News
Blue whale numbers bounce back to near historic numbers
Researchers believe that California blue whales have recovered in numbers and the population has returned to sustainable levels.
Scientists say this is the only population of blue whales to have rebounded from the ravages of whaling.
The research team estimate that there are now 2,200 of these giant creatures on the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean.
But concerns remain about their vulnerability to being struck by ships.
At up to 33m in length and weighing in at up to 190 tonnes, blue whales are the largest animals on the planet.
The California variety is often seen feeding close to the coast of the state, but they are found all the way from the Gulf of Alaska down to Costa Rica.
Writing in the journal Marine Mammal Science, researchers from the University of Washington say the California blue whales are now at 97% of their historical levels.
Working out that this species is now back at its traditional numbers required some dogged scientific sleuthing.
Whaling nations concentrated their hunting efforts on the colder waters of the Antarctic and until the practice was banned in 1966 some 346,000 of the animals were killed by harpoon.
The numbers of blue whales caught in the Pacific was much lower, approximately 3,400 between 1905 and 1971.
Much of this hunting was carried out by Russian fleets.
However most of the data on the catches was kept secret under the Soviet regime. Scientists have only recently been able to get access to this information in the archives.
However the location and size of the catches didn’t give any clues to the types of blue whales that had been caught. There are two distinct populations, the California group and others that live near Japan and Russia.
To figure out which whales were which, the scientists turned to song.
“We were trying to separate the catches into east and west, but we didn’t know the boundary between the two,” said Dr Trevor Branch from the University of Washington.
“So we used the current locations of where they sing to figure out the dividing line. Their repetitive calls are different.”
By being able to accurately work out the numbers lost to whaling, the research team was able to calculate a historic population.
Now back at 97% of their past numbers, the team believes that a rise in population has slowed down as these whales have reached the capacity of what the ocean system can support.
One concern for the scientists at present are ship strikes.
Most of these happen off the coast of California, and so worried are the authorities that they are now paying merchant shipping to slow down.
“Our perspective is that we’d rather there were no ship strikes at all, and they are over the legal limit,” said Dr Branch.
“They have to do something to stop it, but 11 per year is so much lower than historic catches.”
This new data suggests that there could be an 11-fold increase in ships before there is a 50% chance that the population will drop below what is considered “depleted” by regulators.
“My impression is that they are fairly robust,” said Cole Monnahan, also from the University of Washington and the lead author on the paper.
“If you can whale them pretty extensively for 50-70 years and they are able to recover I think that says a lot about moving forward.
“In terms of things like climate change, it is hard to predict but I don’t think we would expect a precipitous drop off.”
While applauding the success of the conservation efforts in the California region, the scientists are well aware that not all whale populations have managed to rebound. In Antarctica, blue whales are at approximately 1% of their historic numbers.
“California blue whales are recovering because we took actions to stop catches and start monitoring,” said Cole Monnahan. “If we hadn’t, the population might have been pushed to near extinction – an unfortunate fate suffered by other blue whale populations.”
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news
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Ho Ho Ho! Vobster Quay’s recording-breaking charity Santa diving event returns on Sunday 15th December 2024 for another round of festive fundraising frivolities. Run in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Help For Heroes, this ever-popular annual fundraising event aims to raise sack-loads of cash for these two very deserving charities.
Divers of all levels are invited to grab their Santa outfits – and as much festive cheer as they can muster – and head down to Vobster Quay near Mells, Somerset for a mass sponsored Santa dive in aid of charity. In previous years, the event has attracted divers from the far corners of the UK to join in the festive merriment for a final festive dive before the Christmas and New Year break. Back in 2015, the event smashed the world record for the most Santa divers with 188 divers taking to the waters donning their festive finery – a record that remains unbeaten to this day!
Vobster Santas isn’t just about setting records – it’s also about raising some serious cash for charity. Vobster Quay encourages all divers to get into the spirit of the season to raise much-needed funds for two very deserving charities – the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Help For Heroes.
Through individual sponsorship and online donations, divers can invite their friends, family and work colleagues to sponsor them to plunge into the balmy waters of Vobster Quay dressed in full festive finery. Since the very first Santa dive in 2007, the event has raised over £52,000 for charity. “It’s been over 17 years since the very first charity Santa dive took place at Vobster Quay and every year the event just keeps getting bigger and better” enthused Vobster Quay owner, Amy Stanton.
“Vobster Santas is a great way for divers to say a massive thank you to the both the RNLI and Help For Heroes – two very deserving charities close to our hearts. We’re immensely proud of all that Vobster Santas has achieved and hope that even more divers will join this year’s event on Sunday 15th December. I’m confident that we can make Vobster Santas 2024 the biggest yet!”.
Divers wishing to participate can get involved by simply registering their attendance at
www.vobster.com/event-vobstersantas.php.
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