Sea Shepherd

At the Environment Expo in Hermanus, as part of the Whale Festival, I attended a talk by Sea Shepherd. I thought you might like to hear some of the things they told me and many other people who gathered there that day.

Paul Watson was a founding member of Greenpeace, but left the organization because he felt they were not doing enough to actively protect the environment. Now he focuses his time and effort on protecting the creatures of the ocean. I can understand his reasoning. We know less about our oceans than we do the moon. It is the largest ecosystem on our planet. Hell, if we wipe out all living creatures on the ground, including ourselves, in a few million years life will just crawl out of the ocean and start all over again. It has happened before. Conversely, if we destroy our oceans, there goes the largest source of oxygen; and with it our lovely atmosphere. Sure Ray-Bans and sunscreen companies will make a killing but other than that, it will be disastrous for us all.

They target many different industries. The one that gets a lot of press is their anti-whaling campaign. I am sure many of you have hear of or seen the show, Whale Wars. They told us that the Japanese have spent money for the Tsunami Relief Fund to hire extra security for their whaling ships. They also told us that the Japanese say that they are not catching the whales for commercial reasons but for scientific research. I am not sure what kind of research requires that degree of whaling.

On the Galapagos islands they are active in preventing shark-finning. They also work with the government there to help catch poachers. This includes a dog unit that patrols the beaches and ports. This a great success story of environmental activism and government working together to help protect wildlife.

Then there is the ever present seal-clubbing. No I am not referring to what second- and third-year students do to first years at Varsity. From what they told us at the presentation, 400 000 seals get clubbed every year in Canada. They also told us how they are trying to prevent the covert clubbing of seal in Namibia. Even though it is illegal, apparently over 87 000 seals get clubbed every year. They told us how early in the morning, at Cape Cross, thousands of seals get clubbed, after which bulldozers turn the sand as to hide all the blood. Then the seal get packed into bakkies, covered with a tarp and driven past the long line of patiently-waiting tourists, all of which are oblivious to the atrocities that had happened only moment before. Due to Sea Shepard's attempt to expose this industry they have been deemed enemies of the state. However, they told us that despite this, they sneaked into the country, got footage of the clubbing and then sneaked out again without anybody being the wiser.

They also spoke at length about the decline of the Bluefin Tuna, and their work at the Faeroe Islands.  There Pilot Whales are driven to the beaches by small villages, were they are slaughtered en mass. They also explained how dolphins in captivity are caught, and broken; even driven mad, before they are tame enough to be trained. The fact that a dolphin is prepared to eat a dead fish is a worrying sign, and that any dolphin kept in captivity is a form of abuse. If you wish to know more about this topic I would suggest you watch the excellent and enlightening documentary The Cove, which focuses on the Japanese whaling industry as well as the use of dolphins as food and entertainment. I really don't have the heart to go into it any further.

Now these things all pose worrying questions. What is the difference really between hunting dolphins to that of tuna or sardines, or even snoek? For one thing the high mercury content in the flesh of a marine creature so far up the food chain in exceptionally dangerous for human consumption. To me the most important thing is sustainability, for as long as we do not harm that which feeds us, we can feed of it for a very long time. Honestly I have a very scant understanding of marine life, mostly because I cannot stand the smell. I cannot imagine how the insane amount of pollutants, oil spills and excessive fishing can be good for this highly interconnected and complex system. I guess that's why I don't eat fish, unless I know who caught it and where. Seriously I am not kidding.

Dave De Beer - Southern Right Whale

At the Hermanus Whale Festival - the only enviro arts festival in South Africa - I was quite impressed by the Marine Endangered Species Expo. I sadly found out about it later than I would have liked to, resulting in me missing a few interesting lectures. I thought my readers might like some of the information I gained at these lectures.

The first one I saw was given by Dave De Beer, and it was about the yearly migration of the Southern Right Whale. As a wild life photographer, he has passion for the whales here in Hermanus and has spent many years observing, and photographing them.

Mother and Calf 

During summer, the Southern Right Whale spends about six months in the seas near Antarctica  because of its abundance of food. It is during that time that they bulk up and prepare for the slow journey down to Hermanus and the Overberg area to give birth and take care of their young. During that time they do not eat at all. I would love to tell you what happens when a Southern Right Whale gives birth, but it has never been observed, so I can't. This is done with such secrecy; probably to protect the vulnerable calves. When the calf is born, it stays very close to its mother. Even if it swims away, the mother has certain call that reminds the calf that it is misbehaving and had better come back now. They suckle from their mother immediately. The mother does not lactate a milk like the land-loving mammals, but rather a thick paste, which does not dissolve in the water.

Southern Right Whale Breaching

The story of the Southern Right Whale reads like a Hollywood tearjerker. They got their name because they were the "right" whales to hunt. They stayed close to the shores while their calves were growing up; they had a high blubber content which made them float when you killed them, and they were inquisitive and would often swim to the boats. As you know, the mother never leaves her calf, which is very active on the surface during its infancy. So a whaler need only capture the much smaller calf, and then at their leisure, dispose of the mother. This went on with such proficiency that soon their numbers were recorded as low as three hundred. Due to conservation efforts, and by making South African waters safe for them, they are now estimated at sixteen thousand, with a population growth at about 7% a year. If they continue along this path, the seas might once again be teeming with these majestic creatures.

Told you they come close

Scientist have not come to a conclusion as to why the whales in Hermanus breach, and so often. They can breach as often as four times in a row. It makes sense then why Hermanus is renowned as a place to do some whale-watching. Dave De Beer has his theories about this. He believes that the mother first shows the young calf how to breach, then helps it do the same. The calf's breaching not only gives it exercises to strengthen its muscles, but provides the mother with a gauge with which to decide whether or not the calf is strong enough to make the journey back to Antarctica.

Bloody show off.

Just because the Southern Right Whale is doing so well, it does not mean we can rest on our laurels. I urge every one to do their part, no matter how small the effort or donation, to help protect our oceans. We no almost nothing about them, and hence can do irreparable harm in complete ignorance. Besides, we need the ocean a lot more than we think. Most of our oxygen comes from the ocean. Screw the rain forest (nor really I am just saying in a humorous fashion) and save our oceans