Watching Our Water Ways

I’m happy to share this space today with Kitsap Sun reporter Steven Gardner, who offers his personal perspective on orcas.

BY STEVEN GARDNER

Journalists received what might be deserved suspicion of being haters of George W. Bush. If it’s true, I don’t think it’s for the reason most people surmise, that we’re all socialists at heart intent on killing every American Amendment that isn’t the first one.

If we disliked Bush the younger, it had more to do with his reported statement to Joe Biden that he doesn’t “do nuance.”

Reporters dance in nuance. We eat it. For the purposes of this blog, let’s say we swim in it. When we retire, the hardest thing to unload is all the “other hands” we’ve considered. Dunagan has a file cabinet full of them. When Bush said he didn’t do nuance, it was like he was insulting all our mothers.

Dabbling in nuance gives us room to partake in things we might not otherwise do were we among those who take stands. In late 2007 I took my family to SeaWorld in San Diego. In my heart I’m really troubled by the idea of watching animals that can travel entire oceans confined to pools a little bigger than the one I had in my backyard as a kid. But it was when I was a kid that my affection for orcas began, because of a splashing I got from Shamu.

Growing up in Southern California, it was the only way I was going to see orcas in person. As the years went on, I managed to see probably a dozen dolphin shows. I don’t think I grew to have any angst about it until I was working construction during a summer off from college and was sent to a house in an exclusive neighborhood in Laguna Beach. There, on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, I could see a school of dolphins (Maybe they were porpoises. I couldn’t swear under oath that they weren’t two-liter soda bottles with fins.) swimming by beyond the waves.

It sounds cliche, but something can happen to a guy like me who suddenly sees something in a different context, particularly a natural context. Not only did it make me feel good about them, it made me feel good about myself, that I live in a world where animals can be in a place they’ve been for thousands or millions of years, that we haven’t institutionalized all of them. It’s not a thought that comes naturally when you spend most of your days winding your way through asphalt and concrete.

That elation came again when I moved here and the Orcas visited Silverdale. Then on Christmas Day in 2004 I was on a ferry to Seattle and saw an orca off in the distance. That chance sighting was better than the sure thing you get in San Diego.

Still, I thought maybe my kids would appreciate the SeaWorld show. They did.

I, on the other hand, had much the same reaction Steve Lopez from the Los Angeles Times did when he went.. I wouldn’t say I was creeped out, but I was uneasy.

I expected a fun, maybe funny presentation. What you get is a full-on, well-orchestrated production that clearly had been crafted following the pressure that must have come once Free Willy was released in theaters.

And yet months later, when another friend shared pictures of her daughter being one of those who got to go out and touch the whale, I was genuinely happy for her.

Of course the idea that she could have been yanked by her pony tail into the water — something that has apparently never happened in the wild — changes all that.

I’d rather see all those Shamus out in the wild. I would have felt so relieved if SeaWorld officials would have said, “We get it now.” On the other hand, maybe the Tacoma Pocket Gopher wouldn’t have vanished in 1970 if someone had made money by teaching a few of them to jump through hoops. On the other other hand, maybe these animals should matter to me even if I never get to see them.

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With our widespread affection for killer whales in the Northwest, it is not easy to hear the news about the death of a human who worked closely with these powerful and intelligent animals.

If you haven’t heard, a veteran orca trainer at Seaworld Orlando, 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau, was apparently petting the whale, named Tillikum, when the incident occurred.

Witnesses told the Orlando Sentinel that the whale grabbed Brancheau by the arm, tossed her around in his mouth and pulled her under water during a scheduled program about 2 p.m. today at Shamu Stadium.

Reporter Jason Garcia of the Orlando Sentinel described how Tillikum, a 12,000- pound male known as “Tilly,” was considered a dangerous whale. Only select trainers were allowed to handle him, and nobody was allowed to swim with him.

Chuck Tompkins, in charge of animal behavior for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, told Garcia that Tilikum worked well with Brancheau. “He knew her, and he liked working with her,” Tompkins was quoted as saying.

But many killer whale advocates were quick to argue that orcas don’t belong in captivity and that their confinement in close quarters can lead to psychological problems for the orcas.

The following are statements from OrcaNetwork of Washington state and Lifeforce of British Columbia, followed by a couple of opinion polls on this issue and links to the most informative news reports.
(more…)

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Excitement continues to build among killer whale observers, as seven newborn orcas have arrived in the past year. There have been no deaths during that time.

A newborn calf, L-114, is seen swimming with its mother, L-77, named Matia. The photo was taken Sunday in Cordova Bay on the eastern side of Vancouver Island near Nanaimo, B.C. (Click to enlarge)
Photo courtesy of Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research

He’s a story I prepared this morning for the Kitsap Sun Web site:

A new calf has been born into L Pod, one of the three groups of orcas that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

The young whale was spotted Sunday in Cordova Bay on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, by Ken Balcomb and Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research. The center maintains an ongoing census of the Southern Resident killer whale population.

The two researchers later confirmed that the newborn, designated L-114, is the offspring of L-77, a 22-year-old named Matia. This is her first known calf, though it is possible she has had one or more offspring that did not survive.

The mother and calf were traveling with another mother-calf pair, L-94, Calypso, and her calf, L-113, born last fall. Calypso is Matia’s sister. The four whales are part of a portion of L pod that often travels together. They have become known as the L-12 subpod.

Balcomb and Ellifrit reported that they observed the newborn calf Sunday afternoon while the whales were headed south in Cordova Bay. At about 5 p.m., they reached the southern shore and headed east toward open water. They appeared to be hunting for fish, with “lots of taillobs, cartwheels and pec slaps,” according to a report on the center’s Web page.

This is the seventh orca calf born to the three Southern Resident pods in the past year. There have been no deaths during that time. This latest birth brings L Pod’s population to 42 animals and the overall population to 89.

“This continues the streak,” said Howard Garrett of Orca Network. “I am at a loss for an explanation. I am just celebrating.”

“It’s great news for the population,” Balcomb said. “So far all of them are doing well.”

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Jeanne Hyde, who was on the water yesterday with Capt. Jim Maya, captured several photos of J and K pods heading up Swanson Channel in the Canadian Gulf Islands.

Yesterday turned out to be a great day for whale research and whale watching, and I’m grateful to those willing to share their photographs.

The light was near perfect when Jeanne Hyde captured numerous images of J and K pods. She has since posted several on her blog, “Whale of a Purpose,” including the one above. She also shot some nice video of the whales.

Jeanne also spotted reported that a killer whale researcher, Mark Malleson, spied a group of L-pod whales, known as the L-12s. So, all in all, it was a big day for orcas in the Salish Sea.

Susan Berta of Orca Network tells me she was flooded with great photos, some of which went out last night in Orca Network’s regular update of whale sightings. The post also includes an update and photos on gray whales hanging around Whidbey Island, which is typical for this time of year. Susan says more pictures may be posted later on Orca Network’s Facebook page.

Susan has not received any reports of killer whale sightings this morning, but nobody will be surprised if one or more groups of orcas are spotted later in the day.

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I have written the following story for tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun.

A new killer whale calf has been born in J Pod, one of the three groups that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. The mother has been identified as 12-year-old J-35, known as Tahlequah.
(Photo by Jeff Hogan, NOAA permit #781182400)

A new calf has been born into J Pod, one of the three groups of orcas that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

The young whale was spotted Sunday in Puget Sound by a research crew headed by Brad Hanson of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Today, Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research designated the calf as J-47 and confirmed that the mother is J-35, a 12-year-old orca known as Tahlequah.

At 12, Tahlequah is a young mother, and many first-born orcas do not survive their first year. Researchers say the reasons for the high newborn mortality may include a heavy dose of toxic chemicals they receive from their moms. But Balcomb said this newborn looks robust and healthy.

“It’s pretty amazing, but there it is,” Balcomb said. “It looks good and is filled out. I’m hoping that the generations (of orcas) coming along now are relatively clean. The ones in the ’60s and ’70s were dirty (with toxics).”

The population of J Pod has now reached 28 and that of the three Salish Sea pods stands at 88 with the birth of six calves within the past year.

For a population chart for the Salish Sea orcas, check out this page by Orca Network. Orca Network also maintains an ongoing list of births and deaths.

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UPDATE, Jan. 5, 2010
Sea Shepherd is reporting tonight that the futuristic Ady Gil was cut in half and may have been sunk by the Shonan Maru 2 in the frigid Southern Ocean. All six crew were rescued, according to a news release by the group.

The Institute of Cetacean Research, which speaks for the Japanese whaling fleet, made no mention of the collision in its latest news release (PDF 38 kb). But the group complained that the Ady Gil came within collision distance, tried to entangle the Shonan Maru 2 propeller, deployed a green laser and fired projectiles that contained butyric acid.

In other new developments, Sea Shepherd has acquired a new ship, the Bob Barker, named for the television personality who donated $5 million to the cause. The vessel, a former Norwegian harpoon ship, has joined the battle. Reuters is covering the story.

Split-screen video of the collision, one shot from Bob Barker, the other from the Shonan Maru 2.
———-

UPDATE, Jan. 1, 2010
The Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin has left Australia. Here’s the comment from Capt. Paul Watson in a news release:

“Thanks to the stormy weather, there was no possibility of a chartered flight locating the Steve Irwin and we were able to pass back into international waters without any sign of the Shonan Maru No. 2. They will be hard pressed to locate us now and without them on our tail, I am confident that we will be able to track down the whale poachers in the Australian Antarctic Territory.”

—–

The so-called “Whale Wars” continue in the Antarctic, involving Japanese whalers and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which is trying to thwart their activities.

Ady Gil

The conflict has escalated this year, with new vessels, new “weapons” and new tactics. And the battle line for publicity seems to be growing more intense. I’ll recount some of the action in a moment, but first allow me to set the scene.

Sea Shepherd left Australia for Antarctic waters on Dec. 7 and soon learned that the enemy, the Japanese whalers, had shifted tactics, keeping a ship close to the Sea Shepherd and allowing ship-to-ship clashes to become more frequent.

Sea Shepherd brought a new ship into the battle this year. The high-speed trimaran, formerly the “Earthrace” and recently renamed the “Ady Gil” — can do 50 knots in good conditions.

Unlike Sea Shepherd’s mother ship, the Steve Irwin, the futuristic Ady Gil can keep up with, and even outrun, the Japanese harpoon ships.

On board the Steve Irwin, a film crew is capturing the action again this year and preparing for the third season of “Whale Wars” — the highest-rated television series on the Animal Planet network.

In many ways, the primary battlefront in these whale wars is public perception about the actions and motives of the Japanese whalers and the Sea Shepherd crews. Sea Shepherd officials are quite up front about this, as Laurens de Groot, director for the Netherlands branch of the organization, stated in a news release:

“Letting the world see what happens to the whales in the Southern Ocean is the most powerful anti-whaling weapon at our disposal. The cameras are more powerful than cannons, and our ammunition is the naked truth about illegal whaling. We intend to keep the focus on Japanese crimes, and we intend to sink the Japanese whaling fleet — economically.”

So I guess it is no surprise that the Japanese whalers are responding by speaking out through an organization called the Institute of Cetacean Research. Last year, its director, Minoru Morimoto, issued a statement (PDF 20 kb)

“It is difficult to understand why a mainstream network would stoop so low as to produce a series that glamorizes and thereby gives support to ecoterrorism. Sea Shepherd’s criminal actions last year in the Antarctic were encouraged directly through the presence of the Animal Planet film team. Animal Planet is responsible for inciting this increased violence and aiding and abetting an international criminal organization.”

As the war of war of words escalates, let me recount some of this year’s actions:
(more…)

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When I interviewed reporter Hedrick Smith back in April, I recall his being pleased with his soon-to-be-aired Frontline production called “Poisoned Waters,” about pollution in Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay.

At the time, Hedrick told me that he regretted not having enough time in the two-hour program to include clips of Billy Frank, chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, and other folks whose personal histories are tied to Puget Sound. He said he would try to find a way to share these important clips with the public.

That’s exactly what he has done in a new program focused exclusively on Puget Sound, called “Puget Sound’s Poisoned Waters.” It will air Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on KCTS Channel 9.

The documentary repeats and expands on footage shown in the original program — including killer whales, contaminated salmon, underwater footage with scuba divers in Elliott Bay and discussions about the food web.

New segments focus on an ongoing animosity between tribal fishermen and farmers in the Skagit River area. Longtime farmer Curtis Johnson complains that Native Americans “exterminated” the salmon resource by over-fishing and are now blaming others for the result. Both sides acknowledged that trust between them was nonexistent.

In stark contrast, there’s the story of Billy Frank, whose personal charm and determination bridged a similar gap between tribal members and property owners in the Nisqually Valley — including Jim Wilcox of Wilcox Farms, a huge dairy operation. And now the potential enemies are friends.

At the end of the show, KCTS reporter Enrique Cerna discusses Puget Sound issues with Hedrick Smith and Bill Ruckelshaus, chairman of the Puget Sound Leadership Council.

Ruckelshaus makes the point that people need to learn about the problems facing Puget Sound and to “put their interests on the table, not their positions.” He means that everyone has personal needs and wants, and it is quite possible to find middle ground with the needs and wants of others.

“We have to change the culture of this place,” Bill says, “in order to ensure that the way we live allows other things to share this place with us.”

I was thinking, after watching a review copy of the program on DVD, that this hour-long documentary could serve as a catalyst for discussions throughout the Puget Sound region.

Perhaps the Puget Sound Partnership ought to go on tour, playing “Puget Sound’s Poisoned Waters” in various communities around the Sound. (Be sure to provide popcorn.) Then, after watching the show together, people could talk about how they feel about their community, discuss the local water-quality problems and pose possible solutions to nurse the ecosystem back to health.

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More than one person in Bremerton last night saw “our” gray whale, which has been swimming around the Turner Joy the past two weeks. The general feeling was that the whale was headed out of town.

Melissa posted this on Water Ways after seeing the whale while walking her dog about 6:30 last night:

“We paced the whale, who came up for air every 2-3 minutes and was moving quickly out the channel. It hugged the shore. We walked alongside the whale until the 900 block (Bachmann Park). At this park I was able to get a very close view, though it was dark and hard to make out.

“At 6:45 the ferry passed through the channel, and in its lights, reflected on the water, I could make out a perfectly silhouetted fluke. I think he was waving goodbye to Bremerton.”

Then shortly before noon this morning we began to get reports of a gray whale in West Seattle. See the West Seattle Blog.

Other reports came in regarding a gray whale tangled in a fishing net near the Edgewater Inn on Seattle’s waterfront. The net is one operated by members of the Muckelshoot Tribe.

Reporter Christina Siderius of the Seattle Times quoted Brian Gorman of NOAA Fisheries Service as saying individuals aboard the fishing boat believed the animal was dead and started to cut it loose. Then the whale sprang to life. The fishers tried to free the whale, but it swam off with some portion of their gear still attached.

“The whale has skedaddled,” Gorman was quoted as saying. “We don’t know where it is, nor do we know if it is in danger.”

I don’t know if anybody has figured out if there were two gray whales or one in Seattle today or whether the Bremerton whale may still be carrying around a piece of fishing gear. I guess we’ll just wait for more information.

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Negotiations between the Environmental Protection Agency and manufacturers of toxic flame-retardant chemicals will result in a three-year phase-out of the last polybrominated diphenyl ether, the deca form.

Steve Owens, EPA’s assistant administrator in the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, had this to say in a news release today:

“Though DecaBDE has been used as a flame retardant for years, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has long been concerned about its impact on human health and the environment. Studies have shown that decaBDE persists in the environment, potentially causes cancer and may impact brain function. DecaBDE also can degrade to more toxic chemicals that are frequently found in the environment and are hazardous to wildlife.

“Today’s announcement by these companies to phase out decaBDE is an appropriate and responsible step to protect human health and the environment.”

Alarms bells have been sounding over PBDEs for several years. Concerns relate to liver and thyroid disease, neurological development and potential effects on the immune and reproductive systems.

Because they are persistent in the environment, these chemicals have been accumulating in the tissues of the familiar killer whales that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. See the story I wrote about toxics in orcas, October 2007.

Deca is used to reduce the risk of fire in electronics, textiles, automobiles and other applications, but other alternatives have been identified.

Today’s announcement relates to agreements with the two U.S. producers of decaBDE — Albemarle Corporation and Chemtura Corporation — along with the largest U.S. importer, ICL Industrial Products, Inc.

Under the new agreements, the companies will end production, importation and sales of decaBDE for most uses in the United States by December 31, 2012, and to end all uses by the end of 2013. Here are the letters of commitment:

Albemarle Corporation (PDF 403 kb)
Chemtura Corporation (PDF 34 kb)
ICL Industrial Products, Inc. (PDF 55 kb)

Brian Carter, global business director of Albemarle’s flame retardant group, made this comment in a prepared statement:

“While hundreds of science-based and peer-reviewed studies have shown Deca-BDE to be safe in use and one of the most efficacious flame retardants in the world, Albemarle is committed to delivering safe and effective products with increasingly smaller environmental footprints.

“Safe and environmentally sound substitutes for decabrom are available today, and we are working with our customers and the Environmental Protection Agency to implement a phase out of Deca-BDE in the coming years.”

Tony Parnell, vice president of Albemarle’s polymer solutions division, added this comment:

“In addition to our existing alternatives, Albemarle fire safety scientists have developed GreenArmor, a polymer-based flame retardant technology which is a recyclable and an eco-friendly alternative to current decabrom technology.

“Our investment in this new fire safety technology demonstrates Albemarle’s commitment to constantly seek higher-performing, sustainable alternatives to existing fire safety products.”

Meanwhile, the state of Washington remains on track to phase out PBDEs —with deca being the only one remaining. I was wondering how EPA’s agreement would mesh with Washington state’s requirements, so I called Curt Hart at the Department of Ecology.

“It is not an exact match, but it is very close,” Curt told me. “We are very pleased with the agreement that EPA has reached with these manufacturers. The good thing is that everyone now recognizes that deca is a problem as well (as other PBDEs).”

Visit Ecology’s Web site for the state’s phase-out schedule, including an important report called “Alternatives to Deca-BDE in Televisions and Computers and Residential Upholstered Furniture.”

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Capt. Jim Maya shot this picture of a rare gray-colored killer whale south of Victoria.

Capt. Jim Maya of Maya’s Westside Charters photographed what appears to be a gray killer whale. The young animal was swimming south of Victoria with a group of seal-eating transient orcas known as the T-11s.

“In over twenty years of viewing orcas in this area, I’ve never seen a gray orca,” he said in an e-mail. “I was flabbergasted!”

I reached Jim by phone and asked him if he had learned any more. He said Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research had told him that about three of these gray killer whales have been spotted through the years.

It apparently is some kind of genetic condition, which has proven fatal among the animals that show this coloration, he said. The young orca pictured here is about a year old and may have a few more years to live if history is repeated.

I was unable to reach Ken Balcomb tonight, but once I have the name of this particular syndrome, I may be able to post more information at the bottom of this entry. If anyone has information to contribute, feel free to comment.

Here’s Jim Maya’s original e-mail:

I always call Ron Bates when heading out on a trip, like today. We were headed off to see Speiden Island, since the earlier sightings of Residents going north had turned into Residents going south near Whidbey. Ron didn’t have any news, but called back in a few minutes to let me know that some Ts had been sighted off the Victoria waterfront.

Off we zoomed. I called Goldwing on the VHF as we got close, about 5 miles south of Trial Island, (3:15 today) and were told that one of the Orcas had a gray dorsal fin. Gray fin? It was the whole Orca that was gray and white, not just the fin. It’s a calf and one of the T11s.

In over twenty years of viewing Orcas in this area, I’ve never seen a gray Orca. I was flabbergasted! Here are some pictures of the calf. (All of the pictures have been cropped.) I think Ken Balcomb also got some shots.

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