(no subject)

[senoritafish]

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Best Western Inn by the Sea in La Jolla, paying to use an internet kiosk, which wasn't quite as expensive as I thought it would be. Nevertheless, I only have 14 minutes left unless I feed it again, which I reall can't afford to. I'm in La Jolla for 4 day of listening to people talk about sardines and their ecosystems, and climate regime shifts, and all manner of sardinopean things. I gave a talk yesterday on the Status of Coastal Pelagic finfish fisheries in California; I nearly imploded with nerves before I gave it, but everyone said I did a good job, and the animation I stuck in a couple of my slides was a big hit (I made some little clipart fish swim across before a photo faded in - whoopie snort).

Two more days here, and then home to make up to John that I missed his birthday (tomorrow). I wanted to post the morning before I left, but our phone wasn't working for some reason, and I got up to find some oily substance all over the laptop keyboard; I think one of our cats pissed on it. Great. It's probably shot now.

OK, I have seven minutes to check my friends list, but I don't think I'm going to be able to comment on anything, dammit!

Comments

question

[cixel.livejournal.com]

ive been reading up on gray whales. it seems the atlantic gray whale which was hunted to extinction 300 years ago was the same species as the pacific gray whale. what i want to know is why hasnt anyone reintroduced a few whales from the pacific into the atlantic. it would benefit tourism as well.

Re: question

[senoritafish.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm no whale expert, but there are a number of reasons.

The cost of relocating animals that large would probably be prohibitive. It cost a lot of money (I was going to say millions of dollars, but I'm not sure of the exact figure) to relocate a few sea otters to San Nicolas Island a few years ago, and that experiment was judged to be a failure - the animals either died or just swam back to the coast.

Whle they kept an orphaned grey whale or two at Sea World a few years ago, they had to release them before they were half grown because not only was it horribly expensive to feed them (a ton of squid a day for a growing whale - squid right now is going for $650 a ton right off the boat, so you know they were paying a lot more for it), and neither did they have the room, but it's difficult to move very large animals without the support of the surrounding water - their organs can be crushed by their own body weight. I imagine transporting large whales that far without injuring them would be difficult .

Gray whales here still have their sheltered and relatively isolated lagoons in Baja to breed in. I'm not sure where the East Coast population gave birth to their young, but do those habitats even exist any more? The East Coast has been developed a lot since then. Even if they were still there, since whales usually learn where they are and where the food sources are by following their parents around, how would they know how to find them?

Sea otters were exterminated off Southern California several hundred years ago, too. However, commercial fishermen would (and have) raised major objections to reintroducing an animal that feeds on the same animals they have developed fisheries for. While gray whales feed mostly on benthic invertebrates, they will also feed on schools of small fish, given the opportunity, and I'm sure somebody somebody somewhere would raise an objection to an animal that has any possiblilty of taking away their livelihood. The ranchers around Yellowstone objecting to the reintroduction of wolves is another example.

Some independently wealthy person somewhere might try it, but it would need a lot of money, a lot of technology and even political influence to do it. It sounds like something that would take decades, if it were possible at all, and it's not something government resource agencies are going to take on.

That enough to answer your question? :)

Re: question

[cixel.livejournal.com]

The cost of relocating animals that large would probably be prohibitive. It cost a lot of money (I was going to say millions of dollars, but I'm not sure of the exact figure) to relocate a few sea otters to San Nicolas Island a few years ago, and that experiment was judged to be a failure - the animals either died or just swam back to the coast.

sounds like buerocracy. bleh my spelling. relocating sea otters shouldnt cost that much. they moved shamu from san diego to florida if i recall correctly. i think sea otters arent in socal due to either the weather being warmer than they like (notice how much bull kelp grows in north cali) or lack of massive MASSIVE kelp beds.

it's difficult to move very large animals without the support of the surrounding water - their organs can be crushed by their own body weight. I imagine transporting large whales that far without injuring them would be difficult .

perhaps when the northwest passage opens up? still i point to seaworld doing it with shamu.

Gray whales here still have their sheltered and relatively isolated lagoons in Baja to breed in. I'm not sure where the East Coast population gave birth to their young, but do those habitats even exist any more? The East Coast has been developed a lot since then.

if their protected lagoons are in florida somewhere i bet theyre still there because a ton of areas in florida are protected for the manatees. if its in the caribbean or cuba i wouldnt be suprised either due to the lack of development in many parts.

Even if they were still there, since whales usually learn where they are and where the food sources are by following their parents around, how would they know how to find them?

i guess youd have to paint a submarine to look like a whale and lead it. a radical environmentalist group scare whales with a submarine that looks like an orca to keep them out of harms way.

Sea otters were exterminated off Southern California several hundred years ago, too.

i still believe that has alot to do with temperatures as evidenced by the lack of bull kelp down here. notice how every el nino tons of kelp dies off. this far south is not very good for sea otters. theres a population bloom of urchins in the spring every year (you can see it in the tidepools in PV) but many starve off due to lack of food.


Some independently wealthy person somewhere might try it, but it would need a lot of money, a lot of technology and even political influence to do it.

yeah i think it would take an independantly wealthy person to do it. id like to see it done without the government knowing about it though until after it was done. too much red tape.