Guest guest Posted June 15, 2001 Report Share Posted June 15, 2001 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Offshore Seismic Activities in the Beaufort Sea Story Filed: Thursday, June 14, 2001 1:32 PM EST Washington, DC, Jun 14, 2001 (FedNet via COMTEX) -- NMFS has received a request from WesternGeco, LLC (formerly Western Geophysical) for an authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment incidental to conducting ocean bottom cable (OBC) seismic surveys in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to authorize WesternGeco to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of bowhead whales and other marine mammals in the above mentioned area during the open water period of 2001. DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than July 16, 2001. AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic ACTION: ACTION: Notice of receipt of application and proposed authorization Copyright 2001 FedNet 2001, FedNet Government News, all rights reserved. =================================================== Japan to allow meat of incidentally netted whales to be sold Source: AAP|Published: Friday June 15, 10:03 AM http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/2001/06/15/FFXE54EUYNC.html TOKYO, June 15 AP - The Japanese government has decided to allow the meat of whales that get entangled in fixed shore nets to be sold on the market, a newspaper reported today. Though it authorises whale hunts for what it says are research purposes, Japan stopped commercial whaling more than a decade ago. A directive issued by the Japanese government in June 1990 requires whales incidentally caught in fixed shore nets to be freed if they are alive and buried or consumed locally if they are dead, the national Asahi newspaper reported. The Agriculture Ministry plans to lift that ban next month on the condition that the DNA of the whale meat is recorded for research purposes before it is sold on the market, the report said, without citing sources. Many whales snared in stationary nets in Japan now end up in restaurants anyway - because freeing them is a costly and time-consuming process, the Asahi said. Japan's Fisheries Agency receives 20 to 30 reports of " bycaught " whales every year but estimates the actual number of cases is more than 100, it said. According to the newspaper, the Japanese government hopes that legalising and regulating the sale of meat from whales incidentally trapped in the shore nets will be viewed by the international community as a sign of its determination to discourage whale poachers. Japan is allowed to catch a limited number of whales under a scientific research program sanctioned by the International Whaling Commission The Japanese government defends the program as a necessary means of monitoring whale migration, population and feeding habits. However, Australia, the United States, Britain and other nations, along with environmental groups, have protested that the hunts are merely a disguise for commercial whaling - which the the IWC banned in 1987. Japan's annual research kill is usually around 400 whales, but the number varies, and will be closer to 600 this year. ====================================================== http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/whale06142001.htm Officials planning first-of-its-kind rescue attempt on entangled whale Associated Press Thursday, June 14, 2001 BOSTON - Rescuers hoping to save an endangered right whale are planning an elaborate operation to sedate the whale - something that's never been tried - in hopes they can loosen fishing gear that's jammed in its mouth. If the rope isn't removed, the whale likely will die, said David Mattila, head of the disentanglement team at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, which is working to save the whale. ``If it could be sedated, we think we have a chance of helping it out,'' Mattila said Thursday. ''(But) there are a tremendous number of variables and unknowns.'' The 50-ton whale was spotted last Friday and now is about 75 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The whale likely became caught in synthetic rope that was floating upward between fishing gear on the ocean's bottom, Mattila said. The rope lassoed tightly around the whale rostrum, or upper jaw. If the rope can somehow be loosened by rescuers, it might eventually release naturally, giving the whale a chance, said Teri Frady, spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service. But rescuers can't get close enough to free the whale if isn't sedated, a procedure that's new ground for everyone involved, Frady said. ``No one has ever tried anything like this on a right whale anywhere,'' she said. The North Atlantic right whale population is down to about 300, and this one is male and reproductively active, justifying extraordinary and risky rescue efforts, said Joseph Geraci, a veterinarian and senior director of biological programs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. ``Even the slimmest chance makes it worthwhile because there are so few,'' he said. ``It's a last ditch attempt to save a species.'' Rescuers are facing a myriad of problems: how to restrain the whale once it's sedated; what drug to use; how much to use to avoid knocking out the whale, suffocating it; how and where to apply the sedative. Frady said the researchers may opt to use a three-pronged device fitted with a syringe, sneak up behind the whale, and ``tap'' it in an area thin with blubber so the sedative will go to the muscle, where it's needed. She said if the whale spots the rescuers' boat, its metabolism could be raised enough to neutralize the sedative. Mattila said the sedative could also be applied with a tranquilizer gun or crossbow device. Planners don't have the luxury of time. The whale, which is still moving and diving freely, looks to be headed out to sea. If it swims past 100 miles, it's out of range of the current rescue team, Mattila said. The rescue team won't be ready until Friday at the earliest, and may be delayed by remnants of the Tropical Storm Allison this weekend, Frady said. The rescue team will likely include about two dozen people, a Coast Guard vessel, a rescue boat with inflatable rafts, and a survey plane, Mattila said. Even if the rope is loosened or removed, the whale may be beyond saving. The whale's normally sheer black skin is covered with pale gray welts, with the head showing orange whale lice and raised yellow infection. ``What everybody needs to understand is that the most likely outcome is that there will be a dead whale,'' Mattila said. =================================================== Traffic stops to watch pilot whale in Penobscot http://www.bangornews.com/cgi-bin/article.cfm?storynumber=36230 WINTERPORT - At dusk Wednesday, scores of people from cars lining both sides of U.S. Route 1A just past the Hampden town line stopped to watch a pilot whale in Bald Hill Cove on the Penobscot River. Bangor Daily News assignment editor Tom McCord, who happened on the gathering on his way home from work, said the whale is believed to be the same one that has been frequenting Penobscot Bay off Cape Jellison in Stockton Springs for more than a week now. McCord said families were carrying video cameras and pointing excitedly as the whale's dorsal fin was sighted in the water only a few dozen feet from the highway. The sighting occurred, said McCord, where Cove Brook feeds into the Penobscot River, one of the eight waterways in Maine that federal authorities have singled out as spawning grounds for the wild Atlantic salmon. The 12-foot immature pilot whale, which has beached itself several times in the Cape Jellison area only to be rescued by members of Allied Whale out of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, has been in the area for almost two weeks. Scientists observing the whale believe it may be suffering from a neurological illness that causes it to be disoriented. Allied Whale has been taking a " wait-and-see approach.'' ========================================================= Gray whales with Winston http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Jungle/1953/index.html Save the Whales http://www.homestead.com/savethewhales/index.html _______________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com To change list options, or , go to http://www.topica.com. Or send e-mail to swk-, swk-. Visit our site: http://www.stopwhalekill.org .... Ask a friend today to join our list! ... ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE http://topica.com/u/?b1demT.b1jvh4 Or send an email swk- This email was sent to: tacitus T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ * SWK and List Info In Footer * ...... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Offshore Seismic Activities in the Beaufort Sea Story Filed: Thursday, June 14, 2001 1:32 PM EST Washington, DC, Jun 14, 2001 (FedNet via COMTEX) -- NMFS has received a request from WesternGeco, LLC (formerly Western Geophysical) for an authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment incidental to conducting ocean bottom cable (OBC) seismic surveys in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to authorize WesternGeco to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of bowhead whales and other marine mammals in the above mentioned area during the open water period of 2001. DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than July 16, 2001. AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic ACTION: ACTION: Notice of receipt of application and proposed authorization Copyright 2001 FedNet 2001, FedNet Government News, all rights reserved. =================================================== Japan to allow meat of incidentally netted whales to be sold Source: AAP|Published: Friday June 15, 10:03 AM http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/2001/06/15/FFXE54EUYNC.html TOKYO, June 15 AP - The Japanese government has decided to allow the meat of whales that get entangled in fixed shore nets to be sold on the market, a newspaper reported today. Though it authorises whale hunts for what it says are research purposes, Japan stopped commercial whaling more than a decade ago. A directive issued by the Japanese government in June 1990 requires whales incidentally caught in fixed shore nets to be freed if they are alive and buried or consumed locally if they are dead, the national Asahi newspaper reported. The Agriculture Ministry plans to lift that ban next month on the condition that the DNA of the whale meat is recorded for research purposes before it is sold on the market, the report said, without citing sources. Many whales snared in stationary nets in Japan now end up in restaurants anyway - because freeing them is a costly and time-consuming process, the Asahi said. Japan's Fisheries Agency receives 20 to 30 reports of " bycaught " whales every year but estimates the actual number of cases is more than 100, it said. According to the newspaper, the Japanese government hopes that legalising and regulating the sale of meat from whales incidentally trapped in the shore nets will be viewed by the international community as a sign of its determination to discourage whale poachers. Japan is allowed to catch a limited number of whales under a scientific research program sanctioned by the International Whaling Commission The Japanese government defends the program as a necessary means of monitoring whale migration, population and feeding habits. However, Australia, the United States, Britain and other nations, along with environmental groups, have protested that the hunts are merely a disguise for commercial whaling - which the the IWC banned in 1987. Japan's annual research kill is usually around 400 whales, but the number varies, and will be closer to 600 this year. ====================================================== http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/whale06142001.htm Officials planning first-of-its-kind rescue attempt on entangled whale Associated Press Thursday, June 14, 2001 BOSTON - Rescuers hoping to save an endangered right whale are planning an elaborate operation to sedate the whale - something that's never been tried - in hopes they can loosen fishing gear that's jammed in its mouth. If the rope isn't removed, the whale likely will die, said David Mattila, head of the disentanglement team at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, which is working to save the whale. ``If it could be sedated, we think we have a chance of helping it out,'' Mattila said Thursday. ''(But) there are a tremendous number of variables and unknowns.'' The 50-ton whale was spotted last Friday and now is about 75 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The whale likely became caught in synthetic rope that was floating upward between fishing gear on the ocean's bottom, Mattila said. The rope lassoed tightly around the whale rostrum, or upper jaw. If the rope can somehow be loosened by rescuers, it might eventually release naturally, giving the whale a chance, said Teri Frady, spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service. But rescuers can't get close enough to free the whale if isn't sedated, a procedure that's new ground for everyone involved, Frady said. ``No one has ever tried anything like this on a right whale anywhere,'' she said. The North Atlantic right whale population is down to about 300, and this one is male and reproductively active, justifying extraordinary and risky rescue efforts, said Joseph Geraci, a veterinarian and senior director of biological programs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. ``Even the slimmest chance makes it worthwhile because there are so few,'' he said. ``It's a last ditch attempt to save a species.'' Rescuers are facing a myriad of problems: how to restrain the whale once it's sedated; what drug to use; how much to use to avoid knocking out the whale, suffocating it; how and where to apply the sedative. Frady said the researchers may opt to use a three-pronged device fitted with a syringe, sneak up behind the whale, and ``tap'' it in an area thin with blubber so the sedative will go to the muscle, where it's needed. She said if the whale spots the rescuers' boat, its metabolism could be raised enough to neutralize the sedative. Mattila said the sedative could also be applied with a tranquilizer gun or crossbow device. Planners don't have the luxury of time. The whale, which is still moving and diving freely, looks to be headed out to sea. If it swims past 100 miles, it's out of range of the current rescue team, Mattila said. The rescue team won't be ready until Friday at the earliest, and may be delayed by remnants of the Tropical Storm Allison this weekend, Frady said. The rescue team will likely include about two dozen people, a Coast Guard vessel, a rescue boat with inflatable rafts, and a survey plane, Mattila said. Even if the rope is loosened or removed, the whale may be beyond saving. The whale's normally sheer black skin is covered with pale gray welts, with the head showing orange whale lice and raised yellow infection. ``What everybody needs to understand is that the most likely outcome is that there will be a dead whale,'' Mattila said. =================================================== Traffic stops to watch pilot whale in Penobscot http://www.bangornews.com/cgi-bin/article.cfm?storynumber=36230 WINTERPORT - At dusk Wednesday, scores of people from cars lining both sides of U.S. Route 1A just past the Hampden town line stopped to watch a pilot whale in Bald Hill Cove on the Penobscot River. Bangor Daily News assignment editor Tom McCord, who happened on the gathering on his way home from work, said the whale is believed to be the same one that has been frequenting Penobscot Bay off Cape Jellison in Stockton Springs for more than a week now. McCord said families were carrying video cameras and pointing excitedly as the whale's dorsal fin was sighted in the water only a few dozen feet from the highway. The sighting occurred, said McCord, where Cove Brook feeds into the Penobscot River, one of the eight waterways in Maine that federal authorities have singled out as spawning grounds for the wild Atlantic salmon. The 12-foot immature pilot whale, which has beached itself several times in the Cape Jellison area only to be rescued by members of Allied Whale out of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, has been in the area for almost two weeks. Scientists observing the whale believe it may be suffering from a neurological illness that causes it to be disoriented. Allied Whale has been taking a " wait-and-see approach.'' ========================================================= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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