A Whale of a Tale
Thomas F. Kuykendall
I came across this browsing the news during a break at work. I just
thought it was interesting as I love how time and again, nature proves how
smart the animals are.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1894&e=3&u=/ap/20040203/ap_on_sc/wily_whales
In case the link doesn't work or (as it has happened the story at the link
gets replaced by another) I have also coppied the story text.
Whales Eating Cod Off Fishermen's Lines
Tue Feb 3, 9:06 AM ET Add Science - AP to My Yahoo!
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sperm whales have the largest brain of any animal and
some in the Gulf of Alaska are proving it at mealtimes: letting humans do
all the work.
Researchers are now investigating what commercial fisherman have long
noticed, that the whales have learned to pluck sablefish off hooks
attached to their long fishing lines.
"They somehow just pick them off like grapes," said fisherman Dick Curran,
who has fished the gulf's deep waters for decades. "I don't know how they
do it."
No one knows how the whales have come to target sablefish, also called
black cod, whose oily, rich flesh has become a lucrative product in
Japanese markets. So a coalition of commercial fishermen and biologists
has begun to investigate with about $200,000 from the North Pacific
Research Board.
"We don't want the fishermen to have an economic loss. Plus it's a
biological loss, because we don't know how many sablefish are being
taken," said whale specialist Jan Straley, a lead investigator in the
project. "My interest is biological, and I really want to understand what
these whales are doing."
To harvest black cod, fishermen sink a 2-mile-long line with baited hooks
every 3 to 6 feet. Each end is anchored to the sea floor along the
continental slope and buoyed at the surface. After an 8- to 12-hour
"soak," fishermen haul the line, sometimes harvesting hundreds of
sablefish in a single set.
Over the past few decades, some of the gulf sperm whales apparently
realized that fishermen were bringing this deep food source to the
surface, and learned to remove a 20- to 30-inch fish from hooks.
"No one likes to get fewer fish, but take one look at those big whales and
you realize you're out of your league," said longliner Dan Falvey, who,
along with Curran, is one of 10 fishermen working with Straley.
Sperm whales find prey with their extraordinary hearing, able to perceive
their environment with echoed clicks and other sounds. The whales have yet
to get seriously hurt or entangled in the sablefish gear, according to
fishery managers and whale biologists.
Straley and her partners have found after one season suggests that male
sperm whales may patrol the edge of the continental shelf, where the water
is 1,200 to 3,000 feet deep, and wait for fishing boats.
"For sure they know the sound of hydraulics engaging. ... It's like
ringing the dinner bell for them," said Linda Behnken, director of the
Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, which is coordinating the study.
"Everyone knows whales are smart, and they're proving it," she added.
__________________________________
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thought it was interesting as I love how time and again, nature proves how
smart the animals are.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1894&e=3&u=/ap/20040203/ap_on_sc/wily_whales
In case the link doesn't work or (as it has happened the story at the link
gets replaced by another) I have also coppied the story text.
Whales Eating Cod Off Fishermen's Lines
Tue Feb 3, 9:06 AM ET Add Science - AP to My Yahoo!
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sperm whales have the largest brain of any animal and
some in the Gulf of Alaska are proving it at mealtimes: letting humans do
all the work.
Researchers are now investigating what commercial fisherman have long
noticed, that the whales have learned to pluck sablefish off hooks
attached to their long fishing lines.
"They somehow just pick them off like grapes," said fisherman Dick Curran,
who has fished the gulf's deep waters for decades. "I don't know how they
do it."
No one knows how the whales have come to target sablefish, also called
black cod, whose oily, rich flesh has become a lucrative product in
Japanese markets. So a coalition of commercial fishermen and biologists
has begun to investigate with about $200,000 from the North Pacific
Research Board.
"We don't want the fishermen to have an economic loss. Plus it's a
biological loss, because we don't know how many sablefish are being
taken," said whale specialist Jan Straley, a lead investigator in the
project. "My interest is biological, and I really want to understand what
these whales are doing."
To harvest black cod, fishermen sink a 2-mile-long line with baited hooks
every 3 to 6 feet. Each end is anchored to the sea floor along the
continental slope and buoyed at the surface. After an 8- to 12-hour
"soak," fishermen haul the line, sometimes harvesting hundreds of
sablefish in a single set.
Over the past few decades, some of the gulf sperm whales apparently
realized that fishermen were bringing this deep food source to the
surface, and learned to remove a 20- to 30-inch fish from hooks.
"No one likes to get fewer fish, but take one look at those big whales and
you realize you're out of your league," said longliner Dan Falvey, who,
along with Curran, is one of 10 fishermen working with Straley.
Sperm whales find prey with their extraordinary hearing, able to perceive
their environment with echoed clicks and other sounds. The whales have yet
to get seriously hurt or entangled in the sablefish gear, according to
fishery managers and whale biologists.
Straley and her partners have found after one season suggests that male
sperm whales may patrol the edge of the continental shelf, where the water
is 1,200 to 3,000 feet deep, and wait for fishing boats.
"For sure they know the sound of hydraulics engaging. ... It's like
ringing the dinner bell for them," said Linda Behnken, director of the
Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, which is coordinating the study.
"Everyone knows whales are smart, and they're proving it," she added.
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it!
http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/
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In a message dated 2/3/04 1:28:43 PM, mr_t4of5@... writes:
<< Plus it's a
biological loss, because we don't know how many sablefish are being
taken," >>
I don't understand this. Whether people or whales are taking them, they're
being taken by other animals. I think it's a loss to their being able to
think they have count of what's going on.
Maybe they could isolate a whale sound that says "This stuff tastes TERRIBLE"
or something and broadcast it from those bouys.
Sandra
<< Plus it's a
biological loss, because we don't know how many sablefish are being
taken," >>
I don't understand this. Whether people or whales are taking them, they're
being taken by other animals. I think it's a loss to their being able to
think they have count of what's going on.
Maybe they could isolate a whale sound that says "This stuff tastes TERRIBLE"
or something and broadcast it from those bouys.
Sandra