400 whales stranded on New Zealand beach

[Catherine]

Four hundred whales ran aground on a New Zealand beach. This is a staggering number of whales.
Many have died, hundreds.

However hundreds of volunteers are struggling to save as many as they can. 

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=1&at=dt0


It is a heart break that so many whales have been stranded and that so many have already died.
It is wonderful to see the human response. People have dropped everything to help the whales. Some have survived because of human efforts. People are doing everything they can.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=1&at=dt0

It is a complicated business.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...999&at=dt0

This is one of those times when we can be proud of being human. Sometimes we really step up and do our best.

The fact that they saved so many is a miracle.
There are lots of angels on this planet.

[LPC]

Update: Tragically, the total is now 650. I just found these, following a search of the net:

http://townhall.com/news/world/2017/02/1...d-n2284570
and this:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38942763

In the last article you cited, Catherine, I found this quote:
"Project Jonah coordinator Mark Rigby said he could not comment on the reasons for the stranding. 'All we know is it keeps happening. There will be people who will argue that it's natural. We're here for the welfare of the animals'."

"There will be people who will argue that it's natural"....hmm, that sounds like he doesn't quite believe that himself. These groundings are becoming more frequent and more serious each year. If it were just nature, the numbers should stay stable. There is something else causing these ever more frequent, ever more serious groundings.

There is an excellent article here:
http://www.whalefacts.org/why-do-whales-...themselves

I personally am inclined to find the increased use of sonar to be the culprit. It used to be used by specialist scientists and researchers. Now it is commonplace for fishing boats to use them all the time, so that they can locate fish shoals quickly and make a "quick buck". Whales are easily disorientated by such signals.

To be honest, I don't think that the fishing vessels are the slightest bit worried. They regard the whales as a nuisance, as they eat fish and seafood which they want to catch. Their motto? "Pecunia est valde maxima".

[Catherine]

I had heard about the second stranding, but I hadn't heard that so many were able to float free latter.

It is still a tragic loss of life. I feel for the volunteers who are working so hard. They know they won't manage to save them all.
It is still good that so many were saved.

Now as to why this happened.....


I think we can agree that there is an increase in the beachings of marine mammals. It is not just whales.
It hardly seems natural. One sick whale ending up on a beach or one whale fleeing a shark might be natural. One whale striking a ship might end up on shore. If 400 whales hit a ship, the ship is going to have a problem.

Over 400 whales on a beach is far from natural. There may be more than one reason. It may be a combination of factors. The obvious ones are pollution and sonar. I suspect that what ever it is, we have a hand in it. We have messed up the oceans pretty bad. Whale stranding may be a sign of how much damage we have done.

Whatever the cause, we need to work to rescue the whales in trouble. Fortunately there are people like the Jonah Project who come to the rescue. Three cheers for the ordinary person who just shows up and helps when needed. They all matter.

After that, we need to look at the oceans and see what we can do to start fixing the mess. The planet is more water than land. If we mess up the water, do we really think the rest of the planet is going to be okay. If the oceans are so bad that the whales are in trouble, we have a big problem.

[LPC]

Yes, pollution of the seas is the other possible cause of these ever increasing groundings. Sea pollution is such a serious topic and we have discussed it on many previous occasions. It is a problem that will not go away and is almost certainly getting worse. Do you remember the discussion about PCBs? Fish die-offs? The giant plastic islands in the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qT-rOXB6NI

Sea pollution is possibly the greatest threat to our world at present. Not too long ago we also had a thread about the terrible killing of whales in the Faroe Islands. They kill the whales but don't eat them as they are too polluted. That says something, too.

In this particular case, despite sea pollution possibly being the cause of the beachings, I still suspect sonar as the cause. Sonar is also a danger because it makes fishing too easy for these large factory fishing vessels. This in turn causes overfishing and the risk of extinction of some species of fish.

Overall, a disaster....and we humans are to blame! All the other living creatures on this planet will also have to live with the consequences of our greed, our selfishness and our lack of concern. Sometimes, I am ashamed to be human. Yes, I agree, dear Catherine, it is heartening when humans rally round to help whales, like in the event which inspired you to start this thread. There are some good people with good hearts. But we as a species continue to ruin the seas and poison the creatures who live in it.....

[Catherine]

I watched the video and it linked me to a number of other videos on the same subject.
I think I understand the garbage "island" better now. I can see why it is so hard to clean up.  The biggest danger is from the plastic that has broken up into smaller particles.  We don't even know how it will effect our health when we have those particles in our bodies. There is a certain irony in the fact that we have created a giant science experiment in which we are the test subjects.

Something we don't talk about enough is how much of our oxygen actually comes from the oceans.
This  link puts it  in very simple terms.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&...B-unc2LTRw

I think we know this is serious.  I wonder how well the phytoplankton do in the areas of the garbage islands.
I wonder what our pollution is doing to the phytoplankton?

We need to be planting trees anyhow, but we can't plant enough trees to make up for the loss of oxygen if anything happens to the phytoplankton.
The loss of food from the ocean is a whole other issue.

Still I tend to agree that sonar may be more the cause of whale beachings.

The sonar is way overused. People out fishing for the fun of it are using sonar to find fish.
It is like light pollution. A bit of artificial light is not a problem, but we have whole areas of the planet that never know darkness anymore. Whole areas of the oceans are never silent because we use so much sonar.

The whales are a warning to the rest of us. We are barely talking about climate change. We have no global plan to save the oceans. I don't think we even realize we need one.


I think this is the most recent link.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=1&at=dt0

I hope this is the end of this crisis...for now.

This is worth reading.
http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=1&at=dt0

He was one of many dedicated volunteers. We can be proud of them.

[LPC]

Inspiring links. Thank you.

[Catherine]

Right now there is no more news about the whales and I think this is a case of no news is good news.

I hope there is a break from whale strandings so the many volunteers can get some rest.