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Post subject: Whale-sighting reports provide hope for gear-entangled anima
 Posted: Oct 05, 2006 - 04:06 PM
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Puffer
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 73
Status: Offline
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Whale-sighting reports provide hope for gear-entangled animal
By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, (Published: October 4, 2006)
The Press of Atlantic City - pressofatlanticcity.com
WILDWOOD CREST - The death of one endangered humpback whale off the New Jersey coast may lead to life for another.
It's too early to tell if that's how it will play out, but every effort is being made for a better outcome after the death of a 35-foot male humpback whale that washed ashore on a beach next to Wisteria Road last week.
Marine experts believe the first whale may have died after it was hit by a sport-fishing boat, The Chief, which was on a tuna-fishing trip. The Chief sank off the coast of Cape May on Sept. 23 within minutes after the crew reported hitting a large black
object.
Last Wednesday, the day before the whale washed ashore, Thomas Swider was fishing for tuna aboard his boat Salty Susan. Swider, who lives at the Canyon Club on Cape May Harbor, said he was about 41 miles off shore just before noon when he spotted a 40-foot humpback entangled in some fishing gear.
'The whale had a huge yellow gash on its back neck and we also noticed some netting tangled around it. It was jumping around frantically,' Swider said.
The crew took pictures and video of the whale, but the story might have ended there if not for the efforts of Bob Schoelkopf, of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine. Spurred by the death of the first whale, Schoelkopf put out a call to mariners to report any whales they see as a way to try to prevent collisions with vessels. Schoelkopf said such data also could supply key information on the migratory routes humpbacks take to wintering grounds off the Dominican Republic. Schoelkopf said this data could be important for several issues, including decisions on whether to allow wind farms off the New Jersey coast.
Schoelkopf didn't know at the time that it would become immediately useful.
Swider saw a story in The Press of Atlantic City about sending in whale sightings and e-mailed pictures of the whale he saw to Schoelkopf. He even sent the coordinates of where he saw it. Schoelkopf immediately contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Schoelkopf is involved with the NOAA Fisheries program that helps whales tangled up in fishing gear.
'This could be critical. If it gets past the States and to the Dominican Republic, there's nobody there to help it. We hope to get to it with a small boat and cut (the gear) off,' Schoelkopf said.
Jamison Smith, NOAA's large whale disentanglement coordinator, is already on the case. Using Swider's pictures, he contacted three organizations that have a database of humpback whales. Markings, such as those on the underside of the fluke or old scars, could identify the individual whale. This work is under way.
Smith is now waiting for another sighting to decide which of five levels of response to activate. A Level 3 response, where somebody goes out immediately to radio-tag the whale, probably would be the first move. Smith said that buys time to formulate a game plan for an operation that is dangerous to both the whale and the rescuers.
The next step would be a Level 4 response, which would be to send a crew to disentangle it. The only thing higher is Level 5 and that is only for the highly endangered right whale
'We have the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network. We have trained responders to quickly respond to entangled whales,' Smith said.
If the gear, which Schoelkopf believes could be from a lobster operation, is not life-threatening, then the cetacean may just be tagged and tracked. Schoelkopf has studied the pictures and is worried it is life-threatening.
'This could be life or death to the animal. The faster we know the better. The photos show it's imbedded in the skin already so it's been going on for some time,' Schoelkopf said.
Smith said the humpback is endangered and is protected by both the federal Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The whale is also on the state of New Jersey's endangered species list.
For the story to have a happy ending somebody has to see and report the whale, and it may have already migrated out of New Jersey waters.
'Anybody who sees it, report it,' Schoelkopf said.
That way, the death of one whale could lead to life for another. |
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