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Mike OReilly · 06-03-2021, 20:12

Yes indeed, very cool. I've had the joy and privilege to be close to some of these animals. Mostly humpbacks, pilots, belugas and fins. There have been a few occasions when we were close enough to smell their breath, but I can't say I've ever heard their voices. That would be amazing.

deblen · 07-03-2021, 03:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ded reckoner

We heard whale song several times on the short offshore passage from St Augustine, FL to St Simons, GA about a week ago. We never had any whale sightings. The USCG advises that the assumption should be that these are right whales. I couldn’t find anything about right whale song propagation in air. Or, for that matter, any other whale song propagation distance in air. So, I tried to calculate it. I found blue whale song is 165dB in water. I have no idea what the difference is in amplitude between blue whales and right whales for their song. I assumed there was no difference. There’s a 29dB loss from water to air. And, there’s a 6dB loss at 1m from the source and an additional 6dB loss for each subsequent doubled distance. Darn it, I didn’t have a decibel meter on board when the whale(s) sang. Normal conversation is 60dB. I assumed that was the level at which we heard. If I did the math correctly, I calculate the whale(s) could have been up to 2.5 miles away.

Perhaps you were hearing humpbacks. I googled "whale song" & this is one article that I found. It claims only the male "sings" during mating & that would mostly be off Ga./Fla.
https://journeynorth.org/tm/hwhale/SingingHumpback.html

I am surrounded by Humps,Fins & Minkes each summer & never heard them sing myself. The Rights have not been coming into Fundy since 2017.
Check the whale map in my previous post.It is a live update of some Right whale positions.
I googled "do Right whales sing?".
https://dosits.org/galleries/audio-g...c-right-whale/

Cheers/Len

deblen · 07-03-2021, 03:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

This is a sailing forum, right?
The biggest issue I see with lobster traps in SoCal is those darn things are too close to the entrance of harbors. I am more afraid about it getting stuck in my prop than some whale getting stuck in it. It is not a major issue since our coast drops off rapidly and the traps are very close to shore.
Bigger issue is we have a shipping lane between the Channel Islands and the California coast where whales migrate and the occasionally those big tankers hits one. Whale population been increasing so loosing a few ..though sad.. does not make any impact on the population. I am pretty sure someone will find a pic...but we do not find whales lining our beaches because they go hit by a boat or tangled in a net. Making it sound like its doom and gloom and its the end of the world gets a little tiring.
Local fisherman/woman/person are trying to make a living and it is hard. They are not rich people. Next time you put some food on the table be thankful to them. I understand that need to be respectful to animals and protect whenever possible but not at the expense of destroying peoples livelihood.
Some folks need to get off their high self righteous horse and get a dose of reality that there are those who do not have the luxury of sitting in their office to put food on the table. Really, with Covid, people loosing their jobs, world starvation....I am going to worry about some idiot marking some seacow in Florida. Ooopps....that was another topic.

IMHO
Abe

Abe

Yes. This is a sailing (recreational boating)forum.
I want to keep sailing without further unnecessary restrictions & it would be nice if fishermen & other water folks could continue to earn a living on the water without further unnecessary restrictions also.
If you lived on the east coast of N.America you would be very aware of the activities & the effect of various $$ grabbing tree hugger orgs. feeding

tainted info to city folks re the plight of whales,etc.Politicians are on the same bandwagon,because that is where their votes are.
That is how democracy works & if water folks don't put some effort out,we should get involved IMHO.

By the way-according to google,the N.Pacific Right whale is down to 35 animals & they do sing.

Please report any whale sitings to CG.

Cheers/Len

deblen · 18-03-2021, 20:31

70 some Rights surveyed in Cape Cod Bay recently.

https://coastalstudies.org/right-wha...6renihPX93LQ10

CaptTom · 19-03-2021, 04:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by deblen

70 some Rights surveyed in Cape Cod Bay recently.

https://coastalstudies.org/right-wha...6renihPX93LQ10

Fascinating read. It's great to see people doing this type of work.

The mention of one entanglement was a bit short on details. The photos showed, and the article mentioned, a lot of line trailing the whale, some of which was removed.

I'd be very curious to learn what type of line it was. Gill nets? Drag nets? Purse Seine? Lobster buoy? Anchor line? We kind of need to know the problem before we can speculate on possible solutions.

deblen · 05-04-2021, 20:54

https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/n...6PLbFRspsFTOig

chrisr · 05-04-2021, 23:54

there's about a zillion southern right whales cruising up the coast here at the moment

you want we should send some over ?

cheers,

deblen · 06-04-2021, 05:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisr

there's about a zillion southern right whales cruising up the coast here at the moment

you want we should send some over ?

cheers,

That is good to hear. Perhaps you will not have to suffer the very strict whale rules & restrictions that are coming into effect in N. America.
Cheers/ Len

Snore · 06-04-2021, 05:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisr

there's about a zillion southern right whales cruising up the coast here at the moment

you want we should send some over ?

cheers,

Seriously considered it but had two issues. First they speak all a funny dialect. Second was getting them around the wall... ... ...

--- intended as humorous sarcasm not a political statement ---

deblen · 06-04-2021, 06:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Fascinating read. It's great to see people doing this type of work.

The mention of one entanglement was a bit short on details. The photos showed, and the article mentioned, a lot of line trailing the whale, some of which was removed.

I'd be very curious to learn what type of line it was. Gill nets? Drag nets? Purse Seine? Lobster buoy? Anchor line? We kind of need to know the problem before we can speculate on possible solutions.

Canadian fishermen had to land,remove & mark all of their buoy lines with 2 strands of twine every few fathoms.The strands have to be of 2 different colors,representing their fishing district & type of fishery.
They are limited to 375 or less traps per license,wheras neighbouring Maine are allowed up to 800 traps/license.
Both countries are working diligently to alleviate risk to marine animals due to fishing gear. It takes time.
Cheers/Len

No personal conn. Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station - NB - Canada, marine mammal intro page

https://www.canadianwhaleinstitute.c...le-rescue-team

deblen · 06-04-2021, 06:19

Whale entanglement is being taken seriously.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...ding-1.4287869

DMF Sailing · 06-04-2021, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by deblen

That is good to hear. Perhaps you will not have to suffer the very strict whale rules & restrictions that are coming into effect in N. America.
Cheers/ Len

It's also very crowded here in some of the places where humans and North Atlantic right whales interact. Cape Cod Bay...Nantucket Sound. Block Island Sound. The ship lanes to Boston in Massachusetts Bay.

I've never been in the South Pacific, but is the reason you have so many of them related to that?

deblen · 07-04-2021, 03:02

Ropeless traps-update

https://www.nationalfisherman.com/we...oFaviRfjFsQoDs

**GordMay** · 08-04-2021, 04:42

Endangered right whales have biggest baby boom since 2015

"... This season's calf count matches the 17 births recorded in 2015. Right whale experts consider that number fairly average, considering the record is 39 births confirmed in 2009 ...
... Since 2017, scientists have confirmed 34 right whale deaths in waters off the U.S. and Canada — with the leading causes being entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with boats and ships. Considering additional whales were documented in the same period with serious injuries they were unlikely to survive, researchers fear the real death toll could be at least 49 ..."

More ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/r...ales-1.5977759