MADRID, Spain (12 Oct 2002) -- Despite scientific evidence that NATO military exercises are killing whales, Spain's Defense Minster Federico Trillo says there are no plans to suspend the annual naval maneuvers. On September 24-25, nine Cuvier's beaked whales washed up dead on the Canary Islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, two more were found floating dead and six were rescued after beaching. It was the seventh incident since 1985 in which NATO exercises coincided with beaked whale strandings. The regional government of the Canary Islands ordered scientific tests on the dead whales, which found "brain damage consistent with impacts from military sonar signals". Researchers are now conducting inner ear tests, which are expected to determine the specific cause of the deaths. Powerful military sonar equipment has been implicated in previous whale strandings in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Thousands of Canary Islands residents are calling on the Spanish government to establish a marine sanctuary around the islands where whales, dolphins and other marine wildlife will be protected from military exercises. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum | |  |
CUVIER'S BEAKED WHALE - Ziphius cavirostris | CUVIER'S BEAKED WHALE - Ziphius cavirostris DISCOVERED: Cuvier, 1823 COMMON NAME: Cuvier's Beaked Whale, Goose-beaked Whale, Goosebeak Whale GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: - Worldwide distribution in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters
- One of the most worldly of beaked whales, including a range in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
- Not found only in polar waters
- Found near many oceanic islands and in enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean and the Sea of Japan
- No migrations are known
DESCRIPTION: - "Goose beak" head shape
- Short, upturned beak
- Small head-pale
- Long, robust body
- Indentation behind blowhole
- 2 small teeth just visible when mouth is closed
- Long and circular scars
- Small, falcate dorsal fin
- Swirling patterns in skin
- Upper side of old males can be almost white in front of dorsal fin
- Color varies according to location, sex, or age- older often are almost white
- Body vaires from tan, pale brown, or cream to blue-gray or purplish black
- Broad flukes- width up to one-quarter of body length
NATURAL HISTORY HABITAT: - Found close to mainland shores, except in submarine canyons or in areas where the continental shelf is narrow and coastal waters are deep
FOOD & FEEDING: - Most prey are either open ocean, mesopelagic, or deep-water benthic organisms
- In waters less than 1,000m deep mainly consume squid
- In deep waters, fish most abundant prey
LIFE CYCLE: - Reach sexual maturity - 11 growth layer groups (GLGs) 5.26 m long (males) 5.12 m long (females)
- Live up to - 47 GLGs (males) and 28 GLGs (females)
BEHAVIOR: - Lurches through water, exposing head when swimming fast
- Usually alone or in small groups
- Tends to avoid boats - but occasionally inquisitive and approachable
- Breaching observed, though rare
- Blow directed slightly forward and to left but is inconspicuous
- Typical length of dive - 20 to 40 minutes, with 2 to 3 blows 10 to 20 seconds apart in between
- Back arched steeply before a deep dive and may lift flukes above the surface
- Found stranded more than any other beaked whales
WORLD POPULATION: - No abundance estimates for any region
- Most frequent of the beaked whales as to number of strandings
- Most frequently sighted medium sized cetacean in the eastern tropical Pacific
HUMAN INFLUENCES: - Formerly taken in Japan by small-type whaling operations- largely ceased, but occasional animal may still be caught
- Few taken in former small cetacean fishery off the Lesser Antilles island of St. Vincent
- No known systematic fisheries at present
- May be taken incidentally in offshore fisheries, but little available information on such occurrances
- Meat was used for human food in Japan and the Lesser Antilles
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