I reported on efforts being undertaken to protect a dwindling population of Beluga Whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet - a slender offshoot in the Gulf of Alaska that leads to north to Anchorage. Impacted by pollution and development, partly related to oil drilling activities, the number of whales have declined from over 1000 in the 1980's to a little over 300 today.
On Tuesday, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) proposed a 3,000 square mile area as critical habitat for these whales. This is a positive first step, in response to legal action from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), and repudiates the position taken at the time by now former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin.
Next will be the required public comment period. You can expect that there will be rebuttals from the oil industry and other less conservation-minded groups. Pro-whale advocates and groups will need to make their voices heard during this crucial next step.
Check in with CBD or stay tuned to this blog to hear about what you can do to contribute.
While Alaska governor Sarah Palin generated a lot of interest during the presidential campaign, she also came under fire from conservationists due to her anti-conservation views regarding polar bears (opposed to a possible endangered species status) and timber wolves (approves aerial hunting by helicopter).
Seems she has not re-thought any of her views as she has taken a position against the pending endangered species listing of the Beluga Whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet. Feeling that enough is already being done, she has, on behalf of the state, filed an intent to sue in 60-days. But not every conservative supports her position. "Sarah Palin is a very gifted politician, she obviously has a future and she's going places," says Jim DiPeso, spokesman for Republicans for Environmental Protection. "And she is certainly within her rights to file litigation. But in this case she's on the wrong side of history and the American conservation movement, and of what's prudent and right."
The Cook Inlet is home to an isolated population of beluga whales that are exposed to pollutants from the oil industry - a leftover effect from a grandfather clause when the 1972 Clean Water Act was enacted, allowing the pollution to continue. That population has declined dramatically since the 1980s, from over 1,000 to about 375 now. More than 300 whales perished in one four-year stretch (1994 to 1998) alone, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.Salon.com wrote an interesting and detailed piece on the entire flap and the Center of Biological Diversity plans to take decisive counter-action. Oddly, the belugas were listed as endangered candidates during the Bush administration. "It's hard to imagine that anyone could be more anti-environmental than Bush, but Palin is Exhibit A," says Brendan Cummings, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "Here we had the most anti-environmental administration in U.S. history, and Palin still feels compelled to sue over one of the few environmentally positive things to come out of that administration."
Not hard to see where her intentions and allegiance lies - from the woman who echoed "drill, baby, drill."
A brief news item caught my attention as it serves as a follow up to my recent post about the assessment of shark conservation at the recent BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Ocean Summit.
According to Hong Kong's The Standard, the research could take anywhere from 5 to 10 years, but some conservationists are concerned that the research will be fast tracked to just a few years and that whales could be captured without fully knowing the impact on beluga whale populations in the area.
after reviewing the Ocean Park website is the growing schizophrenic position that Asian cultures are beginning to find themselves in. They can view sea creatures with awe and enthusiasm at Ocean Park - just like Western cultures - and then finish the day with a bowl of shark fin soup or whale meat. But this paradox can lead to an opportunity.
