ce·ta·cean n: any of an order of aquatic mostly marine mammals that
includes whales, porpoises, dolphins, and related forms. (Merriam Webster)
NY4Whales on the BP Oil Spill
This article appears in the latest edition of "Whales Alive!",
Cetacean Society International's newsletter. Find it at
http://csiwhalesalive.org/csi2010_07.pdf.
New information will follow in the next issue.
The Gulf of Mexico: Will It Ever Be The Same?
By Taffy Lee Williams
It has been 84 days since BP's oil rig, the Deepwater
Horizon, exploded, killing 11 workers and sending an as yet
unstoppable torrent of black oil through the gulf. The
extensive damage done to the coastal region, environment, and
the marine life, is stifling and in many ways irreversible. At
this writing, the US government and independent scientists
respectively estimate that from from 72 to 140 million gallons
of oil have already gushed into the water. (The Exxon Valdez
spilled a mere 11 million gallons.) The slick has spread over
6,500 sq. kilometers (2,500 sq. miles), sending tar balls and
oil onto the shorelines of all 5 gulf states, shutting down
fisheries and decimating local economies, fouling the estuaries
and nesting grounds for literally millions of birds and turtles
and the legions of species that inhabit this rich biologically
productive region. Over 400 species of birds and animals who
inhabit the gulf, including 28 species of cetacean, are now
threatened with the annihilation of their local populations
while indigenous, non-migrating species face almost certain
extinction. This is the largest environmental disaster in US
history.
One of the best video descriptions of the sights of the oil
spill comes from Louisiana conservationist John L. Wathan.
"From 1.2 miles off the gulf shores of Alabama to the
ground zero site some 90 miles away we haven't flown over a
single square inch of clean water." (1)
A range of emotions, from shock and anger to frustration and
grief, grips the nation as we follow the progress of the
thickening onslaught and watch the bungled attempts of BP to
plug the leak. As each day passes, we tearfully view images of
oiled birds, dying turtles and expect the worst for the elusive
cetaceans. In our grief it soon becomes clear that the
nefarious collusion of industry, corporate greed, the US
government and inexcusable human error conspired to bring about
this disaster; and this collusion has yet to be broken.
In a shocking courtroom revelation, the public learned that
the government agency in charge of oil exploration oversight,
the Minerals Management Service (MMS), was literally sleeping
with Big Oil. Oil company inspection reports were filled out in
pencil so that MMS officials could later ink them in and file
them. MMS personnel received gifts, including sports game
tickets, posh restaurant meals and even vacation cruises from
the oil companies they were regulating.
In 2008, reports made out by the inspector-general,
interior department, had implicated a dozen MMS officials for
'unethical and criminal conduct' in discharge of their duties.
They were having cocaine and porn parties in offices. They were
alleged to have had sex with oil company representatives. They
received gifts and paid holidays from the very companies that
they were supposed to be regulating.
The result of all this lubrication was that the
regulators became part of the process of bypassing the laws. BP
was allowed to drill the oil-well, which later blew up, without
installing an acoustically-controlled shut-off valve that could
automatically close in case of an accident. MMS had also waived
the regulation for BP to file a full environmental impact
assessment report. Filing this report would have delayed
operations on the rig, which was costing BP $500,000 in rent
per day. So they cut through the 'red tape' - and the results
are there for us to see. (2)
With respect to oil and this spill, BP, the fourth largest
corporation in the world, without an army, has taken control of
the US government. MORE
PICTURES OF THE GULF OIL SPILL
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NY4WHALES is heading to the Gulf Coast to help with wildlife rehabilitation
efforts after the catastrophic BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.
We need help to cover travel expenses associated with these
trips. Please consider making a generous donation, knowing that
your support will be helping our precious wildlife, and thank
you for your kindness toward
our environment.
(Via PayPal. You do not have to be a member of PayPal).
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TAKE ACTION FOR WHALES
Anti-Whaling activists remind President
Obama of his campaign pledge to STRENGTHEN PROTECTION FOR
WHALES, while Obama's team strategizes a compromise that will
lift the BAN ON COMMERCIAL WHALING!
What can YOU do?
1. Watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRioXKzNHUU
2. Send a letter:
http://www.wdcs-na.org/obamaletter
Tell President Obama, DON'T LIFT THE BAN ON COMMERCIAL WHALING!
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"BIG 3" Military Sonar Training Ranges
Receive NOAA/NMFS Approval
By Taffy Lee Williams / www.ny4whales.org
In a major, although not unexpected victory for the US Navy, NMFS
recently approved the Environmental Impact Statement for the last of three
major US sonar training ranges. Known as the Atlantic Fleet Active Sonar
Training (AFAST), the range is a vast region encompassing almost the entire
east coast of the US and the Gulf of Mexico. The approval closely follows
NMFS' similar rulings for the Southern California Range Complex (SOCAL)
and the Hawaii Range Complex (HRC). SOCAL's training range is spread
over some 120,000 square nautical miles (nm2) of Southern
California's coast, open ocean, biologically rich near shore areas
within the Southern California Bight and even portions of the Channel
Islands National Marine Sanctuary.1 The Hawaiian training range
includes 235,000 nm2 around the Main Hawaiian Islands and 2.1
million nm2 of areas encompassing the Northwest Hawaiian
Islands.
Known as the "Big Three" for their immense geographical
coverage, the combined training areas will acoustically impact some two
million marine mammals, as estimated in the Navy's three EISs.
Environmental groups shudder at the potential "take" of marine
mammals, which will range from disorientation to hearing loss, stranding and
death. Joel Reynolds, NRDC senior attorney says, "These new sonar rules
were completed in the waning weeks of the Bush administration to prevent
review by the Obama administration. The rules will illegally harm entire
populations of whales and dolphins over millions of square miles of ocean
and rich marine habitat, and they will do so for years to
come."2
Environmental groups and scientists note the almost identical EISs for
each of the three training ranges and are cringing at the EISs'
shortcomings. Most notably, the US EPA, which respectively presented almost
identical comments for the ranges, claims that both the SOCAL and HRC EISs
contain insufficient information regarding impacts to marine resources.
Additionally, they note that the Navy has "changed the methodology used
to estimate sonar hours of mid-frequency active (MFA) use for the exercises
and has changed the methodology used to evaluate effects of MFA sonar on
marine mammals. The new methodologies result in substantially lower
estimates of sonar hours and predicted adverse impacts to marine
mammals."3
In its SOCAL comments dated December 29, 2008, the EPA recommended a
"precautionary approach be taken with regard to increases in the use of
MFA sonar, commensurate with the scientific controversy, uncertainty, and
unknown risks to marine mammals, including seven threatened or endangered
species in the Range Complex."4 The EPA also notes that the
Navy will implement the preferred alternative, which will increase the scope
and intensity of existing annual training operations from 39,000 to 50,000
per year, impacting 112,884 marine mammals with behavioral harassment,
10,897 marine mammals with temporary hearing loss, and 19 marine mammals
with permanent hearing loss.5 The EPA also questioned the
Navy's estimate of zero mortalities during its operations: "The
basis for concluding no mortalities will result is unclear considering the
important role hearing plays in communication, navigation and
foraging." (p. 3.9-90) It seems the large numbers of animals
experiencing Level B harassment (behavior and temporary hearing loss) could
even have significant consequences. According to the National Marine
Fisheries Service 2007 Biological Opinion on the effects of Composite
Training Unit Exercises and Joint Task Force Exercises, acoustic exposures
can result in the death of an animal by impairing its foraging, ability to
detect predators or communicate, or by increasing stress, and disrupting
important physiological events (B.O. p. 101).6
In addition to the ensonification of these areas, underwater detonations
which disperse PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and heavy metal
contamination, as well as their associated pollutants, will further
environmentally stress these broader areas as well.7
The US Marine Mammal Commission advises that the Navy revise the DEIS to
give public officials charged with decision-making adequate information on
the costs of the Navy's preferred levels of activity. It further advises
the Navy to limit its activities to those that can be sufficiently described
in order to achieve a reliable assessment of impact, and "subject its
reviews of marine mammal density, distribution, behavior and habitat use to
scientific peer review."8 The MMC's comments on the
Cherry Point Operating Area for the Atlantic Fleet off North Carolina should
be considered here as well: "The conclusion that training operations
and support activities would have negligible impacts on marine mammals at
any of the possible alternative sites is based on sparse data about the
presence of marine mammals in the area and potential impacts to them as well
as a series of assumptions, many of which are questionable at
best."9
It's a sordid business, this sonar. The Navy is pushing for
unrestricted training, and NMFS historically complies. While sonar training
ranges fall under the category of military readiness, many believe
our marine resources should not be sacrificed for a technology that leaves
so many questions unanswered and with so much potential for destruction. A
recent incident exposed the vulnerability of the system when a Chinese
vessel easily fouled the sonar system of a US Navy vessel that had allegedly
meandered out of international waters. In any case, shouldn't the Navy
be protecting our resources, not launching relentless barrages of acoustic
weaponry upon them?
1. EPA. Comments on the Southern California Range Complex Final
Environmental Impact Statement. December 29, 2008.
2. The Acoustic Ecology Institute. NMFS Gives Sonar OK for Atlantic
Coast. http://aeinews.org/archives/100.
3. EPA. Letter to Tom Clements, Pacific Missile Range Facility. April 10,
2008.
4. EPA. Comments on the Southern California Range Complex Final
Environmental Impact Statement. December 29, 2008.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Marine Mammal Commission. Letter to Naval Facilities Engineering
Command, Atlantic. February 16, 2009.
9. Marine Mammal Commission. Letter to Naval Facilities Engineering
Command, Atlantic. January 18, 2006.
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NY4whales.org has received a grant from the
New York State Assembly, offices of Assemblyman Michael Spano,
to create and distribute an emergency information contact card
for registered boaters in NYS. These will explain rules for
sightings and approaching marine mammals, what to do and who to
call if an animal is stranded or entangled, and info to report
illegal activities, including dumping. NY4whales is proud to
participate in this important informational resource project,
which will help make our waters safer for everyone, including
cetaceans! Many thanks to Assemblyman Michael Spano for
supporting this project.
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http://www.bluevoice.org/sections/dolphins/cap_aqu.shtml
Action Alerts
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TELL OBAMA:
1. WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP AT THE IWC - REMOVE THE BUSH IWC TEAM
2. NO COMPROMISES - THE US NEEDS TO STAND FIRM AGAINST WHALING
ACTION ALERT * ACTION ALERT
FROM THE SAVE JAPAN DOLPHINS COALITION
Earth Island Institute * Animal Welfare Institute * In Defense of Animals *
Ocean Care of Switzerland * Campaign Whale of the UK * Elsa Nature
Conservancy of Japan
Stop the Sell-out by the US Delegation to the Government of Japan and
International Whaling Commission
Negotiations to Overturn the Ban on Commercial Whaling Must Stop!
Ever since the Presidency of Richard Nixon, the official policy
of the United States has been to oppose commercial whaling.
But the Bush Administration has, for the past two years, been
pushing a "compromise" at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) that
would legalize the killing of thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises by
Japan, Iceland and Norway.
Japan claims to be conducting "scientific research" in the
waters of Antarctica and the Western North Pacific by killing almost a
thousand whales each year - and each year, their quota has increased.
Despite the limited demand, the meat, in order not to be "wasted", is sold
in markets in Japan. Japan also allows the slaughter of about 23,000
dolphins and porpoises annually off its shores and has refused to reduce
these kills in the face of opposition from the IWC Scientific Committee.
Furthermore, Japan has pushed the IWC to legalize "coastal whaling" for
profit, erroneously claiming their local "culture" of whale killing is
imperiled by the whaling ban. As such, despite intense international
pressure, Japan has repeatedly disrupted meetings of the IWC and blocked
progress on other issues.
Iceland and Norway also kill whales, having exploited loopholes
in the IWC convention to exempt themselves from the moratorium on commercial
whaling, approved by the IWC back in 1983 and, in Iceland¹s case, also
conducting lethal "research whaling".
The Bush Administration has entered into secret negotiations,
closed off to interest groups and the public, to reach a deal with Japan
that is supported by Norway and Iceland, to legitimize the killing of
whales. At a time when Japan is under intense international pressure to
stop whaling, the demand for whale meat is dwindling and the Japanese
whaling interests are in an economic tailspin, the Bush Administration has
intervened to get Japan off the hook. While President Bush recently left
office, the US IWC delegation continues to perpetuate his legacy of
capitulating to Japan.
What You Can Do:
President Barack Obama must hear from the public that he needs
to reverse the US position and stop these negotiations. His new
Administration is very busy with other priorities, but a deal with Japan on
whaling may be reached as soon as this March.
PLEASE SEND A LETTER, OR E-MAIL, OR MAKE A CALL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA.
Urge him to:
- Reform the US Delegation to the International Whale Commission.
- Stop the negotiations for a whaling deal with Japan.
- Adhere to long-standing US policy of maintaining the commercial whaling
moratorium. This should include stopping negotiations on allowing
commercial whaling under a guise of "cultural" whaling or some other
euphemism.
- Commit to using the US' considerable political, economic and diplomatic
resources to end the killing of whales and dolphins for commercial purposes
NOW.
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
White House public comment line: 202-456-1111
White House e-mail, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR WHALES, DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES.
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Canada's DFO Condemned for Failure to Rescue
600 Threatened Narwhals
By Taffy Lee Williams, www.ny4whales.org
On November 20, 2008, the news broke that
some 200 narwhals were trapped in ice in the Nunavet region of
northeastern Canada. They had been discovered on November 15
making use of eleven open areas where the whales could easily
continue breathing. Inuit hunters claimed the large open
breathing holes were at risk of closing, and the whales would
soon either drown or die of starvation.
The somber realization that this large group
of 200 whales was doomed to die in the ice or be slaughtered by
hunters compelled many to urge Canada's Department of Fisheries
and Oceans (DFO) to begin rescue efforts. In the face of
imminent disaster there was a glimmer of hope: there was an
icebreaker just 50 km - a mere 22 miles - away! In the arctic
vastness 22 miles is like "right next door"! But in
a move that shocked the scientific and environmental
communities and evoked widespread condemnation, the DFO granted
permission for the Inuit to kill the trapped whales. On
November 20, after five days and easily enough time to have
brought an icebreaker to free the whales, the killing began.
How ironic was the DFO's baffling reasoning that the noise from
the icebreaker would scare the whales while gunshot would soon
rain down on any whale that appeared at the surface to
breathe.
The Inuit have an annual quota of 130
narwhals, and while this initial estimate of 200 whales
exceeded this number by 70 whales, the DFO stated it would not
apply the excess kill numbers to the following year's catch.
Even more troubling was that the Inuit refused to allow the
press in the area to report on and help document the events.
With the media absent, and no DFO officials on the scene, the
hunters had free reign to kill without fear of reprisals.
Narwhal, courtesy NOAA.
How could things get any worse? By November
24, still without DFO officials on the scene, 200 whales had
been slaughtered. But to everyone's horror, it was clear the
Inuit had vastly underestimated the number of whales ensnared
in the frozen strait. Now there could be as many as 400
whales. Still the DFO did nothing, sent no rescue vessels to
break through the ice and free the whales. Refusing to halt
the slaughter, the killing continued, up to 100 whales per
day!
By November 25, 300 whales had been killed,
with many remaining still struggling for survival. Still,
unbelievably the DFO sat seemingly oblivious to this
environmental nightmare.
On November 26, it was reported that 500
whales had been killed. In the end, 575 whales were tagged
after the slaughter. Still, there is no information to confirm
that any DFO officer was on the scene to assess conditions and
monitor killing until December 2, fully 12 days after the
whales were found stranded.
Here are some facts: The DFO has several
icebreakers that it uses in similar situation, to assist
sealers, for example. There was no confirmation of real ice
conditions, actual numbers trapped or killed, and the Inuit
refused entry by the media. The number of whales killed is
unknown, but could have easily exceeded the number tagged, over
600. Narwhal tusks sell for $1500 each, a factor one should
not overlook.
Why did the DFO rely solely on information
from a group of hunters who have a vested interest in the kill,
in making sure it happens? The Inuit claim the 600 came from a
healthy population of some 21,000 whales, yet the IUCN states
the narwhal numbers are hard to verify. In fact, the
International Whaling Commission and the Canada-Greenland Joint
Commission on the Conservation and Management of Narwhal and
Beluga both consider that narwhal hunting may not be
sustainable, given current dubious population data. Not only
that, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) has placed narwhals on its "red list" of
species, indicating that today the species is at a high risk of
global extinction. In the face of this information, how could
the DFO turn its back on this local population? The DFO has
recommended lowering quotas of narwhal in nearby populations
to as few as 60 per year. Why was a kill of 200-600 narwhals
not worth responding to?
One must ask, had the DFO known there were
roughly 600 at-risk whales in the ice would they have sent the
icebreaker in? Why did the DFO allow a mass slaughter in the
first place that far exceeded the annual quota of 130 whales,
and then fail to apply the excess to the following years'
quota?
How can Inuit hunters claim this is a
subsistence hunt when cetacean meat is known toxic, especially
in high latitudes where pollutants concentrate with more
potency? Even Inuit bloggers are found saying "We don't
eat much whale meat anymore!"
One ivory tusk fetches $1500 in trade on the
market, and even assuming just one-third of the whales sported
a tusk, we are looking at close to $300,000 in profit. Where
will that money go? Who benefits from the death of these 600
whales? If there was no trade in whale tusk, would the hunters
have welcomed the international media, would they have urged
the DFO to send in an icebreaker and foregone the killing
spree?
The DFO failed to "manage" its
resources, failed to ensure that there would be any narwhals in
these waters again. Their wildlife "management" has
devolved into the "management" of a kill.
NY4Whales believes the officials responsible
for allowing this kill, for failing to respond to a large group
of at-risk cetaceans when rescue was viable and possible,
should not be in a position of wildlife "management"
in Canada. Please contact the Minister of Fisheries and
Oceans, Gail Shea, and urge her to create a panel to examine
stranding situations. Demand a review of the decision-making
process for rescuing at-risk marine life. Tell them the
unnecessary annihilation of a local population of narwhals (or
any whales for that matter) is a serious matter and must be
prevented at all costs. Tell them this hunt was excessive,
that the reasoning that the engine noise would scare the
narwhals while they were being shot at is beyond ridiculous
and reveals a complete disregard for the welfare of the marine
species that they are in charge of protecting. Tell them the
excess narwhal kill should be applied to the Inuit quota for
2009 through 2012. The unwise decision not to rescue 600
whales and to allow such a massive at-risk species kill is a
blight on the leadership of the DFO in Canada, and speaks of
the need for reform in the organization.
Contact:
The Hon. Gail A. Shea
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Shea.G@parl.gc.ca
Telephone: (613) 992-9223
Fax: (613) 992-1974
*IUCN red data book
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URGENT ACTION ALERT!!!
ICELAND DEFIES MORATORIUM AND BEGINS WHALING!
On May 19th, 2008 the Fisheries Minister of
Iceland announced that he had issued a commercial whaling quota
for 40 minke whales. The first whaling vessel set sail the very
next day, and the kill has already begun. The whalers are
claiming that minke whale steaks will be ready for the grill by
this weekend.
Iceland earns far more income from whale
watching than it does from whaling, and the whale watch tour
operators in Iceland have expressed their disapproval of the
Fisheries Minister decision. Several members of the Icelandic
Cabinet have come out in opposition to the hunt as well,
including Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Gisladottir. One of
Minister Gisladottir's fears is that whaling could well
threaten Iceland tourism and export economies. CSI agrees with
her concerns, as people are unlikely to want to visit Iceland
to watch whales if there is a chance that a whale could be
killed in front of them, or if whale meat is on the menu of a
restaurant that they choose following their boat trip.
Please contact the Embassy of Iceland in
Washington, DC to let them know that you are deeply
disappointed with the resumption of whaling, and that you feel
that this move has tarnished Iceland's image as an
environmentally-conscious country. And if you receive a reply,
please send a copy to CSI.
Thanks for your help. The whales need you
now more than ever!
Contact Iceland through:
Ambassador Jonsson
1156 15th Street NW, Suite 1200
Washington, DC 2005-1704
Tel: 202-265-6653
Fax: 202-265-6656
Email icemb.wash@utn.stjr.is
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HELP STOP ANOTHER PLANNED DOLPHIN DISPLAY CENTER - NORTH CAROLINA
Newly elected mayor in Greensboro, North
Carolina, Ms. Yvonne Johnson, is interested in opening a
dolphinarium which will feature a dolphin show, scuba diving,
and a research center.
TAKE ACTION and tell Ms. Johnson that
dolphin assisted therapy is actually exploitation of extremely
vulnerable, often desperate people as well as dolphins, who
perish at a high rate and are unsuited to a life of captivity.
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January 19, 2007: NYS DEC Officials and
rescuers from the Riverhead Foundation haul in
three stranded dolphins that died in the East
Hampton cove. There were 12 deaths in all,
with 8 successfully herded out of the cove.
Read the article.
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What should you do if you see a stranded or injured
whale, dolphin, porpoise, seal or sea turtle?
Time is critical for a cetacean out of the water.
Don’t call the police! Don’t call the fire department!
Call the 24-hour stranding-rescue hotline at
631-369-9829 immediately!
NEW YORK-NORTHEAST REGION STRANDINGS
Marine biologists have noted recently that the numbers of
STRANDED CETACEANS, PINNIPEDS (SEALS) and SEA TURTLES have
been increasing in the New York Coastal Region.
Titan, a "giant among porpoises," was found in early April, 2006, stranded on a Rhode Island
beach. The yearling harbor porpoise is recovering nicely from an unknown trauma, and is
scheduled for release in late June, 2006, from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research
and Preservation. For more pictures of Titan or to learn about other rehabilitation successes,
visit:
http://www.riverheadfoundation.org/index.asp.
If you see a stranded or injured cetacean, seal or sea turtle, call the
24-Hour Standing Hotline at: 631-369-9829 IMMEDIATELY for further instructions.
For more information on the
NORTHEAST REGION STRANDING NETWORK
visit NOAA Fisheries at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/networks.htm#northeast.
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ART INSPIRED BY WHALES
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST GULAY ALPAY
Of the whales she creates, Gulay says,
"My whales talk to each other. Like in my dreams."
Drama, tension, emotion and power exude from these
amazing works of fine art, inspired by the noble whale
and Gulay's receptivity to their energy.
More...
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Please note:
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is applying the term
"Reverse Evolution" to conditions that may result from the loss
of evolved traits witnessed in cetaceans, such as beluga whales, dolphins,
and orcas, placed in captivity environments. Highly evolved traits lost
during captivity may include basic survival skills, use of echo-location
and sonar, wide-ranging communication and song-making abilities, foraging
and hunting for food, social hierarchy establishment, mating, rearing
young, even harm-avoidance instincts.
December 7, 2005
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League announces the successful
launch of our
PETITION TO BAN THE DISPLAY OF BELUGA WHALES
AND OTHER CETACEANS IN NEW YORK CITY
Click on this link to sign the petition and support our work:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/368471413
What's wrong with keeping ARCTIC BELUGA WHALES in small chlorinated
tanks? In an artificial environment, one made possible by constant
infusions of chlorine and other chemicals? In a soundless, concrete world?
In a wholly unnatural confinement? In a costly facility that drains funds
from the public for what can truly be called a "non-educational"
display?
Read the text of our petition:
The NY Aquarium began a disturbing tradition in 1897 as the first
facility to display captive beluga whales in the United States. As
scientific understanding of these marine mammals grew, many researchers,
organizations and individuals began to doubt the educational value of
their controversial and what was often viewed as inhumane confinement.
Beluga whales inhabit cold Arctic seawaters and live in family pods
where they display the immensely varied vocal ability that has earned them
the title "Canaries of the Sea." However, in captivity
conditions the whales' behaviors are altered, vastly different from those
found in the wild. Gone are natural behaviors such as daily wide-ranging
undersea treks, 1000-meter dives, even annual transcontinental migration
in long-traveled passages through frozen Arctic waters. Gone are the
essential tasks of calf-rearing and the critical interaction with family
members that evokes individuality and strong unity within the pod. Gone is
the use of their highly-evolved and refined echo-location skill since
sound in captivity tanks bounces off concrete walls in a maddening
reverberation that suppresses this most fundamental mode of communication
and survival. Even the simple act of foraging for greatly varied food
items in Arctic waters is replaced with perversely receiving handouts of
dead fish from their human captors, their sole food source. Perhaps most
disturbing of all, in captive display tanks and pools, the once incredible
singers in the wild, these "Canaries of the Sea," are silent.
The wild behaviors have been replaced with the only activity that is
available to the white whales: swimming in never-ending circles around
their concrete enclosures, a sight that evokes pity and even alarm in
increasingly-aware spectators of all ages.
In addition to the absence of natural behaviors in captivity, one
should not forget that the lives of beluga whales are dramatically
shortened in their stressful, chlorinated captivity conditions. While
rarely surviving their teens and with an excessively high calf mortality
rate in captivity, belugas have been known to reach over 50 years of age
in their natural environment.
To anyone who has studied beluga whales in the wild it is broadly
deceptive to consider the silent despair of the captive beluga whale
"educational." In reality, facilities like these are prime
locations for studying the de-evolution of beluga whales, to witness
evolution in reverse, a repression and ultimate absence in wild-caught or
captive born individuals of the highly evolved echolocation, or sonar,
skills, and the loss of natural song-making that has so distinguished this
whale in the wild. The New York Aquarium presents an opportunity to view
the reduction of the environmentally powerful yet vulnerable whales to
utter dependence on human captors for food and basic survival in this
inappropriate artificial environment.
The New York Aquarium once again can take the lead, but this time in
ending the travesty of false education which is keeping beluga whales on
display. It is time that New York City takes a stand against this kind of
misleading non-education, against the casual acceptance of utter human
control over the lives of creatures that belong in their natural
environments only, and to make illegal the confinement of beluga whales in
captivity. After over 100 years of questionable and unproductive
"study," what exactly have we learned? Certainly today we can
say that "we know better" than to believe beluga whales kept in
drastically restrictive, artificial, chlorinated tanks present any real
public educational value. The whales are maintained at great expense to
the facility and New York City, yet the whales' endured and cruel
confinement does little or nothing to "enlighten" visitors to
the nature of these creatures in the wild.
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League with the organizations and
individuals below are calling on the mayor of New York City, the New York
City Council and the Wildlife Conservation Society to end the beluga
displays in New York City, to divert monies dedicated to sustain these
expensive, high-maintenance artificial displays to environmental education
programs within the New York City school system and other critical needs
of the youth who have been deprived of so much during NYC's never-ending
fiscal crises. Environmental awareness and projects that educate the young
on the many serious issues facing our natural world will be rewarded with
a sense of purpose, increased responsibility, and a funneling of energy
into noble efforts for wildlife and conservation.
New York City's new role must be that of leader in the humane
acceptance of whales as unique to their environment and unsuitable to
captive situations, while taking its place beside the many US cities that
have already banned the captivity and display of cetaceans such as the
white Arctic beluga whale.
We therefore urge the Mayor of the City of New York, the New York
City Council and the Wildlife Conservation Society to close the exhibition
of beluga whales at the New York Aquarium, and to ban the captivity and
display of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) in New York City.
In Memory of BEN WHITE: AN EXTRAORDINARY ACTIVIST
By Taffy Lee Williams
This article appears in the October, 2005 edition of
SATYA magazine
which includes a tribute to this great American activist and hero.
BEN WHITE, 1951-2005
AN EXTRAORDINARY ACTIVIST
Ben leading the WTO TURTLES, Seattle, 1999
Photo Courtesy Animal Welfare Institute.
How does one define "activist?" One might say simply two
words: "Ben White." Working tirelessly for the environment, for
wildlife and social justice, Ben repeatedly risked his life leaving a
legacy of decades-long direct action that has become a standard to which
many activists aspire.
One of Ben's earliest "hardcore" actions was at the New York
Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Thanks to "insider"
information, hearing of aquarium staff taunting and teasing a male beluga
whale, Ben headed for NYC. Aquarium staff members were allegedly taking
bets as to who could last the longest in the beluga tank with the
"vicious male." Ben put on a white lab coat and transformed
himself temporarily as "Dr. White from Sea World." When Ben
demanded, "Show me the beluga!" he was taken to the tank where
he withheld his anger and appraised the situation at hand. Then, under
cover of darkness, in the early morning hours, Ben found his way to the
whale and in a leaky wetsuit jumped into the icy beluga tank.
Ben waited in the almost freezing waters and shivered, for several
hours, before aquarium personnel and the Coney Island police were able to
retrieve him. Now this was direct action at its finest, NYC-style,
by a Seattleite none-the-less, who cared less for his own well-being than
for the oppressed, maltreated and pitiful beluga whale, a prisoner in a
sterile, concrete soundless world. Ben, the hero. Ben, the activist. The
media jumped on the story, and the aquarium oppression was exposed to a
previously gullible, non-judgmental public.
Photo Courtesy Animal Welfare Institute: Marching against the WTO, 1999;
International Day of Protest against the Japanese Drive Fisheries, 2003:
Photo Courtesy Sea Shepherd.
It was just something he HAD to do. It was a dark night in Taiji,
Japan, where a group of 25-40 dolphins were trapped in a shallow bay by
the infamous JAPANESE DRIVE FISHERIES. This is Japan at its worst. Just 26
whalers in 13 small boats "drive" pods of dolphins, often
hundreds at a time, into the shallow bays where they drop nets and begin a
bloody carnage that is like a scene from a holocaust movie, dolphin style.
Aquarium owners, who subsidize the events, pick out the prettiest,
unblemished few, while those not chosen are slaughtered on the beaches.
The seas turn red with the blood of dying dolphins, destined for watery
graves or to become a plate of sushi, despite mercury and methyl-mercury
levels up to five times their allowable limits under Japanese law.
Dolphins are seen as competitors for fish that are becoming increasingly
scarce given global over-fishing that is affecting western Pacific stocks.
An opportunity to slaughter dolphins is seized during the dolphin
"drives" while aquarium owners boast to the public they are
saving a few dolphins' lives. In return, the fishermen are paid far beyond
what they would receive for the sale of dolphin meat. Although they live
to be 50 years or more in the wild, 50% of all dolphins die within 7 years
in captivity. As Ben was well aware, the resulting financial loss compels
operators to obtain dolphins by any means, even if it means virtual
slaughter on the beach. He found his way with wire cutters in hand and
while armed guards patrolled on the cliffs above, dove down in the
blackened seas and cut through the barriers to free the dolphins. Had he
been discovered, this master of self-giving would have been stopped
literally dead in his tracks. That wasn't to be. More direct action
beckoned.
To stop loggers in ancient forests, Ben slept in old growth trees, and
trained others to do the same. Using his skills as an arborist, Ben scaled
buildings to hang banners exposing circus cruelty. In full view of a Navy
warship he jumped into the Pacific Ocean waters to stop the testing of
military sonar so powerful it can cause the brains and lungs of whales and
dolphins hundreds of miles away to literally explode. Once again, Ben
could have been killed had the sonar been turned on and begun its deadly
hum. Later, Ben plunged into the depths of the Delaware Bay attempting to
save 300 dolphins during calving season by covering another navy
acoustical seismic killing machine.
Ironically, it wasn't these almost deadly actions that Ben is most
known for. He received world renown as the creator of the marching Seattle
WTO turtles, a symbol of the environmental destruction sanctioned by
multi-national corporations and international trade agreements. Whether
it was making dolphin costumes, fighting for indigenous rights, or working
to protect whales during International Whaling Commission meetings, Ben
continued a quiet but resolute heroism that shows how powerful and
important activism is. The tradition must and will continue.
Ben's life was that of a powerful warrior, a character rarely seen
among human beings today. How very few are willing to take these kinds of
risks for the things that need defending, for the wrongs that need to be
made "right." In Ben's case one can honestly say that the world
is a better place for his being here. This great man and heroic activist
will not be forgotten.
WE STAND IN MEMORY OF BEN WHITE TODAY.
New York Whale and Dolphin Action League's
PUBLIC AWARENESS PROJECT
Poster Series
Sponsored by New York State Assemblyman Michael J. Spano,
the New York State Assembly, New York State Governor George E. Pataki,
the Empire State Development Corporation,
and Cetacean Society International (csiwhalesalive.org).
(Click to download the poster. Requires the free
Adobe Reader
or equivalent.)
We are happy to announce the successful launch of the Public Awareness
Project Poster Series with the distribution of our first in a series, the
NO BALLOONS CAMPAIGN.
Printed on tough 100 lb. stock, the 16" x 22" NO BALLOONS
CAMPAIGN poster is already making a big splash! Volunteers are
distributing the poster in the New York metropolitan area, Connecticut,
New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
This poster is available to anyone free of charge with a $6.00 donation for packaging
and postage. We can ship up to 3 in a package. (For larger amounts please contact us at
ny4whales@optonline.net.)
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League thanks our New York State
Assemblyman Michael J. Spano, the New York State Assembly, New York State
Governor George E. Pataki, the Empire State Development Corporation and
Cetacean Society International for making this project possible.
PLEASE JOIN OUR
NO BALLOONS CAMPAIGN
A "Public Awareness Project"? Why?
Simply put, we are setting out to help inform the public in general of
the consequences of seemingly harmless actions in our environment.
Case in point: BALLOONS.
For example, did you know that Mylar foil balloons will float for about
10 days, but will never degrade in the environment? Or that latex balloons
may take a year to degrade and that their ribbons and string are also
often not biodegradable? Did you know that balloon fragments, like plastic
bags and wrappers, look like jellyfish or floating plants and are quickly
gobbled up by ever-hungry sea birds, turtles, even fish? Did you know that
as a baleen whale scoops up thousands of gallons of water to sieve through
for its meal, its baleen traps plankton and fish along with cigarette
butts, balloon fragments, plastic floating toys, straws, food wrappers and
more. A whale can't pick the trash out from the fish meal it has just
sifted from the water. Everything is swallowed! One baby sperm whale died
of starvation after it swallowed a Mylar balloon that lodged in its
intestines.
Whales, dolphins, and marine life are facing many challenges to their
survival today. Illegal whaling and hunting continues while commercial
fishing bycatch kills hundreds of thousands of dolphins each year. The
oceans are riddled with over 150 pollutant and runoff-laden "dead
zones," oxygen-depleted areas that are devoid of fish and getting
bigger each year, some as large as the state of New Jersey. Many
commercial fisheries have already collapsed, and a 90% decline in many
Pacific Ocean fish stocks is now being reported. Human generated noise in
the oceans from enormous vessels, speeding watercraft, air-gun arrays for
seismic and oil exploration, and even powerful sonar is being blamed for
mass strandings of marine mammals, ship strikes and disorientation. Global
warming and pollution is upsetting normal cycles for the release of krill
and the reproduction of other planktonic food chain organisms and changing
the very chemistry of our oceans.
Many of us feel helpless in the face of these overwhelming problems,
and think, "There's nothing I can do to help!" But the helping
often begins by realizing that seemingly little things we can do
will make a difference. Simply not releasing balloons into the
atmosphere; simply not tossing cigarette butts overboard, or crushing them
onto streets, grasses, or sandy beaches where they are carried by the
rains into our streams, lakes and oceans; simply placing food wrappers and
other trash out of wildlife harm's way and in the proper recycling
receptacles: all these will go a long way to protecting our dwindling
wildlife. There's an old saying that goes, "Wildlife are hungry:
NEVER throw anything outdoors into the environment that you wouldn't eat
yourself!" I like that advice!
Please consider helping us share this important information with the
public and displaying a NO BALLOONS CAMPAIGN poster. You can help us
further by becoming a member of Cetacean Society
International, one of the world's most quietly prestigious
environmental organizations, with personnel in over 30 countries! Their
constant attention and cetacean support have made possible much advocacy
for whales, invaluable research and protective legislation by marine
researchers and activists all over the globe. CSI
(csiwhalesalive.org)
is an all-volunteer, no-frills, no-nonsense organization whose personnel
are working overtime to prevent what many fear is the inevitable
extinction of many large and small whale, dolphin and porpoise species.
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is proud
to be a project of Cetacean Society International. Stay
tuned to this website to learn more about upcoming posters in this series
and check out our current and past advocacy actions from our post in the
New York metropolitan area.
And as always, let our animosities and apathy toward simple acts of
environmental protection be cast to the wind as we work together to
respond to the increasingly critical needs of our outdoor land and
seascape. Simple acts bring simple rewards, but simple responses like
these are having huge effects! Thank you for your support.
Taffy Williams
Director
HELP WANTED: A few good hands needed to help
distribute posters in your area! Please contact us at
ny4whales@optonline.net for
more information.
New York State Laws Concerning Balloons
(in Adobe Reader format)
Letter to Palestine Government and Media Regarding the Release of 21,915 Balloons
DISNEY WORLD - OUR LATEST "NO BALLOONS" OFFENDER
Sent via http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/contact/
March 2, 2009
I have a complaint about the commercial for Walt Disney World I just viewed.
Hundreds of balloons in the shape of Mickey Mouse (head) pop out of nowhere.
Some become fireworks, and more float around, hovering above Disney World
buildings and logos.
Why complain about releasing balloons into the environment, whether they are
computer generated or not?
Releasing balloons into the air is littering. Ultimately balloons burst and
return to the earth as litter or marine debris. Almost all balloons released
are tied with ribbons and string which entangle, strangle and kill marine
life. Latex balloons float for just about 10 hours but can take a year or more
to degrade, long enough to repeatedly wrap around or be ingested by turtles,
sea birds and marine mammals. An infant sperm whale was found dead of
starvation in New Jersey as a result of swallowing an inflated Mylar balloon
which had lodged in its intestines. There is a greater than 70% chance that
airborne balloons or their fragments will end up in the oceans and harm marine
life. Scientists who work with stranded whales, dolphins, seals and sea
turtles have found balloons, parts of balloons and balloon string in the
stomachs of many of these dead animals. In 2003, volunteers collected 4,228
Mylar and latex balloons just from New Jersey beaches.
Releasing balloons into the environment is illegal in many municipalities and
even states. The illegality includes promoting the release of balloons into
the environment. This Disney commercial unfortunately promotes the release of
balloons into the environment.
There is nothing wrong with having fun at Disney World. I have personally
enjoyed my visits there, too! I would urge Disney management to consider a new
campaign to help educate the public on the hazards of balloon releases to
marine life. What wonderful role models for the environment Disney's popular,
playful characters might be to our children and their parents, when bringing
this information to them.
I urge Disney to rework this commercial without the flying balloons and take a
leadership role in environmental protection, from within its own industry. I
am sure Walt Disney, if he were here today, would agree that the power of his
entertainment industry should ultimately be used for the betterment of our
earth and all its creatures, and to help educate the public on our critical
roles in participating in its protection.
I would offer here to assist Disney in creating programs and attractions that
would help educate the public on the problems of balloons and other marine
debris, and the perils facing our oceans' inhabitants today.
Sincerely
Taffy Lee Williams, Director
New York Whale and Dolphin Action League (www.ny4whales.org)
Member, Board of Directors, Cetacean Society International
Contact us at ny4whales@optonline.net for a complete list of our worst "NO BALLOONS" offenders.
|
About Us
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, a project of Cetacean
Society International, is an environmental advocacy group dedicated to the preservation
of marine life, and especially cetaceans, or whales and dolphins.
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is actively seeking legislation on
various issues that will work toward the preservation of our oceans, coastal regions,
waterways, and its invaluable marine life. Only by protecting our marine environment can
we ensure the survival of the millions of species that dwell therein.
While based in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area, our efforts are far-reaching,
often global in focus. Our crusades pit us against the exploitation of cetaceans in
aquarium facilities, Japanese drive fisheries and whaling. We are participating in the
legal battle against the use of high-intensity military sonar by the US Navy and working
to educate the public on the tragedies of acoustic pollution in the sea.
Understanding the inadequacies in laws protecting marine life in New York state,
through our efforts, a bill was introduced in the NYS Assembly that would "establish
the marine life protection task force within the Department of Environmental Conservation
to determine the laws, rules and regulations providing protection to marine life in the
marine and coastal district and assess the effectiveness thereof." The Bill, A04124,
sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Englebright, would require the inventory and mapping of
various species of marine life at the sites within the marine and coastal district, to
determine whether such species need further protection. "The task force will propose
a marine life protection plan and a timetable for the implementation thereof to the
commissioner of environmental conservation, governor and legislative leaders to assure
adequate protection of marine life in the state. The plan is to include proposed
legislation. The task force will study the feasibility of municipal regulation of marine
life reserves." (From the legislative summary.)
We are actively engaged in a battle to prohibit the use of personal watercraft
("jetskis") in the Gateway National Recreation Area. Through our efforts, a
bill will be introduced by Assemblyman Mike Spano that would require environmental
education in all schools by the New York Board of Regents. We are working on creating
legislation that includes banning vehicular traffic on beaches (the nesting grounds for
endangered sea turtles and shorebirds), prohibit the outdoor disposal of cigarette butts,
and banning genetically modified fish farms in New York state. We are also promoting the
release of Lolita, the captive orca languishing in a leaking, sub-standard-sized,
chlorinated pool at the Miami Seaquarium. Lolita's return to her family pod in Puget
Sound would help bolster chances of her endangered pod's survival.
Issues involving the oceans and marine mammals, along with actions that can be taken
to help, are posted daily to our Internet group (ny4whales@yahoogroups.com). Discussion
topics focus on the US Navy/NATO's use of Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS), acoustic
pollution, whaling, captivity, pollution, overfishing, and habitat degradation. Becoming
informed and involved in these issues is essential to bringing about positive change and
preservation for our marine life. To learn more, please send an email to ny4whales-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, or
contact us at 914-793-9186.
Index
News Items
On Wednesday, July 20, 2005, the New York Whale and Dolphin
Action League, Taffy Williams, Director, appeared as the special
guest on the cable program "Pet Peeves," a
production of the Animal Defenders of Westchester
(http://www.adow.org/),
hosted by Kiley Blackman. The discussion centered on the captivity of
cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and especially the Japanese
"drive fisheries," where hundreds of dolphins at a time are
"driven" onto the beaches in order for aquarium operators to
choose the youngest, most beautiful, unblemished "specimens" for
the display and swim-with industry. The remaining dolphins or false killer
whales are more often than not slaughtered for meat, despite exceedingly
high levels of pollutants and mercury in their bodies.
Check your local cable guide for times. If Pet Peeves
does not run in your area send your request to
http://www.adow.org/ and
you can be a "sponsor!" It doesn't cost anything, and you'll be
helping to speak for those who can't speak for themselves.
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is organizing this year's
International Day of Protest against the JAPANESE
DRIVE FISHERIES, which features the slaughter of hundreds,
sometimes thousands, of dolphins each year, sponsored by the aquarium
industry. The event is shaping up with European, Asian and American cities
gearing up for this public show of outrage for the Japanese lack of ethics
and complicity with the DOLPHIN-AQUARIUM SLAVE TRADE.
New York will show its force with a contingency from the metropolitan
area. The event is scheduled for October 8, 2005. Stay tuned for more
information.
Don't forget our annual speak-out against our most local cetacean
prison: the NEW YORK AQUARIUM, where three oppressed
white Arctic beluga whales have been hurled into an endless monotonous
journey swimming around in circles in their tiny tanks to
"entertain" the crowds. When will this cetacean nightmare end
and these whales given the dignity of freedom that they deserve? Join us
for our Labor Day gathering and protest at the Coney
Island prison site. Stay tuned for times and places.
Military Sonar
Click for a larger image (print in landscape mode):
Current Dolphin and Whale Issues
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is looking for
information, pictures, video or eye-witness accounts concerning the
dolphins transported for the "tourist season" to both Six
Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, and the amusement center
at Hershey Park, Pennsylvania. Please contact us
immediately at 914-793-9186.
Captivity
LOLITA: An Orca That Has Captured Many Hearts
Petition to Free Lolita
Please print, copy and distribute.
Letter to Free Lolita
A sample of a letter to the Mayor of Miami-Dade County urging the return of the orca to her
family in Puget Sound.
What's Wrong With Captivity? Everything.
Close to home, the dolphins and sea lions at Six Flags Great
Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, are enduring deplorable
conditions in the midst of roller coasters, thrill rides and screaming
children. Print out the petition below, circulate and return to
ny4whales (snail mail). These will go to regulatory agencies and local
officials to hopefully have these permanently removed from the park.
BOYCOTT SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE!
DOLPHIN ASSISTED THERAPY (Swim With The Dolphins): A Dangerous SCAM
Please read and circulate the petition to close U.S. owned and
operated Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) facilities, one of the biggest
scams of our time. Alternative-medicine seekers are mortgaging homes,
paying thousands of (non-refundable) dollars in hopes of the
miracle-cure that will never occur: studies have shown that DAT has no
measurable or lasting effect and is no more therapeutic than taking a
warm bath. The number of serious injuries caused by dolphin aggression,
vastly under-reported by the industry, and the rash of litigation from
broken bones, cuts and lacerations prove once again that dolphins in
confined spaces forced into unnatural behaviors become aggressive and
even violent toward humans. What's more, the USDA, through APHIS (Animal
Plant Health Inspection Service), suspended all regulations governing
DAT's in 1999 for review; four years later DAT's are still operating
with NO REGULATION OR ENFORCEMENT OF ANIMAL WELFARE OR HUMAN-DOLPHIN
INTERACTION PROTECTION. These facilities must be shut down immediately.
This obscenely lucrative industry is sweeping the "new age"
and holistic community, and luring the desperately ill into one of the
most well-kept secret "snake oil" scams of the
animal-trafficking industry. The petition will be sent to the US
Department of Commerce, NMFS, USDA, APHIS, state and federal officials,
members of the SENATE and HOUSE Environment and Public Works Committees,
the SENATE and HOUSE Health Education Labor and Pension Committees,
SENATE and HOUSE Commerce and Science committees, and the US Department
of Commerce.
BOYCOTT DOLPHIN ASSISTED THERAPY AND SWIM-WITH THE DOLPHIN PROGRAMS
DEMAND THEIR IMMEDIATE CLOSURE
For more information about DAT visit
http://members.tripod.com/tiggerdolphin/DAT.html
Other Environmental Issues
Trashing Our Oceans
The debris of human civilization: everything from untreated sewage,
trash, cigarette butts, commercial fishing debris, plastic bags and
packaging materials. All these and more routinely make their grave in the
oceans. Industrial pollutants laden with mercury carried from afar,
chemicals and agricultural run-off, even fertilizers and lawn products
add to the blight on our waters. At last count there are 150 oceanic dead
zones, black, grimy lifeless regions barren of their earlier bounty.
Cruise ships dump millions of gallons of untreated waste directly in the
waters they travel. Oil rig accidents, spills during transport, even
military and commercial vessels add their refuse to humanity's garbage
heap in the sea.
Of all these oceanic assaults, personal litter is perhaps the most
easily "manageable;" that is, major legal battles and protest
campaigns are not necessary to encourage people to simply dispose of their
trash properly. If everyone did their part, our oceans would be that much
more habitable for those that call it "home."
It is well known that trash and debris can kill marine life. Plastic
bags or balloons floating on the water resemble jellyfish, squid, and
other plankton. Marine organisms living in their often fierce environment
and are on a constant quest for nourishment to survive. To a hungry sea
turtle, a cigarette butt becomes a deadly snack that within minutes may
block its intestinal tract thereby initiating a slow death by starvation.
90% of the shore birds treated by one Sarasota, Florida, rescue center
have discarded nylon fishing line wrapped around their beaks, wings or
feet. A British study found that 96% of one seabird species, fulmars, had
ingested plastic scraps. 100% of the 300 albatross chicks examined 1600
kilometers (994 miles) from land in the northern Pacific had swallowed
plastics, balloon fragments, bottle caps, even plastic toys. Roughly a
million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles become entangled in
deadly traps of floating rubbish each year.
Trash Also Kills Whales and Dolphins!
In April 2004, a rare Cuvier's beaked whale was found on a Scottish
beach with its stomach filled with polythene bags. In 1985, a young sperm
whale died of starvation after swallowing a Mylar balloon that blocked its
intestines. The stomach contents of a dolphin that washed up on the shores
of Normandy in 2002 included 7 transparent plastic bags, 2 supermarket
plastic bags, and other aluminum and plastic food product packaging
materials. The whale had 800 grams (over a pound and a half) of plastic
bags and packaging materials in its stomach. Larger baleen whales scoop
hundreds of gallons of water into their mouths at a time; as they strain
the fish from the water, debris, plastics, balloons, and much more are
swallowed as well: a whale cannot pick the trash out from the plankton
meal in its mouth.
Thick ropes, nets or cages broken off and discarded from the commercial
fishing industry, often with buoys attached, linger on the surface forming
deadly traps for sea turtles, seals, whales and dolphins
(see The Fate Of Kingfisher).
Floating marine debris lingers, sometimes for years, only to needlessly
destroy marine life, sometimes over and over again until the materials are
removed from the environment.
You don't need to live on the beach or join a whale-rescue team to help
whales. Taking simple steps wherever you are can help put an end to the
senseless tragedies caused by trash in our waters. Organize a cleanup of
your local river, beach or lakefront region with your nearby junior high
or high school. Start a clean-up project in your area, even a contest for
the most cigarette butts, styrofoam packing "peanuts," or
plastic bags collected. Encourage your municipality, school or household,
anywhere in the world, to take the
"NO BALLOONS PLEDGE."
Now more than ever, we must strive to achieve in every citizen of the
world a sense of pride in protecting and caring for our environment, for
the future of all species, including the human race, depends on it.
Working together with the same goals, whether we live in Kansas or
Argentina, every one of us can be good stewards of our environment, giving
something in return for all the earth has provided for us.
Drama On The High Seas
The Fate of KINGFISHER, an Endangered Right Whale
On March 17, 2004, one of just over 300 critically endangered Northern
Right Whales was found entangled by roughly 100 pounds of fishing lines
and discarded buoys in the waters south of St. Augustine, Florida. Due to
the rough seas, rescuers were unable to free the young whale, named
Kingfisher, from the heavy ropes wound tightly around his body and
flippers, but did manage to attach a tracking device for future rescue
attempts.
By April 3, 2004, Kingfisher had traveled north, with ropes and buoys
in tow, as far as Cape May, New Jersey, when his telemetry device was
accidentally removed during an encounter with a commercial fishing vessel.
At that point, the whale had traveled almost 850 miles despite his
life-threatening entanglement!
The prognosis for Kingfisher's survival is not good. Deep wounds from
the thick and tightly bound ropes may have already caused infection, and
without his telemetry device, the whale must be resighted before any
further rescue attempts can be made.
Freeing this young whale, a future-breeding male, from the ropes that
trap him, might go a long way in preventing the feared loss of this
species. Read more about Kingfisher's high-stakes plight as reported by
those trying to rescue him,
The Center for Coastal Studies,
operating from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Diagram Courtesy Scott Landry, Center for Coastal Studies
Personal Watercraft
Press Releases
- November 1, 2003 - November 4th, 2003 protest of Japan's drive fishery
- December 2, 2003 - December 10, 2003 protest of Japan's drive fishery
- February 4, 2004 - February 10, 2004 presentation on Mundo Azul of Peru
- April 1, 2004 - April 21, 2004 Earth Day Festival
- September 1, 2004 - Labor Day Protest-NY Aquarium
- September 6, 2004 - Report On The Labor Day Protest
- September 1, 2005 - September 5, 2005 New York Aquarium Protest
- September 12, 2005 - September 21, 2005 "An Evening with Eddie Lama"
Archive of Events
Earth Day 2005 at Westchester Community College
Art Inspired By Whales: International Artist Gulay Alpay
Whales and the Quest for Survival in the 21st Century, Pace University, April 24, 2006
Earth Day 2006
2006 IWC Protest Event, NYC
Festival and Swim to Save Dolphins, September 17, 2006
Dolphins: Just What Are They Thinking? Pace University, November 8, 2006
Earth Day 2007: Mass To Save The Earth
August 9, 2009: The Cove at Angelika Theater
April 12, 2010: The Cove at PACE
April 23, 2010: NY4WHALES Welcomes Sea Shepherd To NYC
April 28, 2010: Rally to Save Whales
May 15-16, 2010: Save Lolita Events 2010
Archives
- September 1, 2009: Protesters Line Street at Japanese Consulate in NYC
- September 4, 2008: Japan Dolphin Day 2008
- Swim To Save Dolphins 2008 Cancelled
- Sonar Alert
- Tell The US Delegation to the IWC: No Compromises On Whaling!
- April 11, 2008: ORCAS AT RISK: Robson Bight Diesel Truck Accident
- December 10, 2007: Letter to Georgia Aquarium CEO Jeff Flanagan
- November 28, 2007: Whales and the Quest For Survival In The 21st Century
- September 28, 2007: Japan Dolphin Day 2007
- September 3, 2007: Swim To Save Dolphins 2007
- September 18, 2006: Swim To Save Dolphins 2006
- August 17, 2006: Japan Dolphin Day 2006
- October 8, 2005 International Day of Protest Against the Japanese Drive Fisheries
Resources
The New York Whale And Dolphin Action League supports the work of many
outstanding environmental organizations around the world. Please support
these organizations and their noble efforts to protect marine life, the
ocean environment and cetaceans in particular. Here are some of the groups
we support.
Cetacean Society
International
CSI, the parent organization for the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, is one of
the plaintiffs in a landmark lawsuit filed in August 2002 against the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), to challenge their decision to authorize, and the US Navy's
decision to deploy, the LFA sonar system. Please visit http://csiwhalesalive.org/ for
information from CSI on whale populations worldwide.
Please support our work! Joining CSI directly helps the
New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, and many other CSI projects with
our important mission. Membership entitles you to receive CSI's quarterly
newsletter as well.
Natural Resources Defense
Council
The NRDC, http://www.nrdc.org/, is
litigating against the US Navy for its use of high intensity military sonar which has
been linked to several mass strandings of whales and dolphins. Studies have shown that
high intensity military sonar can deafen cetaceans, destroy the hearing of fish and
injure human divers while flooding entire ocean basins with sounds louder than the SST at
takeoff.
Earth Island
Institute
Earth Island Institute, http://www.earthisland.org/, is working on many marine issues, including LFA
Sonar, captivity and drive fisheries. Earth Island's Marine Mammal Project is
critical to environmentalists working on global cetacean issues.
Blue
Voice
Please visit http://www.bluevoice.org/ to learn about efforts to halt the Japanese drive
fisheries that slaughter hundreds of whales and dolphins at a time, some of which are
culled to sell to aquarium. The BlueVoice video team have repeatedly risked their lives
on the ground in Futo and Taiji documenting dolphin-slaughter atrocities. Their work has
led to regulations restricting the hunt.
The research and efforts of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, http://www.wdcs.org/, have resulted in
numerous scientific reports on cetacean issues, including the graphic anti-captivity
report, "Biting the Hand That Feeds."
The Humane Society of the
United States, http://www.hsus.org/, is actively working on cetacean captivity issues as
well as military sonar while promoting the well-being of non-human species.
The Animal Welfare
Institute, at http://www.awi.org/, has staff dedicated to protecting cetaceans and marine
life, focusing especially on anti-whaling and military sonar issues. Its personnel have
on numerous occasions risked personal safety to protect cetaceans.
For more information and archived files on the important struggle against
military sonar and acoustic pollution please visit
http://www.stoplfas.com/.
Read about and support the efforts to free the oldest surviving whale in captivity in
the "Lolita Come Home Project" at http://www.orcahome.de/lolita.htm. Dedicated to the survival of killer
whales the Orca Conservancy, at http://www.orcaconservancy.org/,
and the Orca Network, at http://www.orcanetwork.org/, offer a wealth of information while working for
the preservation of orca populations.
Greenpeace is at the forefront condemning illegal
"scientific" whaling by Japan and Norway, and is helping to expose the tragic
consequences of global warming on the marine environment. Visit http://www.greenpeace.org/ to learn more
about their environmental campaigns and take action.
Read about work done tracking and documenting the famous Puget Sound orca pods while
looking for environmental degradation as well as the groundbreaking and phenomenal work
in deciphering the "language code" of killer whales from the Center For
Whale Research at http://www.whaleresearch.com/.
The Manhattan Island Foundation
(http://www.swimnyc.org/) is
helping to revive a local aquatic tradition by organizing swim events
around Manhattan, and raise public awareness of the region's waterways by
supporting efforts to clean and protect them.
GET INVOLVED!
SAVING THE PLANET BEGINS WITH SAVING THE OCEANS!
70% of our planet is ocean. Most of these web sites have ACTION pages where prewritten
letters supporting marine life protection may be sent to legislators, corporate
management and other appropriate recipients. Using their sites guarantees that your voice
will be counted, as a record will be generated. Please visit these sites
today!
August 28, 2003: Humpback whale breaching repeatedly near Stellwagen Bank in the North Atlantic.
Humpbacks are the world's fifth largest whale, reaching up to 45 ft (13.7 m) in length and 25-30 tons (tonnes).
An unusual sight also seen on August 28,
2003: the floating skeleton of a dead humpback whale. The carcass
was later identified as one of the 17 whales found during the early days
of August off Georges Bank and the Scotian Shelf in the western North
Atlantic.
Whales face numerous risks in the open ocean, including
direct "ship strikes," especially in busy shipping lanes,
entanglement in discarded fishing gear or debris, injury or death from
seismic testing (during oil and gas exploration and drilling), and
acoustic damage/death from powerful military sonar. Multiple whale death
tragedies are sometimes linked to toxins but in this case testing revealed
no evidence of "red tide" or domoic acid. Because of the extent
of carcass decomposition the actual cause of death remains
inconclusive.
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League needs your
help! If you can help support our outreach, investigative and
legislative efforts and our various education projects, please contact us
at 914-793-9186. Tax-deductible donations should be made to Cetacean
Society International earmarked for the New York Whale and Dolphin Action
League. Numerous volunteer opportunities are also available. Call or email
us for more information!
The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League
PO Box 273, Yonkers, NY 10707 USA
Office Phone: 914-395-0017; 914-793-9186
Cell Phone: 407-404-2046
Email: ny4whales@optonline.net
To subscribe send an email to ny4whales-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
A Project of Cetacean Society International
URL for this page: http://ny4whales.org/
