Dolphins Tenerife

A gray whale was seen in front of the shores of Israel the 8^th of May, an unusual location for an animal of social behavior whose pairs live thousands of kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea in the Pacific Ocean. The same whale was seen one month later in Barcelona. The animal traveled 3,000 kilometers in 30 days.

This whale is a good example of the “greenhouse effect” because according to the records, this is the first gray whale seen in the Mediterranean Sea in 1,500 years after these cetaceans where almost extinguished by whale’s hunters. This specimen may be taken as a sing that the gray whales’ population is recovering but it is also a clear sign of how global economy can be changed by the “greenhouse effect”.

The appearance of this whale will revolution maritime transport in the entire world, once the opening of the navigation channel in the Arctic Ocean gets closer Europe and Asia. The dream of Columbus who wanted to connect Spain with Japan and China will now be true thanks to CO2.

There are clear signs that this is possible. The American company Kodiak Kenai Cable has proposed to lay a fiber optic cable through the Northwest Passage in the north of Canada, where it is supposed the gray whale went through, to connect London and Tokyo; the passengers’ vessel “Bremen” made a cruise through this channel some time ago; and the Inuit communities from west Canada are already receiving supplies by sea from the East.

The Arctic Sea is now opened to commercial exploitation. There are projects to exploit the petroleum pockets in Alberta, through the Northwest Passage which supposes major risks for these whales. One of the reasons for the low gray whales’ population in the Pacific Ocean is the Russian petroleum exploitation in the Sajalín Island. However, the main reason for them to be near extinction is the hunting that first Soviets, and then Russians made benefited from the protection measures the United States has. Russians, Japanese, Norwich and Icelanders take advantage of the fact that the whales they hunt are protected in other countries.

There are also political issues concerning the Northwest Passage. The United States of America doesn’t recognize this passage as part of the Canadian territorial waters claiming that the passage must be part of the international waters. All these factors should prepare us for the potential consequences of the “greenhouse effect” due to the lack of success expected from the next UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Cancun in November and December 2010. For the moment, gray whales seem to be benefiting from it.

“Ecologistas en Acción” (Spanish environmentalist association) alerts in a report to be published soon about the present condition of Yulka and Kairo, two beluga whales that live at the “Las Artes y las Ciencias” aquarium in Valencia, and also reports about the usage of sediments form the port at the Pinedo beach.

The Valencian environmentalist federation called “Ecologistas en Acción”, alerts about the health condition of the beluga whales couple that live in the aquarium of the “Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias”. The situation of these cetaceans will be the one of the chapters of the report about “la Comunitat” (Valencian autonomous community) that this organization will release in short, as a complement to the report “Banderas Negras 2010 – Caos en la costa”, which was presented last 1^st of July.

The controversy started with the citizens’ complains collected by this organization through e-mails and letters. The alarm was triggered because of the apathy showed by the animals, “that many times stay still, do not react, and seem to be sad”. Domingo López, spokesman of the environmentalist organization in Asturias, highlighted the size of the aquarium as main cause for this behaviour, “these animals cannot be kept in captivity, and they are limited because of living in the aquarium”.

The organization also said that, “every time we receive information about a certain issue, we check it out as we have done in this case. The truth is that we have always been against projects like this”. Since their arrival to the “Las Artes y las Ciencias” complex in 2003 from an Argentinian aquarium located in the municipality of Mar del Plata, Yulka and Kairo became the stars of the aquarium. They were front-page news when they had their first baby whale born in captivity in Europe. Sadly, the offspring died few months later.

Pinedo beach

Other subject in this report is the complain about the smell and wastes found at the Pinedo beach, due to the usage of sand from the port’s dredging. The appearance of oil and fuel in the sand of this area caused continuous nuisance to the neighbours and visitors. The fists sediments appeared last year.

The organization focuses the analysis in the method used for the recovery of the area. “They make a hole in the beach and then, they spill the port’s sediments there. After that, they fan out the sand to level the wastes pile”. This system modifies the natural dynamic of the beach and contaminates the bacterial flora that lives in the substrate, causing problems to the fishermen, the visitors and neighbours.

Besides, the waters in the area have become dirty and oily. The situation of the beluga whales and the damage to the sand of the Pinedo beach are two issues discussed in the report of the environmentalist organization.

Domingo López also said that, “if the national report presents the 40 most notorious cases in the country, we count with more than 40 cases only in the Valencian community. This year we have intensified the searching actions, which have given us good results”. About 10 volunteers have collaborated during the year to finish this document and they are already focused in the 2011 season.

The deep-sea trench which crosses the area of Peña in Avilés, Spain, provides a perfect habitat for cetacean species such as porpoises, pilot whales, fin whales, sperm whales and three dolphin varieties.

The best spot for whales watching in the coastline of Asturias and one of the best of the Cantabrian Sea coastline begins seven miles from the coast of Avilés.

The results of the last research conducted in Asturias by the biologists Arturo Ruano, Paloma Silva and Sergio Solano, showed that the deep-sea trench of Avilés is one of the marine locations that provides the best environment for the growing and development of species such as porpoises, pilot whales, fin whales, sperm whales, three dolphin species and the Cuvier’s beaked whale. “This area provides plenty of natural resources and a remarkable quantity of nutrients. Therefore, a variety of protected species can be found in this area such as the bottlenose dolphin or the porpoise. In this area, there are whale species that have more than 20meters long as well”, said Paloma Silva.

The research conducted by these biologists between 2004 and 2008, in collaboration with several volunteers, is the most complete among the ones already done in the Cantabrian Sea area in front of Asturias. The principality commissioned the biologists a technical study to determine the potential protection areas for marine life. Therefore, the scientists combed the entire area onboard a sailboat called “Rillón”. “Before our research, we only had some sporadic outings made by the university and a systematic data collection about beached animals. On the other hand, we made a grid of this area and sampled each square of it at least one time 12miles deep”, said Silva. It was hard work, “we made straight trajectories at a speed of 5knots per hour registering all the animals we had the chance to see during the day”, said Paloma Silva. However, the biologist thinks that this research it’s not enough. “To have reliable data about migration, habits and reproduction, it is necessary to conduct ongoing studies. Unfortunately, our sponsorship finished with the economic crisis. It is sad to see that there isn’t enough interest in studying our coast which is the richest one in terms of marine life, especially cetaceans”.

The biologists centered their activity especially in the areas of “El Cachucho”, the Lastres Trench and the Avilés Trench, being this last one the place where they registered more cetaceans. The abundance of these marine mammals showed the richness the marine ecosystem of this area has. “The species we have found provide an idea of the biological status and conditions of the environment. To find cetaceans in a determined marine area, the same as finding otters in a river, shows that the area is rich in every sense”.

Paloma Silva assured that the Avilés trench would be perfect for whale watching expeditions, but it is difficult because the bad weather the area has most part of the year. “It’s quite easy to find dolphins or pilot whales, but the weather conditions make it really difficult to organize watching trips”. The biologist dismissed the possibility of organizing interacting activities with these animals in their natural environment, “It is not a good idea to swim with the dolphins, like it is done in Canarias or in the strait because these marine animals don’t have to be disturbed”, she said.

These cetaceans species coexist in a large deep-sea trench, one of the deepest in the world, and it has a wide species biodiversity including creatures form the depths such as giant squids, and a great variety of essential nutrients for the reproduction of the main commercial fish species such as the hake, the angler fish, that can be found in the fishing grounds located in the surrounding continental shelf.

During these commercial fishing activities, sharks and cetaceans are often fished accidentally. Nowadays, it is open a discussion about the closure of the fishing grounds to protect the marine ecosystem. With this respect, Paloma Silva has her own opinion, “The fact that the Avilés Trench needs to be under some kind of protection is clear, because the biological worth it has. But it is necessary to make more studies to determine the type of protection the area requires. A deep knowledge of this area is essential for an effective protection plan”, she said.