The “Sant Antoni” cape in Valencia – Spain is considered a whales’ highway by biologists
To see whales in the Cap Sant Antoni, located in the Valencian region of Alicante, Spain, has become more frequent in the last months. Finback whales are not strange in this area, but for the people who enjoy looking at these big cetaceans, the D’Eivissa channel seems to be a whales’ highway.
Toni Martínez and Luís Pérez, who are part of the surveillance at the nature reserve “Dels Fons Marins” in Cap Sant Antoni said that, “we were sailing, heading south when we heard a loud noise similar to an underwater explosion. We saw the water splashing so we changed our course to see what was what. When we got closer, we saw a huge whale emerging from the water and jumping. Another whale was swimming next to it. The first one made three spectacular jumps in front of us”.
These two experienced whale watchers were surprised out at sea the 14th of September by two humpback whales which where swimming heading south. The biologists had the chance to get about 50 meters away from the animals. “It was amazing”, said Martínez.
Last 27th of August the “Cetus” research team saw a specimen of humpback whale in the waters near Toscana, Italy. On 11th of September, the crew of a ship part of the “Xarxa de Colaboradores de Custodia Marina”, a Spanish organization devoted to marine life conservation, saw another humpback whale near the coast of Torredembarra, Tarragona. Finally, the researchers from the Cap de Sant Antoni saw two whales from the same species on 14th of September. The men followed the whales up to de Sant Martí cape, in Xábia. The biggest whale was about 19 metres long, and both of them where swimming about 900 metres away from the coastline.
These big cetaceans migrate from the Liguria Sea which is a protected sanctuary for whales and dolphins to the Strait of Gibraltar, near the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Finback whales are the most common specimens seen in the Mediterranean Sea. They go through the D’Eivissa channel between the island and Cap Sant Antoni. The channel is like a cetaceans’ highway and this summer biologists and conservationists have seen more whales along the coastline of “Marina Alta” than in previous years. From the 30th of June to the 15th of September, the marine reserve has registered five whale sightings each one formed by groups of 2 or 3 whales. Biologists believe that the whales swim near the coast due to the sea currents and the wind, although the shipping traffic may be causing disorientation among these cetaceans.
However, fishermen from Dénia and Xábia have another hypothesis. They think that the Sant Antoni cape and all of the cliffs along the coastline of the Xábia provide a safety area for the whales because the sea bottom drops from about 20 to 30 metres deep.
On the other hand, the marine reserve in the Cap Sant Antoni’s, which includes the regions of Dénia and Xábia, has a huge natural richness. Recently, scientists have found big shoals of fish in this area that could be the reason for these whales to be seen more often than before. Biologists highlight the biodiversity that the Mediterranean Sea has nowadays, but they consider that conservation organizations and governments have to keep an eye on this matter in order protect this biodiversity from human activities.
http://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2010/09/26/autopista-ballenas-cap-sant-antoni/742362.html