What's Killing Killing Pacific Whales?
Emaciated gray whales are washing ashore dead. Scientists are trying to solve the mystery.
Davina Mayo-Dunham
June 22, 2019
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had declared an "Unusual Mortality Event" due to the event that at least 167 North Pacific gray whales have washed ashore dead from Mexico to Alaska. Scientist believes this number to be a fraction of the number because most of the carcasses would have sunk to the ocean floor. The most alarming thing about this is that most of the whales that have washed up on the shore are emaciated. The whales travel 10'000' mile trip from California to Alaska and along the way will eat 1.4 tones of small crustaceans called amphipods. Not only are the whales arriving late and skinner, but there is also one third fewer calves than there was the previous year. This isn't the first time that a large die-off occurred.
(Chiu, Jeff. What's Killing Pacific Whales? Associated Press. The New York Times.com. Web 12 Oct. 2019.)
This relates to the topic of ecology in so many ways. It really touches on the topic that we are living unsustainably by wasting and depleting earth's capital which is, in turn, causing lower atmosphere to warm as well as the Earth's oceans. That one of the major environmental problems is pollution and how the pollutants enter the environment through human activities such as the dumping of chemicals in the ocean. Though there are many point sources that are easy to identify such as sea ice extent, ocean temperature, food sustainability ( overfishing), and entanglement in fishing gear. There are many non-point sources as to why the whales are dying. Non-pollutants are things that are dispersed and often hard to identify. For example. the trash that goes from the land to the oceans. It shows the increase in temperature within the ocean has allowed for a significant drop in the total mass in sea animals. We had also learned that one of the ways that there could be regulation of the open-access renewable resource, is that the government can establish laws and regulations limiting the pollutants we add to the air or the oceans. The Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary is working with the private sector to modify fishing routes and adjusting techniques. The only way the whales are going to have the ability to get better is if the ocean is also healthy.
I think the idea to work with the private sector to relocate the shipping routes and adjust the fishing techniques happened late. I think there could have been many regulations put in place beforehand. This happened once twenty years before and scientists weren't able to find causation, but now because there are many more whales this time they are trying to find solutions at a faster rate. It is tragic that the environmental issues only make it to the media when the problem is big enough and there could be a potential harm to humand and seems to be the only time environmental issues matter.
References:
Cullen, Heidi, et al. " What's killing Pacific Whales" NY Times, 22 June 2019.
NY Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/opinion/sunday/dead-whales-pacific.html, Accessed 12 Oct. 2019.
(Chiu, Jeff. What's Killing Pacific Whales? Associated Press. The New York Times.com. Web 12 Oct. 2019.)
This relates to the topic of ecology in so many ways. It really touches on the topic that we are living unsustainably by wasting and depleting earth's capital which is, in turn, causing lower atmosphere to warm as well as the Earth's oceans. That one of the major environmental problems is pollution and how the pollutants enter the environment through human activities such as the dumping of chemicals in the ocean. Though there are many point sources that are easy to identify such as sea ice extent, ocean temperature, food sustainability ( overfishing), and entanglement in fishing gear. There are many non-point sources as to why the whales are dying. Non-pollutants are things that are dispersed and often hard to identify. For example. the trash that goes from the land to the oceans. It shows the increase in temperature within the ocean has allowed for a significant drop in the total mass in sea animals. We had also learned that one of the ways that there could be regulation of the open-access renewable resource, is that the government can establish laws and regulations limiting the pollutants we add to the air or the oceans. The Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary is working with the private sector to modify fishing routes and adjusting techniques. The only way the whales are going to have the ability to get better is if the ocean is also healthy.
I think the idea to work with the private sector to relocate the shipping routes and adjust the fishing techniques happened late. I think there could have been many regulations put in place beforehand. This happened once twenty years before and scientists weren't able to find causation, but now because there are many more whales this time they are trying to find solutions at a faster rate. It is tragic that the environmental issues only make it to the media when the problem is big enough and there could be a potential harm to humand and seems to be the only time environmental issues matter.
References:
Cullen, Heidi, et al. " What's killing Pacific Whales" NY Times, 22 June 2019.
NY Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/opinion/sunday/dead-whales-pacific.html, Accessed 12 Oct. 2019.
Pacific whales are definitely feeling the effects of a changing world, just as so many other species are. Humans should be doing so much more to try and preserve the lives of so many species on this planet. I just hope that as a community we can act soon to ensure that these magnificent creatures exist for centuries to come.
ReplyDeleteOverall, this was an excellent topic. I believe not just whales, but sea life overall is suffering due to humanities' negligence. Additionally, I do agree with you that pollution is a big contributing factor to the death of sea life including whales. Overall, amazing insights! :)
ReplyDelete