Cetacean News

Compiled by William Rossiter

The world's first sister sanctuaries for whales were linked in January. The two marine protected areas 3,000 miles apart now provide coordinated protection for the same population of humpback whales at each end of their migration. Massachusetts' Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the Marine Mammal Sanctuary of the Dominican Republic are critical to the same population of about 900 whales, most of which are known to researchers and whale watchers. The whales use the rich feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank in spring and summer, and migrate south to the Santuaria de Mamiferos Marinos de la República Dominicana in late fall to mate and give birth to their young.

The sister sanctuaries will enhance management coordination to improve the humpback's recovery in the North Atlantic, and serve as an example to spread to other areas and species. It also offers a new incentive for ardent whale-watchers to seek their favorite whales year-round. One of the goals is to "engender a new discussion in our society about the importance of marine mammals, the oceans in which they live, and our responsibility as ocean stewards." To reach the younger generation that discussion could easily translate to the communication revolution of YouTube, where videos of our famous humpback Salt, for example, could be shown from time to time in the serial "Where's Salt?"

CSI is particularly proud to point out that CSI Director Dr. Nathalie Ward played a significant role in the creation of the link between the sanctuaries. Nathalie is the Coordinator of the Sanctuary Advisory Council of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a renowned author and expert on the Sanctuary's rich assortment of marine life, fascinating history, and significance to society, and she knows just as much about the Caribbean.

The "Silver Bank Humpback Whale Sanctuary" was established in the Dominican Republic in 1986, and ten years later extended to include Navidad Bank and part of Samana Bay, covering the three main humpback breeding grounds in Dominican waters. Whale watchers take note: Silver Bank has the densest concentration of humpbacks found in the North Atlantic!

Navy Dolphins may need sweaters to guard missile subs near Seattle, because Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are ill equipped for the cold waters of Puget Sound. The sweaters are the clever message of Knitting for Dolphins, one of the many groups protesting the use of dolphins and sea lions at Naval Submarine Base Bangor on Hood Canal. They even brought inflatable dolphins wrapped in camouflage to a late March public meeting. Another of the protesters was DJ Mar, CSI member and owner of Seattle's Eco Elements store. The public's intense skepticism wasn't won over by the U.S. Navy's marine mammal program representatives' warm and fuzzy picture of the way these combat-trained dolphins and sea lions are maintained and deployed. The Navy's draft EIS on the proposal may be ready for public comment this summer.

The U.S. Supreme Court in early April decided 5-4 that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate global warming pollutants, such as carbon dioxide from vehicle emissions, and that they can be regulated under the Clean Air Act: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-1120.pdf. CSI was among the 12 environmental organizations that filed a "friend of the court" brief in support of the plaintiffs, which included 12 states and many others. In other words, we had a small but proud place in a landmark decision. We did it for the whales, and all of us.

The North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog is now available online to the general public, at: http://www.neaq.org/rwcatalog/. You know that enormous effort is focused on helping the species recover; the catalog makes them individuals, with family trees, stories, and sighting histories. Search the catalog, or play the interactive right whale matching game (coming soon), and get a sense of how close we are to losing them.

Whale Watches in the Northeast have begun! CSI recommends as the very best, as we have for decades, the Dolphin Fleet of Provincetown, http://www.whalewatch.com/dolphinfleet/. Starting from the tip of Cape Cod, already 30 miles out from the mainland, the Dolphin Fleet's expertise always provides the very best 3-4 hour whale watch experience. If it's out there they will find it! Scheduled trips began April 14th.

For a full day whale watch CSI recommends the Seabird and Whale Tales trip scheduled for June 10th. So many ardent whale watchers and birders come aboard this very special trip each year that it would be a good idea to sign up early. This special excursion has more time to go wherever the action is, and proceeds benefit a community marine sighting network called NEBShark. See http://www.nebshark.org/ for more trip information.

Recycle your old equipment to help science! What do you do with your old but faithful electronic and camera equipment? Gone digital, upgraded your camera, laptop, hardware, software, GPS, radio, data recorder? CSI knows of many scientists who need but cannot afford such equipment, perhaps a research project in a developing country. We recently sent a 2002 GPS unit to Colombia's Fundacion Omacha, to help researchers study Amazon River dolphins, and may send a Nikon FM2 and lenses to Trinidad. In some cases the equipment's fair market value may become a tax deduction from CSI for the U.S. donor. If you are interested please contact CSI at 203-770-8615 or rossiter@csiwhalesalive.org, with a realistic and detailed description of your stuff, but send nothing. There are many caveats with this concept, and we don't have any more room in our closets either.