Posted on 10/07/2005 6:49:06 AM PDT by thackney
Alaska's commercial fishing fleet is joining an effort to save the world's most endangered whales.
Until recently, it was believed that the North Pacific right whale was headed toward certain extinction, but more animals than expected were found last summer in the Bering Sea, lending hope that they can be saved.
Even so, there are likely fewer than 100 North Pacific right whales.
The animals share the Bering Sea with the largest commercial fishery in the United States.
Now the Marine Conservation Alliance -- a coalition of commercial fishermen, seafood processors and coastal communities -- is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make mariners more aware of the vulnerable whales. They've come up with a two-page laminated guide suitable for posting on a boat's bridge.
"The population of right whales in the eastern North Pacific is so critical that anything we can do to promote the recovery of this population is urgently needed," said Doug DeMaster, head of NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
The initiative was announced this week at the meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage.
Five thousand North Pacific Right Whale Guides will be printed next week and delivered to at least 2,000 boats in the Alaska fishing fleet. Copies will be translated into Russian and perhaps Japanese to provide information to those fishing fleets as well.
The guide describes the whales and includes charts of all sightings since 1941. Recently the whales have been seen at their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea and off Kodiak Island.
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
;-)
posted just for you
Left Whales, however, are fair game.........
Nuke the gay Left Whales for Christ!
I saw a pod of whales down at the wal*mart.
I bet they were foraging in the chip and dip aisle...........
Demon Walmart leviathan, from the depths of
sporting goods I prod thee with my cart.
Yarrrrrrr
ping...
Now that's funny
(removing cap, checking for big hole-in-head.)
Yep, that's a left whale matey. Hugh blow-hole.
The rightwhale is the right whale.
Wal*Mart may never have an official Bikini Team, but they own the Stretch Pants League.
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