Whale Numbers
“What’s Killing Pacific Whales?” My dear friend Dr. Andrew DeVogelaere, Monterey
NOAA research scientist and Catholic layman, and his colleagues, published this
article in the New York Times this week with this subhead: “Emaciated gray
whales are washing ashore dead.
Scientists are trying to solve the mystery.”
It is science at its best: ideas, numbers, cautious,
caring, comprehensive. This NOAA research is a fabulous use of our tax dollars. Thanks, Andrew.
Read it at
I was struck by the article’s numbers:
167 –gray whales washed up dead this year along
the West Coast.
Unknown number – dead gray whales sunk to
bottom.
49 feet, 45 tons – gray whale average size
10,000 miles -their annual round trip Alaska
to Mexico and back.
.33 – fewer calves this year than last.
1.3 – tons of amphipods they must eat every
day in the summer in Alaska.
50 – gallons of milk baby gray whales must eat
every day after being born in Mexico.
8 – degrees warmer was the Alaska Bering sea
last summer, where whales feed.
1.8 and 5% - for every 1.8 degree increase, 5%
drop in total mass of sea animals.
27,000 – number of gray whales today.
120,000 – gray whales at peak of commercial
whaling in 1800’s.
41 – years since sea ice extent was bigger
than today, much less ice algae and amphipods to eat.
Quotes from the article:
“When these whales returned to their Baja breeding grounds in
early spring this year, they arrived weeks late and were skinnier than usual.
Now, not only do some of the adults seem to be malnourished as they pass by on
their return trip to the Arctic, but we are also seeing about one-third fewer
calves than we did in last year’s count. Baby whales need 50 gallons of milk a
day, with a fat content of 50 percent, which means their mothers need to be
well fed……
“Last summer, the whales’ prime
feeding habitat in the Bering Sea was more than eight degrees warmer than
average. Scientists are working to understand whether this anomaly affected the
amphipods that are the main source of food for the whales. Researchers think
the amphipods eat algae that grow on and within the sea ice. But with sea ice
melting, there is less algae and fewer amphipods. The maximum sea ice extent in
2018 was the lowest it has been in the last 41 years…..
“In the
coming months, scientists will gain a clearer picture of what’s been
happening. In the meantime, we can help these animals by supporting the
creation of more protected areas in the ocean, like the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary. These
places are strongholds of biodiversity that provide resilience against threats
like climate change. NOAA is also working with the private sector to modify
shipping routes and adjust fishing techniques. The health of these gray whales
depends on the health of the ocean. So does ours. We must do everything we can
to better understand and protect that world.”
Psalm
104:26:
What a wildly wonderful world, God!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and the whales, your pets, romp in them……
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and the whales, your pets, romp in them……
___________
“Strongholds
of biodiversity that provide resilience.”
Come visit the Blue Theology Mission Station in Pacific Grove for a day,
weekend or week, for a youth service trip or adult pilgrimage and see how the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is this kind of special, set apart,
sacred sanctuary that we believe God approves of. Like God herself, diverse and resilient. Bluethology.com. I post these ocean devotionals every
Wednesday here and on Facebook. Come and Sea!
