For Oil Or Whales

Independent Online Edition > Business News: "Shell is facing a mounting international backlash against its 11bn Pound plans to exploit the vast energy reserves off the coast of this former top secret Soviet military base north of Japan. It has already been forced to re-route oil pipelines that threatened to disrupt the breeding grounds of the critically endangered western grey whale, and has suspended other works."

With oil prices being so high I thought this would be an interesting post to that effect. Shell is under a lot of pressure to keep its operations from disturbing the endangered whales in the pacific (around Japan).

There's a delicate balance that must be maintained between human needs and the need to preserve the earth and species on this planet... and apparently shell is stuck somewhere in the middle of this.

Hopefully they clean it up soon...

Gary

Get Down With The Dolphins

Delivering Hawaii: Three Places to Interact with Dolphins in Hawaii: "Visitors to Hawaii frequently see dolphins from shore or on a whale-watching cruise or fishing boat. Visitors sometimes happen to be in the water snorkeling or kayaking when a pod of dolphins swims by. Some visitors even seek out dolphins, either by frequenting areas where dolphins live and play, like Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island, or by taking a boat tour that frequents areas where dolphins live and play."

If you're gonna be in Hawaii and wanna see some dolphins, or even hang out with them - even check them out up close this is a good article posted on a blog...

You can also use this The Guide to Whale Watching to find out ways you can see the endangered whale species and you can also use the same techniques and a lot of the information to see dolphins.

Check out the guide:
The Guide to Whale Watching www.theguidetowhalewatching.com

Gary

Hide-N-Seek With The Whales

Newsday.com: March of the Migration: Follow Wildlife As It Travels:

"Along the New Jersey coast in Cape May this summer, the whales are in hiding. One marine tour company has not spotted a humpback in weeks. They are redirecting passengers' attention to the dolphins.

Each winter, whale watchers on the Pacific Coast have the opposite problem: They can't avoid getting jostled by the mammoth creatures, which outnumber the boats in Mexico's San Ignacio Lagoon during the Pacific gray whale's annual migration. And forget about staying dry-- as blowhole spray drenches passengers like a garden hose."

Because of the reduced number of whales around today, and many other factors; it is getting even harder to find the whales.

It's almost like a game of hide and seek with the whales in many regions, such as the eastern seaboard of the United States as this article points out - but that isn't the only place!

If you really want to increase your chances of seeing the whales you want and not waste your time or your money you have to get this guide:' The Guide to Whale Watching. It shows you how you can drastically increase your chances of seeing the whales you want and how you can have the best and most memorable whale watching trip.

Check out:
The Guide to Whale Watching
www.theguidetowhalewatching.com

Gary

Whale Rescue Takes On Extreme Sports

The Daily Telegraph | Whale wearing a fish net tight:

"WITH the massive power of a 7m humpback splashing about beneath their inflatable boat, whale rescuers turned their work into an extreme sport yesterday.

Wearing crash helmets, gloves and wetsuits, they struggled for nearly three hours to release the juvenile whale after it became tangled in a shark net."

Wouldn't that have been a blast! That must've been one experience being up close with the humpback whale and rescuing it.

Gary Schmidt

Enough Already!!

Well, maybe it's just me... because I'm constantly looking up news about whales and whale watching, trying to find new stories to bring to you:

But this is just rediculous! Every day there are at least ten sites that have an article on that whale that regurgitates some fish it ate on the water, then sinks below the surface and waits for a seagull to eat it and then - BAM - when a seagull comes to get the fish (which it thinks is an easy meal) the whale comes up out of the water to eat the seagull - thus itself becoming an easy meal for the whale... well the story is posted here: http://whale-watching.blogspot.com/2005/09/one-smart-whale.html.

C'mon is this the best that can be done as far as news-worthy information regarding whales... is this all that the huge numbers of reporters have been able to pull up on the whales.... AND AT LEAST WEEK AFTER THIS WAS DISCOVERED!!

We were one of the first to report on this incident!... after seeing the article in the London Free Press, and posting about it right away! Ever since we posted about the article, it took a couple days... then just about every other news source started putting up articles about it and then many other bloggers.

So for the best news and information about whales and whale watching... and to get it right away!... keep this blog bookmarked... put it in your feed reader... and visit often! We bring you the best stories first!

Gary Schmidt

Aaaand.... ACTION!!

Thousands sign anti-whaling petition. 06/09/2005. ABC News Online:

"A petition to save whales from commercial or scientific whaling will be presented to the New South Wales Parliament next week.

The Member for Tweed, Neville Newell, says thousands of people have supported the 'Save Our Whales' campaign.

He says the Federal Government is being asked to take a tougher stand against Japan's plans to kill whales for scientific purposes."

This is exactly what needs to be done.... encourage the governments of nations to take a stand against whaling nations.... and take swift, strong, decisive action against their activities!

This will be what will eliminate commercial whaling... to help save the whales...

Great work so far people of Australia... Keep it up and don't back down!!!

Gary Schmidt

That's One Big Fine

Whale tours feeling squeezed by US rules - The Boston Globe: "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, recently fined vessel captain Sean Baker $3,500 for ''failing to comply with right whale avoidance measures by coming within 500 yards of a right whale, and failing to immediately leave the area' in an incident off Cape Cod two years ago."

That's a huge amount to be fined, just for not staying far enough away from a whale. The need to protect them is understood since right whales are on the verge of extinction, however, how reasonable is the distance and fine for protecting the whales?

Wouldn't it be ok to carefully maneuver to within the 500 yards (which is about the length of an average par-5 golf hole)? Of course it could be done, and could be done without endangering the well-being of the whale. This issue hits the Federal courts in November.

Gary Schmidt

One Smart Whale

London Free Press: News Section - Gulls prove gullible to smart whale: "A clever killer whale at Marineland in Niagara Falls has figured out how to use fish as bait to catch seagulls and shared his strategy with his tank-mates."

The young whale that came up with this would spit regugitated fish onto the water's surface and then sink below the surface and wait to see if a gullible seagull landed for a free meal - if one did the whale would surge up through the water to make the seagull the free meal. Sometimes the birds would escape other times they'd become the meal.

How great is that, you can't keep them from their natural instinct in captivity... they'll figure a way out!

Gary Schmidt

Good News But Still A Lot To Do

Humpback whale population on the rise. 31/08/2005. ABC News Online: "Researchers say the humpback whale population is slowly increasing but it needs to be protected from commercial whaling."

This is really good news for the humpback whales, however there is much that needs to be donen to keep them protected and keep their population growing.

Check out the site that I put up that will help show the need for the protection of all the whales and how you can make a difference:   http://theguidetowhalewatching.com/savewhales

A difference can be made, and the whales can be saved! We all just need to play our roles and make it happen!

Gary Schmidt

Another Amazing Story Of Success - But Better

Fort St. John - canada.com network: " A rare right whale who was orphaned as a baby has turned up in the Bay of Fundy with her own calf, thrilling scientists who see the mammal as a symbol of hope for the vanishing species."

This is great!

Another success story of another orphaned whale, that disappeared after her mother died being struck by a boat. Now this whale has been able to make it in with a group of whales and find the feeding grounds and also even find a mate!

There were a lot of odds going against this whale, but she's pulled through and carried on.

Gary Schmidt