Not All Live Strandings Are Natural
While some strandings could indeed be due to natural causes, it is not always the case because live strandings have been connected to human activities. Live strandings should be distinguished from dead strandings because they most likely have different underlying causes.
Whales and Dolphins Can Survive Strandings
Contrarily to popular belief, whales and dolphins can survive stranding. The key is to provide the necessary help, a timely response and rehabilitation if needed. Euthanasia is unacceptable unless all other measures have been taken, tried out and failed repeatedly.
Orphaned Cetaceans Can Survive
As of now, stranded orphaned whales and dolphins are automatically euthanized. However, recent cases show that these orphans can survive, and can find their pod or an adult female that will take of them. There have been also cases of adoptions, even cross-species adoption.
Anthropogenic Factors Contribute to Live Strandings
Research shows that anthropogenic factors (i.e. Big Oil surveys, Navy exercises) contribute to strandings. According to our data, in 2013 over 72% of live mass strandings happened as the Big Oil surveys, Navy exercises or both had been going on in the area
STRANDEDNOMORE: MAIN SITE
NOTE FROM JEFF:
It is my pleasure to share this my second interview with my great mates, StrandedNoMore, a coalition of marine biologists in various parts of mainly the northern hemisphere. They function not only as independent researchers and educators on the reality of what is happening with the quality of life for cetaceans around the world but also as a 'watch dog' WITH TEETH, who often expresses the same feelings of outrage that I experience in trying to deal with what our species is doing to all of life in Mother Ocean, on Mother Earth.
"...many countries, including the US, Australia, NZ and others allow
numerous damaging activities in their waters, war games/exercises, oil
exploration and upcoming deep sea mining. But none of these countries has
well-designed, independent entity that should be charged with investigating
strandings. As a result, we had numerous cases worldwide where we recorded live
strandings in the vicinity of such activities, yet some rescue waltzed on that
beach, collected one square inch of a tissue sample, gave the media interview
telling that it was "sad, but natural event" and on the next day this
whale or a dolphin is completely forgotten. Meanwhile, the Navy or the Big Oil
write in their applications for permits and post-activity reports that their
activities did not result in any negative impact on cetacean populations. The
current state of affairs is a complete absurd and it is very frustrating."
1)
What has changed since our first interview about 3 years ago, for better and
for worse?
Things
definitely did not get better. Stranded whales and dolphins are still denied
medical attention, rescue, are still euthanized. Strandings barely get any
comprehensive and independent investigation, it was illustrated perfectly in a
recent dramatic stranding of a pod of sperm whales in the North Sea.
2)
Can you go into more detail on the very important point from IV1 about the
strandings we actually see or witness may be as little as 8% of who all really
stranded or died from any given event
We
focus on live strandings, and desperately are trying to communicate the idea
that stranded alive cetaceans have beaten enormous odds to stay alive, to
strand alive and to be found alive. Not all whales and dolphins that die at sea
wash ashore, in fact, as it was
discussed before, in an experiment where dead, marked carcasses were released
offshore, only 8% or so washed ashore. This data indicates that we greatly
underestimate mortalities, and yet another argument why we have to do anything
possible to save every stranded alive cetacean.
3)
The issue of what is big on the 'public radar'...'captivity' versus the real
global threats...why this is the case
Strandings
are basically fly under the public attention radar, and we think it happens for
the several reasons. First, due to rescues and industry's decades-long
narrative, the public sincerely believes that all stranded whales and dolphins
are beyond any hope, and the mercy killing is the only way to deal with them.
This, of course, is not true, since not only data shows that strandined
animals' health differ greatly, but also that proper, timely rescue
intervention coupled with medical attention saves lives. Furthermore, data also
shows that rescued stranded cetaceans can survive, can find their pod, and
thrive. Because of that false perception, the public sees stranded animals as
"sickly", but captive cetaceans or Taiji cetaceans, as healthy
animals being robbed of their lives. Second, stranded cetaceans are not "sexy",
meaning that since these animals are "sickly", there are no celebrity
wants to talk about them, no one wants to do a documentary, let alone stage any
protests or cordons to prevent stranded animals from being killed. For example,
just a few days ago, extremely rare pygmy blue whale stranded in Australia, and
his murder by "rescuers" barely got any attention let alone
registered in the public's psyche. Third, strandings are hidden from the public
view due to lack of publicity. People do not see it, and think it is not
happening. Fourth, since there is no global database on live and dead
strandings we do not know how many animals strand alive and dead. We estimate
that it could be around 800-1000 animals annually (live strandings only),
including rare and threatened species. So over the decade we could lose 10, 000
animals in live strandings alone (not counting dead strandings, or those died
at sea never to be seen or counted) simply because the rescue rates are
extremely low. For the comparison, the entire humpback population in the
Southern Hemisphere is 50, 000 animals.
4)
the 'celebrity expert' syndrome...we can name names like Ingrid Visser, Lori
Marino...I would now add Howard Garrett. Who and what are these people, how did
they get to be this way and why they are so influential...mass-media and public
stupidity?
What
is especially puzzling to us is why stranded alive animals have not got any
celebrity experts/spokespersons attached to the issue. As it was mentioned
above, strandings result in population level losses, and not only we lose
individual animals, but culture and knowledge, as knowledge in cetacean
societies is transferred culturally. Maybe because not a single sperm whale
lived to tell the story of the dangers of the North Sea, the next pod will be
naive and will get caught in the same shallow trap. So it is clear that
strandings can and do have profound impact on cetacean societies and
population, and yet there is no spokesperson for them. We think it happens
because strandings are very controversial and represent a degree of cognitive
dissonance people do not want to deal with. In case of Taiji, Japanese are bad
guys. In case of captivity, the Sea World are the bad guys. But who are the bad
guys in strandings? Oil industry that gives people jobs? The Navy people do not
want to go against (understandably so)? Rescues that put volunteers on the
front line so no one can criticize them for refusing to help and killing
cetaceans? Government bodies like the NOAA in the US or DOC in NZ? What celebrity
would want to wage wars against rescues with their volunteers or the Department
of Conservation?
5)
update on the REAL GLOBAL THREATS to cetaceans and all marine life...awareness
that could lead to preventing strandings
People
need to realize how profoundly devastating strandings are for cetacean
populations. We are very alarmed about the new narrative that is currently
being pushed in Australia and other countries, that strandings are good since
they indicate that populations are recovering. This is an absurd notion because
we do not know what is a normal baseline of stranding events in a healthy and
robust population. It is also absurd because populations are not recovering.
Sperm whales have not recovered to pre-whaling numbers, nor did humpbacks. Australia
has been saying that there are too many humpbacks and not enough fish
(overfishing much?) so humpbacks in danger of stranding should be culled on a
spot. Cetaceans face enormous range of problems: climate change, overfishing,
pollution, entanglement, ship strikes, acoustic noise disturbances, oil/gas
exploration, Navies with their bombs, sonars, shock wave tests, explosives,
rockets, missels. The new threat is a deep sea mining that is gaining steam.
Some of these disturbances contribute to strandings, but the public still sees
strandings as "unfortunate, but natural events" or "Mother
nature at work", while the reality is the large percentage of live strandings
has anthropogenic causes.
6)
Proper ways to deal with stranded cetaceans..examples of people/groups/methods
that actually work and show respect and compassion for our fellow beings VERSUS
what NOT to do and examples of this...
This
question deserves another, entirely separate interview, since there is a lot to
be said about that. Let's schedule one soon, ok? But in short, the best way to
save a stranded cetacean is to provide timely, effective rescue. Some of
stranded cetaceans are very sick and indeed will need rehabilitation. But in
many cases, rapid intervention is very successful since it prevents the
development of stranding related health issues like stress related cardiac
events for example.
7)
Relatively new global threats coming on radar...electrification of the ocean
particularly in vicinity of high density vessel traffic, ref. work of Stewart
Simonson and Terry Lilley, microwave saturation of marine environments,
specifically off of Kauai and Great Barrier Reef Australia
We
cannot comment on electrification of the ocean or the microwave saturation of
marine environments since we know very little about this topic. What we know
about, is the rapidly developing plans for the deep sea mining, that will be
basically oil and gas exploration on steroids and is the area of a great
concern, especially for deep diving species that are already vulnerable to
strandings as is.
8)
what about all the rubbish passing for 'science' these days, not only in marine
and cetaceans but in general? Corruption, the use of 'science' as 'public
relations' for globalization agendas, who funds 'science' and why? Who is
actually unbiased and therefore capable of looking for, recognizing and sharing
the truth in the world of today?
The
biggest problem for cetaceans is that their livelihood intercepts with
numerous, very powerful interests including fisheries, the Big Oil, the Navies,
and others. Because everything is charged and controversial, it is very hard to
do independent research under such conditions. As a result we have glaring
conflicts of interests where the largest noise polluters (the Navy or the Big Oil)
are the only funding bodies funding any research on acoustic impact on
cetaceans for example. Strandings is another example. Since these interested
parties do not want any evidence that their activities caused strandings, they
do not fund this area. Since there is no money in here, no one comprehensively
investigates strandings. For example, the evidence of acoustic trauma could be
recovered from the whale's ear, but only when hair cells from the ear are
collected properly and within hours post-mortem. Since organizations who
respond to strandings do not have such capabilities, they do not do such
analysis. It is even worse for large whales due to logistics involved in full
forensic investigation. As a result the only analysis we have is some tissue
samples that say absolutely nothing about the cause of stranding. In this
information vacuum, we only have industry funded voices that say there are no
evidences that these players cause strandings. Of course there is no evidence,
when no one collects or investigates anything, there will be no evidence! What
is worse, many countries, including the US, Australia, NZ and others allow
numerous damaging activities in their waters, war games/exercises, oil
exploration and upcoming deep sea mining. But none of these countries has
well-designed, independent entity that should be charged with investigating
strandings. As a result, we had numerous cases worldwide where we recorded live
strandings in the vicinity of such activities, yet some rescue waltzed on that
beach, collected one square inch of a tissue sample, gave the media interview
telling that it was "sad, but natural event" and on the next day this
whale or a dolphin is completely forgotten. Meanwhile, the Navy or the Big Oil
write in their applications for permits and post-activity reports that their
activities did not result in any negative impact on cetacean populations. The
current state of affairs is a complete absurd and it is very frustrating.
MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH SNM, SEPTEMBER 2013
"We cited a study about dead carcasses, where controlled release offshore of dead carcasses only yield to 8% of carcasses actually washing ashore. So what we see on our shores is a tiny fragment of what is going on. That is why we believe so strongly that every live stranded cetacean is a miracle that went through hell to stay alive and because of that should be given any help imaginable to survive."
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