Ship Slices Another Endangered Whale

www.livescience.com ^ | 03 January 2007 | LiveScience Staff

[Vote 4 Nixon]

A rare North Atlantic right whale was lacerated multiple times and killed by a ship off the Georgia coast last week, causing scientists to again sound the alarm on these endangered creatures.

Fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales exist. In 2006, six were found dead, four of which had been killed by ships and one of which became entangled in fishing gear. The whales spend summers in the north and migrate down the East Coast in late fall to calving grounds off the coast of Georgia and Florida.

On Dec. 30, researchers spotted the latest dead whale about 10 miles east of Brunswick, Georgia, and towed it to shore [image]. It was a juvenile, more than 40 feet long.

The beast had 20 large propeller cuts along the right side of its head going down its back, researchers said this week [image]. Michael Moore of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution performed a necropsy on the whale and determined it died of the "massive, deep lacerations."

According to a statement released by the New England Aquarium, "scientific studies have shown that the precarious population cannot withstand this level of human-caused mortality."

The National Marine Fisheries Service has tried to develop rules to protect the whales, including reducing ship speeds on a seasonal basis in areas frequented by right whales and rerouting shipping lanes around primary feeding grounds. Bureaucracy has prevented progress.

"The process has been impeded because of internal conflict between federal agencies about whether and how to implement such rules, and strong opposition from affected industries who are resisting the need to change business-as-usual to protect this beleaguered species," said Amy Knowlton, who studies right whales at the New England Aquarium.

Pacific right whales, similarly at risk, were awarded protective rules last year.

[Vote 4 Nixon]

Oceanic hit and run.

[Vaduz]

Not whale just a big ass tuna.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

BAN SHIPS..

[Zenith]

FREE SUSHI !

[isthisnickcool]

Spokesman: How many times has this happened to you? You have a whale, and you're trying to find an exciting new way to prepare it for the dinner table. You could scale the whale, remove the whale' tail, head and bones, and serve the fish as you would any other fish dinner. But why bother, now that you can use Rovco's amazing new kitchen tool, the Super whale-o-Matic '76.

Yes, fish-eaters, the days of troublesome scaling, cutting and gutting are over, because Super whale-o-Matic '76 is the tool that lets you use the whale with no fish waste, and without scaling, cutting or gutting.

Here's how it works: Catch a whale, remove the hook, and drop the whale - that's the whole whale - into the Super whale-o-Matic '76. [drops the whale into the blender ] Now, adjust the control dial so that the whale is blended just the way you like it. [turns blender on and grinds it to a pulp ] Yes, it's that simple!

[drinks a glassful of whale ] Wow, that's terrific whale

[Nathan Zachary]

I think that's the general idea.

Don't be suprized if you see the envirowienies proposing cross walks for wales, and stop signs for ships, propeller guards, horns, beeps and such.

[Bones75]

NOt to sound like a greenie weenie or anything, but these whales are pretty rare and we should try to avoid killing them if at all possible, though I'm sure this was an accident. If these things go extinct, we won't get them back.

[thackney]

Right Whale ping

[Allegra]

LOLOLOL

[reagan_fanatic]

This will have the enviromentalist wacko movement blubbering.

[subterfuge]

Obviously this one rogue ship is a serial slicer. How many whales has this particular ship sliced? The headline says is "Sliced Another Whale".

We'll probably end up with a few new laws to protect the whales only to see other countries just shoot them and fry up some whale steaks.

[pgkdan]

NOt to sound like a greenie weenie or anything, but these whales are pretty rare and we should try to avoid killing them if at all possible, though I'm sure this was an accident. If these things go extinct, we won't get them back.

99.9999% of all species that have ever lived on Earth are now extinct. That's the way it goes. There's nothing (besides the moronic endangered species act) that says that every species alive today must be kept viable. Nature doesn't work that way. Creatures that are too dumb to avoid crashing into ocean going vessels are probably doomed to extinction no matter what.

[Slicksadick]

Best whale video, ever....
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4126934954744847447

[Beagle8U]

" If these things go extinct, we won't get them back."

And what do they do that any other whale can't do? Sure they are rare, but to we collect and trade them like diamonds or baseball cards?

I don't know what they add to the party?

[Beagle8U]

** DO we...

[xjcsa]

Fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales exist.

Sounds pretty confident; how do they know?

[untrained skeptic]

They want to reroute shipping lanes and impose speed limits in the open ocean because 4 whales collided with ships and died as a result last year?

They want to drive up shipping costs and transport times because a small number of whales apparently can't figure out that they need to get out of the way of huge ships which they can obviously hear coming from long distances away?

Maybe these environmentalists can come up with some kind of device that emits a warning signal that can be heard by the whales and drives them away from the ships. If the devices can be produced inexpensively, shipping companies may be willing to install them on their larger ships, or whatever ships are the greatest threat to the whales.

However, creating speed limits and large areas that ships can't enter is insane.

[Salamander]

Right whales are very meticulous about filling out and returning US census forms.

[packrat35]

Whale - its whats for dinner!

[KenmcG414]

Don't be surprised if they hunt down the ship's captain and try him for homicide.