4 ms·

Humpback Whale Baby Boom Near Antarctica

81 points by dankohn1 8y ago

neuralpoet 8y ago
That's nice to see :)
ObeyTheGuts 8y ago
misleading title, whales give birth in tropical waters away from antarctica
sunstone 8y ago
Calling all Japanese fishing vessels.
anoplus 8y ago
I join the call: don't kill whales
smackay 8y ago
It's generally good news for Blue Whales as well, at least in the eastern Pacific, http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29069515 http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29069515 Given the level of hunting this gives me some kind of hope that all the environmental damage we have done can be fixed.
- azernik 8y ago
  Growing up in clean(-ish) LA air already gave me that hope.
ggm 8y ago
I worry about the predator:prey relationship implicit in the whale:krill thing. rebounds in one, with systemic changes in the underlying ecology (ie warming) mean the krill are more likely to exhaust which means we will inevitably see some downstream decline in whales, which will be painted by some people (the japanese whalers) as a catastrophy requiring culling.. or other outcomes. We probably have to ensure krill stocks. Which are being aggressively hoovered up to provide fishmeal feed for onshore fish farming, prawns, salmon and tuna ponds. This stuff is not going to go well. I am delighted the whale numbers are up. I am not confident its an overall good story.
- avar 8y ago
  What's concerning about that scenario per-se? A lot of wild animals (e.g. deer) are culled by man when they overpopulate in the wild with the same rationale, if it's done correctly it's a win-win, those animals would have starved anyway, and the hunters get the benefit of getting the animal before it becomes (in this case) crab food.
  - Balero 8y ago
    My problem with it is the underlying ecological damage. There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). OP was arguing that the argument for culling would be to keep them at this constantly declining number. To use your deer analogy, it would be like cutting down half a forest ("fishing" the deer food), then saying you need to cull half the deer herd to keep them from overpopulation. Then judging by history, the forest would be cut in half the following year. Before long you have no deer left.
    - distances 8y ago
      > There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). Is there any culture using krill for human food? As far as I'm concerned, fishing should be completely banned in international waters -- this would also help developing nations that currently greatly suffer from commercial fishing emptying the seas close to their exclusivity zones.
      - Balero 8y ago
        As far as I'm aware it is mainly used for feeding fish in fish farms. So farmed Salmon etc all rely on krill fishing. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery)
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    Deer culls rarely have anything to do with deer starving. They are culled when they become pests, when they start spreading disease or endangering humans. Deer populations are not limited by resources, rather by the number of predators. What causes deer populations to explode isn't food but human intolerance for bear/cougar/wolves.
templar_muse 8y ago
Whalers are advised to remain vigilant due to unseasonable Klingon Bird of Prey activity in the area.
sanatgersappa 8y ago
Hopefully, they will still be around when that cylindrical object arrives in 2286 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_IV:_The_Voyage_Home https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_IV:_The_Voyage_Home
awakeasleep 8y ago
I wonder about the social impact of the whaling century. We see now see all sorts of antisocial behavior in elephants raised without their pack's 'teaching'- they are more violent, they rape rhinoceroses, etc. I imagine whales and elephants have similar intelligence, and would have as many 'cultural' forces shaping their behavior.
- runarberg 8y ago
  Indeed. Both elephants and humpback whales have been proven to possess cultures that passes down the generations in certain populations. I wonder what cultures were lost, and what the social impacts of loosing these cultures are.

81 points by dankohn1 8y ago

neuralpoet 8y ago

That's nice to see :)

ObeyTheGuts 8y ago

misleading title, whales give birth in tropical waters away from antarctica

sunstone 8y ago

Calling all Japanese fishing vessels.

anoplus 8y ago

I join the call: don't kill whales

smackay 8y ago

It's generally good news for Blue Whales as well, at least in the eastern Pacific, http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29069515 http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29069515 Given the level of hunting this gives me some kind of hope that all the environmental damage we have done can be fixed.

azernik 8y ago
Growing up in clean(-ish) LA air already gave me that hope.

ggm 8y ago

I worry about the predator:prey relationship implicit in the whale:krill thing. rebounds in one, with systemic changes in the underlying ecology (ie warming) mean the krill are more likely to exhaust which means we will inevitably see some downstream decline in whales, which will be painted by some people (the japanese whalers) as a catastrophy requiring culling.. or other outcomes. We probably have to ensure krill stocks. Which are being aggressively hoovered up to provide fishmeal feed for onshore fish farming, prawns, salmon and tuna ponds. This stuff is not going to go well. I am delighted the whale numbers are up. I am not confident its an overall good story.

avar 8y ago
What's concerning about that scenario per-se? A lot of wild animals (e.g. deer) are culled by man when they overpopulate in the wild with the same rationale, if it's done correctly it's a win-win, those animals would have starved anyway, and the hunters get the benefit of getting the animal before it becomes (in this case) crab food.
- Balero 8y ago
  My problem with it is the underlying ecological damage. There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). OP was arguing that the argument for culling would be to keep them at this constantly declining number. To use your deer analogy, it would be like cutting down half a forest ("fishing" the deer food), then saying you need to cull half the deer herd to keep them from overpopulation. Then judging by history, the forest would be cut in half the following year. Before long you have no deer left.
  - distances 8y ago
    > There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). Is there any culture using krill for human food? As far as I'm concerned, fishing should be completely banned in international waters -- this would also help developing nations that currently greatly suffer from commercial fishing emptying the seas close to their exclusivity zones.
    - Balero 8y ago
      As far as I'm aware it is mainly used for feeding fish in fish farms. So farmed Salmon etc all rely on krill fishing. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery)
- sandworm101 8y ago
  Deer culls rarely have anything to do with deer starving. They are culled when they become pests, when they start spreading disease or endangering humans. Deer populations are not limited by resources, rather by the number of predators. What causes deer populations to explode isn't food but human intolerance for bear/cougar/wolves.

templar_muse 8y ago

Whalers are advised to remain vigilant due to unseasonable Klingon Bird of Prey activity in the area.

sanatgersappa 8y ago

Hopefully, they will still be around when that cylindrical object arrives in 2286 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_IV:_The_Voyage_Home https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_IV:_The_Voyage_Home

awakeasleep 8y ago

I wonder about the social impact of the whaling century. We see now see all sorts of antisocial behavior in elephants raised without their pack's 'teaching'- they are more violent, they rape rhinoceroses, etc. I imagine whales and elephants have similar intelligence, and would have as many 'cultural' forces shaping their behavior.

runarberg 8y ago
Indeed. Both elephants and humpback whales have been proven to possess cultures that passes down the generations in certain populations. I wonder what cultures were lost, and what the social impacts of loosing these cultures are.