Reports of Previous Meetings
September 1999
September,
1999
The first general meeting of the newly formed San Francisco Bay
Chapter of the American Cetacean Society was a great success! Isidore
Szczepaniak of the California Academy of Sciences gave an excellent
slide presentation on the Order Cetacea and also provided information
on the stranded Cetaceans in the San Francisco Bay Area. He brought
skeletal and baleen material, a cast of a narwhal tusk, and ambergris
from the Academy.
We had a raffle of donated items (from tickets to the Monterey BayAquarium, membership in the Academy of Sciences, books, Wyland posters to a surfing t shirt) and raised $75.00.
Dolphin-Safe: What Does it Really Mean?
Mark Palmer gave us an update on the tuna/dolphin issue. Here is a summary of the Earth Island Institute's position on this issue.
For some unkown reason, certain species of tuna associate with certain species of dolphin in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. One way to find these tuna, then, is to look for the air-breathing dolphins which are active at the surface. The fishing industry discovered that if you enclose the dolphins in a tight net, the tuna gather beneath them. This method of catching tuna kills many dolphins. Hundreds of thousands of dolphins were killed each year before the public was informed of the dangers this type of fishing represents. The huge outcry that followed led to legislation requiring that tuna sold in the US be "dolphin-safe." This meant that only tuna caught without harassing, circling, or setting nets on dolphins could be legally sold in the United States. Recent events and findngs by the US Secretary of Commerce William Daley has led to redefining the dolphin-safe label on tuna cans. The new definition would be broadened to include any tuna where a dolphin was not observed to be killed. Many dolphins die after they are released from nets due to stress or injury. These dolphin-deaths would not be considered.A lawsuit brought by Earth Island Institute claims that this definition of "dolphin-safe" is fraudulent. The dolphins are not really safe if they are being harassed, circled and enclosed in nets.
The Federal Court Judge backed the Environmental Groups and declared the change in the definition of dolphin-safe to be illegal. Read the article in the SF Chronicle from April 12, or follow this link.
Whale Watching
On our first whale watching trip we had fantastic weather, some very active and playful California Sea Lions, a glimpse of Bottlenose dolphins, and, just when we were about to give up, a short but spectacular view of a California Gray Whale. The whale did not surface again, but a few excited folks were able to see the whale. Stay tuned for news of our next whale watching trip.
An informative talk on the realities of rescuing and rehabilitating stranded cetaceans was given by our guest speaker, Dr. Marty Haulena, Veterinarian for The Marine Mammal Center. He also spoke about his recent trip to Hawaii to investigate a problem with pregnant Monk Seals. Follow this link for a detailed summary of this presentation.
Our second Whale Watching excursion was a great success! Sightings included a group of humpback whales, a few dolphins and a sea otter! See photos below.
Humpback Whales, one lone sea otter, and the coordinator of this event, ACS
SF Bay Vice President Steven Durkin
The US Navy is testing a new submarine detection technology called Low-Frequency Active Sonar, or LFA for short. This sonar emits very loud sound into the ocean to find submarines. However, scientific data shows that this very loud noise can interfere with the lives of cetaceans, who rely almost exclusively on sound to catch their food, communicate, find mates and navigate their surroundings.ACS National President, Katy Penland, who has been researching this issue extensively, gave a very informative talk on this issue. ABC Channel 7 recently aired a 2-part special outlining this potential problem. This video tape, which has since been released to every member of Congress, was shown at the meeting.
New Development: The US Navy recently ceased an acoustic test based on evidence the loud sound could harm marine life. Read about it in the SF Chronicle, from May 28, or see it on the web here. Link to Article
Wil Burns, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of
International Wildlife Law and PolicyIs the IWC Effective in
Stopping Global Whale Killing?A report of this meeting will appear soon.
Our next kids day is scheduled for October 21, 2000. Come to the Pacifica Library, 104 Hilton Way to experience a whale of an activity!
Our first official "kids day", Whales of Wonder, was enthusiastically attended by more than 50 kids! They had a great time making whale mobiles and finger puppets; putting their hands in "blubber gloves" and feeding like a baleen whale or toothed whale. By the end of the day, the kids were able to teach eachother about whales, dolphins and porpoises!
Alison Sanders, a marine biologist whith Tuburon Center for Environmental Studies, provided an intimate look at the behavior of bottlenosed dolphins in Belize, Central America. She spoke of conservation efforts in the small town and unusual behaviors observed. For more on this talk, sign up to receive the next issue of Breach This!, our chapter's newsletter.
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