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Posts by The Marine Detective

Liebster Blog Award – Feel the Love!


On February 22nd, I received the following notification: “Dear Marine Detective, Your blog has won a Liebster Blog award from Seabed Habitats. See the nomination at this link. I am a big fan of yours.”

Award? For my blog?  The blog that I am propelled / compelled to write but that costs me so much time and effort that in darker moments I sometimes whisper . . .  why write?!

And . . . what’s a “Liebster”?!

In German Liebster is “dearest”, “darling” and “beloved”.

Hum . . . sounds good!  Yeah, I’ll accept that!

With a bit more research I discovered the “Liebster Award” is intended to be a gold star to further motivate bloggers like me – and maybe amplify our readership. What an honour!

And the Liebster is a darling that keeps on giving since the conditions of the award are that I am to pass on the Liebster love to 5 blogs that I consider particularly worthy and that have less than 200 subscribers.

I include the full Liebster rules at the end of this blog item but without further ado would like to spread the karma and share my 5 blog picks with you. Of course I would also like to give ocean deep thanks to Seabed Habitats for the great kindness of providing me with further motivation. I so appreciate it.

Water Blogged

“As the official blog of the Living Oceans Society, based in the small BC fishing community of Sointula, Water Blogged offers unique perspectives on local and global marine conservation issues. Water bloggers have also been known to write humorous and poignant accounts of coastal life, gripping marine mysteries and anything ocean-related that they just happen to find fascinating.”



Beneath the Looking Glass

“If the Ocean is a reflection of us,  as humanity, are we happy with what we see?   I invite you to follow me beneath the looking glass…   These will be non-scientific observations of a wild, wonderful world that is being dramatically altered by our every day choices. Every time you look in the mirror, ask yourself, were as many of those choices good for the Ocean (and the planet at large) as could have been? . . . By documenting and sharing the underwater world I hope to expand people’s awareness… People protect what they love… “



OrcaLab Blog


The depth of the dedication to whale conservation comes through with every word of these blog postings. “In 1970, Dr. Paul Spong founded OrcaLab, a small land based whale research station nestled against the evergreen forest of Hanson Island in the waters of the “Inside Passage” of northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The work of OrcaLab is centred on the philosophy that it is possible to study the wild without interfering with lives or habitat. A network of hydrophones, positioned around the orcas’ “core habitat”, helps us monitor their movements all year round. . . . OrcaLab’s work also includes vital conservation issues – preservation of orca habitat; release and rehabilitation of captive cetaceans, especially Corky; and bringing to an end the dismal era of commercial whaling.” Below – a stunning slideshow of 2011 images of OrcaLab’s wildlife and surrounding landscape set to David Gray’s inspirational song “Sail Away”.




The Salmon Guy

The Salmon Guy’s insights into salmon related government policy and conservation issues are deeply thoughtful and well-researched. He truly “gets” salmon and where we would be without this keystone species. “Contradictions, complexities, conflict abound around us. Here is an exploration of some those – synthesizing from various ways of thinking and relating. Not just a collection of thoughts and perspectives (and riffs and rants) on how we relate to wild salmon – this is also about how we relate to people and places within us and around us.”



Brandscaping Blog

Great tips for the likes of we bloggers on how to better get our message into the world. “The brandscaping.ca blog provides a loose variety of topics; marketing, advertising, and writing, as well as posts designed to help creative types find success in the freelance world.  Occasionally updated, sporadically funny, but purely Canadian.  Check it out today to see what’s going on in the brandscaping world.”



The rules of receiving a Liebster Award are as follows:

1. Show thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks (with less than 200 subscribers) and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Bask in the love from some of the most supportive people on the internet—other writers and artists.
5. And best of all – have fun and spread the karma.

Where are the Whales?!

A member of the A12 matriline of Northern Resident Killer Whales spyhops in Johnstone Strait. Likely A55 (aka “Echo”); male born in 1990. Photo by Jackie Hildering.

Where are the whales?!

If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked that question, I could now purchase an E-Tec engine for my little research boat and live with a clearer and cleaner carbon conscience!

It is indeed the question most often asked of marine naturalists and suggests that there are those who believe that there is incredible predictability to viewing wild whales; that there may even be a single location where they will always be found.

I have found that this is particularly true in reference to Killer Whales and that a significant number of people appear to believe that the Michael Bigg (Robson Bight) Ecological Reserve in Johnstone Strait will always have Killer Whales within its boundaries (see here for information on beach-rubbing).

Of course, it does not help comprehension that the inshore fishing-eating populations of British Columbia have been named “Residents”. This leads to Northern Vancouver Island often being promoted as “home” to a population of some 300 [2016 estimate] members of the Northern Resident Population.

In answering “Where are the whales”, I will make the point that you can never quite know where wild whales are and, when I think I can get away with being a little bit cheeky – which thankfully is quite often – I will make this point by with the answer “The whales are underwater”.

But, it is of course true that Northern Vancouver Island is possibly the most predictable place on earth to see Killer Whales and that it is our extraordinary privilege to live in the area that is a mecca for those hoping to see them – and so much more marine wildlife. However, the Killer Whales are not “resident” and they are not in this area in the 100s.

My answer to “Where are the whales” must therefore also explain that Killer Whales have culture; they have evolved into discrete “ecotypes” whose lifestyles have been shaped by what they eat.

BC’s waters have two populations of highly vocal and social in-shore fish-eating killer whales that love to snack on salmon (the northern and southern “Residents”); a population of stealthy marine-mammal-eating killer whales (“Transients” also known as “Bigg’s Killer Whales”); and a fish-eating population that is more often off the continental shelf and whose diet includes sharks (“Offshores”).

In order to preserve the culture that allows them to specialize on different prey, none of these populations mate with one another. The predictability of seeing them is dependent on where their prey is and how stealthy they have to be to successfully hunt.

Johnstone Strait is the only waterway that allows full passage on the inside of Vancouver Island and therefore it is like a funnel for the salmon traveling to natal rivers further south to spawn. This is why, most often, there are some families (“matrilines”) of the Northern Resident Population in our area from July into October/November. This is when the salmon are running and the Killer Whales are especially present when there is the opportunity to pursue fatty Chinook salmon.

Sometimes, presumably when whale bellies are full enough, there will be some 100 madly socializing members of the Northern Resident Killer Whale population around Johnstone Strait. However, this is a rarity since the families have different affinities for areas of BC’s coast.  There are some families, like the A34s and the A30s, that have an extraordinary affinity for fishing in this area, while there are other families like the Hs and Rs that very rarely chase the salmon around Johnstone Strait. Sometimes we even have groups of Southern Residents transiting through the area – this is the endangered population that is more often found near Victoria.

In contrast to Residents, there is less seasonality in the movements of the marine-mammal-eating “Transient” killer whales since seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, etc, can be here year round.  But, but, but . . . this does not mean that if you see a Killer Whale in our area in the winter, it is a Transient!

Resident killer whales can be here in the winter as well, but unlike at other times of the year, it is usually not for more than a day at a time and they likely are here to feed on other fish species like halibut. The OrcaLab on Hanson Island monitors whale vocals year round and, since every northern resident family’s calls are distinct, they can even conclude which families are in the area 

Despite all this knowledge, there is so much we do not know about BC’s Killer Whales and the threats that have necessitated all populations getting protection under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.

For Species at Risk Act “Status Reports” on the Pacific Northeast populations of Killer Whales – click the links below:

 

Fins Verses Feathers – Bigg’s Killer Whales Harass Rhinoceros Auklets

In the Northeast Pacific, “Bigg’s Killer Whales” (formerly known as “Transients”) are believed to have diverged from the “resident”  (inshore fish-eating) and “offshore” (offshore fish-eating) ecotypes some 700,000 years ago (Morin et al, 2010), to refine a culture of stealth and unpredictability in order to hunt their marine mammal prey.

I would suggest that we humans are the last species that should be judging others for how much they eat. However, often Bigg’s Killer Whales are profiled and misunderstood for interpretations of their feeding behaviour. This includes that they don’t always eat what they kill.

From Kuker and Barrett-Lennard (2010)  “Like many other predators, transient killer whales sometimes demonstrate ‘surplus killing’, killing greater numbers of prey than they consume (DelGiudice 1998, Wobeser 2000, Short et al. 2002). In surplus killing incidents, the whale plays with animals, such as sea birds (Stacey et al. 1990) and harbour seal pups (Gaydos et al. 2005). The whales may breach on the victim or toss and ram it until it dies, but it is not consumed. This behaviour could be part of the process of learning to hunt, in which adults are training young to capture and handle prey, or it could be simply play behaviour (Ford et al. 1998, Gaydos et al. 2005).”  

Below is my account of one such surplus killing events witnessed on August 31st, 2011. It was not a good day for some Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) in Johnstone Strait, British Columbia, Canada.

Young Bigg’s Killer Whale grabs Rhinoceros Auklet. Photo: Hildering. All photos taken with telephoto lens and cropped.

That day, I witnessed a very socially active group of Bigg’s Killer Whales repeatedly harassing these birds – mouthing them and slapping them. At least 3  juvenile Rhinoceros Auklets were involved. Since these are diving birds, they cannot “alight” and escape the teeth and fins below them. Yet, I believe they survived.

Bigg’s Killer Whale surfaces right beside a Rhinoceros Auklet. Photo: Hildering.

I personally had never seen such a prolonged display of this play behaviour before. In fact, I had never seen Bigg’s Killer Whales socialize quite so rambunctiously! [Update 2020, now that seals and sea lions are more readily available, members of this population appear to be far less stealthy]. 

Clearly, when their bellies are full and social needs dominate, this type of Orca is anything but stealthy. On August 31st, this incredibly socially active group of 20+ Bigg’s took about 1.5 hours to travel only +/- 4.5 km (2.5 nautical miles) – slapping birds, rolling over one another, tail slapping, vocalizing and breaching along the way. The whales would go on to bound past the community of Alert Bay, Cormorant Island. I have have previously written about this in the blog item “Might As Well Jump.” 

Jared Towers of the Department of Fisheries and Ocean has confirmed the IDs of the Bigg’s Killer Whales in the August 31, 2011 encounter to be:  T010s, T034s, T035s, T037s, T046Bs, and T146s.

Insight into this behaviour is provided by Dr. John Ford and Graeme Ellis. The following interpretation of the behaviour is from the chapter “Seabirds: Playthings and Practice, or Between-Seal Snacks?” in Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales of British Columbia, Washington, and Southeastern Alaska, 1999. 

“It is not unusual to see transients chasing and harassing seabirds. During most of these incidents, the whales do not seem intent on eating the birds. Rather, they let the bird escape or they abandon it after it has been injured or killed. Seabird harassment appears to be a favourite activity of juvenile transients. The young whales will sometimes swim upside down and on their sides, looking for birds paddling at the surface above. Once a victim is sighted, they will try to slap it with their tail flukes, jump on it, or seize it in their mouth. This interaction may continue for several minutes, before the bird is eaten, incapacitated, or left dead in the whale’s wake. We and others have recorded at least 10 seabird species that have become casualties of transients. Frequent victims are common murres, which are flightless for several weeks during the late summer and are like “sitting ducks” for transients.  Other species include black brant, common loon, white-winged scoter, surf scoter, cormorant (species uncertain), western grebe, marbled murrelet, rhinoceros auklet, and red-breasted merganser.  Seabirds seem to be more important as objects of play or harassment than as a dietary item. Juveniles playing with seabirds no doubt learn useful skills in prey capture and handling that may enhance their success in hunting harbour seals and other wily prey.”  

Bigg’s Killer Whale tail-slapping a Rhinoceros Auklet. Photo: Hildering. 

Sources:

Barrett-Lennard, L.G., Heise, K. 2007. The Natural History and Ecology of Killer Whales: Foraging Specialization in a Generalist Predator. In Estes, J.A., Brownell, R.L., DeMaster, D.P., Doak, D.F., Williams, T.M.  Whales, whaling and ocean ecosystems. University of California Press, Berkely, C.A.

Ford, J.K.B., and Ellis, G.M. 1999. Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales of British Columbia, Washington, and Southeastern Alaska. UBC Press, Vancouver, and U. of Washington Press, Seattle. 96 pp

Kuker, Katie & Barrett-Lennard, Lance. (2010). A re‐evaluation of the role of killer whales Orcinus orca in a population decline of sea otters Enhydra lutris in the Aleutian Islands and a review of alternative hypotheses. Mammal Review. 40. 103 – 124. 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00156.x.

Of Angels and Argonauts?

T’is the season for reflection. It is the time of year where, the nebulous, undefinable but essential life forces of hope, love and spirituality may burn brightest.

So for you, I share the following story.

I emphasize that this is an atypical blog item for The Marine Detective and I have had to wrestle my left brain into submission to write it. I am very fearful too of feeding the monster of human need to get up close and personal to whales and claim a “piece” of them.

With that preamble and context – I give you this story for Christmas:

In the fall of 2011, while aboard with Orcella Expeditions and talking about my whale research with the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), I explained how and why we nickname Humpback Whales.

In short, we nickname the whales for a feature on their flukes since the scientific alphanumeric names (e.g. BCZ0297)  are much more difficult to remember. [See my past blog item “What’s in a Name” for a more detailed explanation including photos of nicknamed Humpbacks.]

Where we can, we like to have local school children nickname the whales for reasons I am sure you understand.

BCY0729. Note the marking in the shape of an “A” on the left fluke. Photo: Hildering.

But that day, just after talking about the Humpbacks, I learned of the death of man who loved the sea – a man of depth and creativity who should still walk among us. I heard about Jason from his father Cliff, whose eyes of course told more about the pain, loss and love of his son than words could.  I had only recently met Cliff and never had the privilege of knowing Jason. 

Immediately, I thought of the Humpback Whale BCY0729 who has a marking on his left fluke that looks very much like the letter “A”. 

As an exception to having children name the whales, I decided we could nickname this whale “Argonaut” in honour of Jason. [if unclear about the association between “Jason” and “Argonauts”, please click here].

It was a simple thing to do. We had a good nickname for the whale and Cliff and his family had some comfort in the sentiment and symbolization of a whale being nicknamed for Jason. 

That was September 3rd, 2011. Below, email correspondence to Jason’s father on September 22nd.

“Cliff, I got goosebumps today and had tears in my eyes.
 And – you’re going to get the same.
I saw Argonaut today, for the first time since September 30th, 2010. He was very near Telegraph Cove feeding in the area with another juvenile whale that we have named “Guardian” because there is an angel-like marking on this whale’s tail (rimmed in a yellowish shade). 
You’ll see from the photos that it was a very wet and misty day . . . beautiful. I was on a school trip [for Stubbs Island Whale Watching] with a group of local First Nations school children . . . I shared the story of Argonaut with them and of course, it moved them.”

Argonaut on September 22nd, 2011. Photo: Hildering.

Guardian on September 22nd, 2011. Photo: Hildering.

Guardian on September 9th, 2011. The image shows the yellow angel-like shape around the centre of the fluke. Photo: Leah Thorpe, MERS. Leah also nicknamed Guardian.

I saw Argonaut and Guardian every other day I went out up to October 30th, 2011. They were not always right beside one another but they were within the same general area. 

Does this have any significance beyond two Humpback Whales with distinctly marked tails feeding together?  The beauty is, I’ll never know, no matter how much data I collect.

There is “something” about whales that I use almost daily to try to engage and motivate and frankly, plea with people to get their heads out of their bottoms and realize that their daily frivolous actions (and inactions) collectively cause such needless environmental damage.

Coincidence such as this story of “Angels and Argonauts” is the kind of thing that throws my structured-science-oriented left brain into discussion with my philosophical-reflective right brain about the undefinable and intangible.  But something both sides of my brain agree upon . . .  these giant sentient beings inspire marvel and wonder and hope and comfort and, so often . . . they inspire us gangly bipeds to understand connectedness and the truly important things in life.  

May the greatness we sense from whales inspire us to bigger things that benefit society and the environment. 

Merry Christmas readers.

I leave you with this sound clip of Jason singing “With or Without You” – a small indication of the depth of the man who loved the sea. Click here to listen.

Update December 2014: Since writing this blog in 2011, Argonaut has become one of the most predictably sighted whales in our area. Guardian too is seen very predictably but is rarely with Argonaut. When Cliff came back in 2013 hoping to see the whale named in honour of his son, we spotted Argonaut within minutes of being on the water.

Update July 2016: Argonaut is now part of our Marine Education and Research Society’s Humpback Sponsorship Program as a means of funding research and education to reduce threats to whales like Argonaut. Please see here.

Argonaut lunge feeding on September 28, 2011. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut at sunset on October 7th, 2011. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut tail-slapping August 2012. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut tail-slapping August 2012. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut breaching October 2013. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut breaching October 2013. Photo: Hildering

Argonaut October 2014. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut October 2014. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut on September 27, 2015. Photo: Hildering.

Argonaut September 27, 2015. Photo: Hildering.

Go WILD This Christmas – Create Hope, Not Garbage

A39 aka “Blackney” from the A30 matriline of fish-eating “northern resident” killer whales. Photo: Hildering

Go WILD, really WILD this Christmas – but not in raging consumer gluttony; not in garbage-creating obscenity; not in a way that leaves you hollow; and not by extensively impacting both your and the earth’s resources.

I think few will disagree that ours is a society gone mad with consumerism. We are relentlessly and oh-so-cunningly pummeled with messaging that we will be happier, more loved, sexier and perceived to be more successful if we purchase this item, and this one, and . . . this one!

But, there are powerful rays of hope above the landfill. More and more of us recoil at the consumerism, realizing its true cost. There appears to be a powerful societal wave moving us back to simplicity, peace and quality of experience where it’s not about the having . . . it’s about the holding.

As part of this shift, if gifts are to be given, we strive for them to be meaningful; where value is not measured in dollars but in societal/ecological benefit.

Below, I share five WILD ideas for gifts that go deep, benefitting marine research and conservation in British Columbia.

Note that there are of course so many more good causes than those I list below. What has guided my selection is that I have a direct connection to (and resulting depth of knowledge about) the environmental non-governmental organizations listed below.

1.  OrcaLab
Click here to join the “OrcaLab 100” – one hundred people committing to a monthly donation (be it ever so small) so that the OrcaLab can count on a steady stream of support. You symbolically represent a “northern resident” A Clan whale and receive a personalized write-up of the whale with the whale’s photo; notification of when the whale is first sighted back in the area; and access to an exclusive FaceBook OL100 supporters’ page.
For more than 40 years, Dr. Paul Spong and Helena Symonds (recently joined by Leah Robinson) have served as the watch-keepers/guardians of the whales of the Blackfish Sound /Johnstone Strait area. From the remote Orca Lab, they acoustically monitor the area year-round, 24 hours a day. They record any whale calls, attempt to correlate whale vocals with behaviour and create public engagement and awareness by broadcasting these calls on-line. They also advocate so powerfully to end whaling and having killer whales in captivity. Their work has only become more intense over the last years since, in addition to recording killer whale calls, now humpbacks are vocalizing in the area! Click the image below for a sample of humpback song recorded by the OrcaLab on October 23, 2011.  Click here for a history of the OrcaLab. 

2.  The Wild Killer Whale Adoption Programme (KWAP)
Click here to symbolically adopt one of BC’s killer whales and support the wild killer whale research listed here. All 4 discrete populations of killer whales in British Columbia’s waters are in trouble and hence, there is an acute need for further research. Government funded research is, not surprisingly, very limited.
You can adopt a whale from the birth year of the recipient for an extra personal touch. The gift package includes:  A picture of the whale with its life story; a certificate that tells you’re wonderful; an annual research update; a CD with killer whale vocals and the commentary of leading acoustics researcher, Dr. John Ford and – a cloth bag that can be used over and over again, for further earth-friendly joy. 

3. The Marine Education and Research Society (MERS)
Click here to make a donation to MERS and you support the local humpback and minke whale research with which I am directly involved. Include the name and email address of the person you are honoring with the donation and they will be sent an email informing them of how you have helped MERS’ research and education efforts and how invalable this support is to us.

4. The Whale Interpretive Society (WIC)
Click here to adopt a transient killer whale bone so that T44’s skeleton can be put together  (articulated) for the purposes of education.

Sharks Among Us #4 – The Salmon Shark

This is a Salmon Shark (Lamna ditropis) that washed up dead on a beach in Carrot Park in Port Hardy, B.C. on November 23rd, 2011. 

Salmon Shark found dead on Port Hardy beach on November 23, 2011. Photo: Mandy Ludlow.

Local Department of Fisheries and Oceans staff conducted an external examination and collected the unfortunate shark so that a full necropsy could be done at a later date.  Although salmon sharks are common in the North Pacific, examining the body may allow science to find out more about the species and how this individual died. 

The dead Salmon Shark was just over 1.5 metres (length from the nose to fork in the tail = fork length). The species can be 3.7 m and weigh up to 454 kg.

Cut in the pectoral fin suggesting the shark died as a result of by-catch in the longline fishery. Photo: Mandy Ludlow.

Salmon Sharks are of no threat to humans, however, the species does suffer impacts from humanity. 

The Port Hardy Salmon Shark had external injuries that suggest it may have been caught in a fishing net and possibly even shot.  It had a large cut on its tongue and on one of its pectoral fins and there was a circular hole behind the dorsal fin.  Many shark species suffer the threat of  by-catch in nets since they are targeting the same species we humans are fishing for.  

If it is determined that this shark indeed was caught in a net, this may be particularly interesting since I believe there are no openings for net fisheries at this time of year. 

Cut also found on the shark’s tongue. Photo: Mandy Ludlow.

Although Salmon Sharks feed on many species of fish, they are indeed a very successful predator of salmon.

Salmon Sharks can regulate their body temperatures to be higher than the temperature of the surrounding water. The Salmon Shark, in fact, has a higher body temperature than any other shark species. Apparently, even when the water is 2° C, their internal temperature can be 16° C.

This ability to thermoregulate is why, in part, Salmon Sharks can be incredibly fast. The US Navy has recorded speeds of up to 80 km/hr.  

I was heartened by the response of the majority of people to the death of this shark. It seems society might be moving beyond the “Jaws Effect” where we demonized sharks because we have bought into their fictitious portrayal.  

Many of us now seem to embrace shark fact rather than fiction, realizing that sharks pose little threat to humans; that they have been shaped by some 200 million years of evolution; that globally they are struggling to survive; and that they have an essential role in marine ecosystems.

Hole behind the dorsal fin. Photo: Mandy Ludlow.

Sharks, as top-level predators, strongly shape food webs.   Loss of such predators has proven to have profound effects on the number and diversity of other species.   

The unenlightened are still out there though. It may be an inevitability that sharks get caught in fishing nets but they need not then be shot or butchered. Locally, I have seen evidence of both. 

[Update: December 22nd, 2011 – The necropsy revealed that this was a female shark. It is also now known that the shark was caught in a hook and line sable fish fishery and that the hole behind the dorsal was the result of a hook. It is rare that there is shark bycatch in this type of non-net fishery.]

Skin parasite (ectoparasite). I have no expertise here but had suggested that this a copepod from the Caligidae family.

For further information on Salmon Sharks, please refer to the natural history information from ARKive below.  

Salmon shark image from ARKive site. Click image for two ARKive videos of salmon sharks hunting. Credit: BBC Natural History Unit.

Salmon Shark Information
from ARKive

Description

A formidable hunter, the salmon shark (Lamna ditropis) is sometimes mistaken for the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), but can be distinguished by its shorter snout and the dusky blotches that mark the white abdomen of adults (3) (4). The rest of the salmon shark’s stocky, spindle-shaped body is dark bluish-grey or blackish, with white blotches around the base of the pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin is large, while the second dorsal and anal fins are tiny and are able to pivot. Its crescent-shaped tail gives it impressive propulsion through the water (2) (3), while its large, well-developed eyes enable it to spot potential prey (2), and its large, blade-like teeth are well suited to gripping slippery fish(2) (3).

Range

The salmon shark occurs in the North Pacific Ocean. From Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the Pacific coast of Russia, its distribution extends east to the Pacific coast of the U.S.A., Canada, and probably Mexico (3).  See this species on Google Earth.

Habitat

The salmon shark is a coastal and oceanic shark, inhabiting waters between 2.5 and 24 degrees Celsius, generally from the surface down to depths around 152 metres, although one individual has been recorded at 255 metres (3).

Biology

Occurring singly or in schools of several individuals (3), salmon sharks are long distance, high-speed predators (2), occasionally seen at or near the surface in some areas. They can maintain their body temperature well above that of the surrounding cold water of the North Pacific, and may have the highest body temperature of any shark (3). This allows them to maintain warm swimming muscles and internal organs, so they can still hunt effectively in cool waters (2).

The salmon shark is considered to be one of the main predators of the Pacific salmon, and its voracious feeding on this fish has earned it its common name (3). However, it is an opportunistic feeder that consumes a wide variety of fish that also includes (amongst many others) herring, sardines, pollock, Alaska cod, lanternfishes and mackerel. It also feeds on some squid and is sometimes attracted to by-catch dumped back into the ocean by shrimp trawlers (3).

After spending the summer in the north of their range, the salmon shark migrates south to breed. In the western North Pacific they migrate to Japanese waters whereas in the eastern North Pacific, the salmon shark breeds off the coast of Oregon and California, USA. The young are born in spring after a gestation period of around nine months (3). The salmon shark is ovoviviparous (young hatch inside the female; they are nourished by their yolk sac and then ‘born’ live), and oophagy (when the growing embryos eat unfertilized eggs to gain nutrients) has been recorded in this shark (4). Most litters contain between two and five young. Male salmon sharks are thought to mature at about five years and live to at least 27 years; females reach maturity at eight to ten years and are known to live to at least 20 years (3).

Threats

The salmon shark is often caught as by-catch in Japanese, United States and Canadian fisheries. When caught, often just the fins are taken for shark fin soup and the rest is discarded, although sometimes the flesh may be sold for consumption in Japan and the United States (4). Many fishermen view salmon sharks as pests, as they often damage fishing gear, making them more likely to be killed if captured (4). In addition to the threat of by-catch, some recreational fishing for this shark occurs in Alaskan and Canadian waters (4), and some commercial fishing has taken place in the past, such as in Prince William Sound, Alaska (5).

Conservation

In 1997, the Alaska Board of Fisheries closed all commercial shark fishing in state waters and implemented strict regulations in the state sports fishery for salmon sharks (4). Measures such as these are vital in protecting this species’ future, until further research can determine the conservation status of this magnificent predator.

Additional information:

Click here for two ARKIve videos showing Salmon Sharks hunting.

Click here for the petition to ban shark fin products in Canada and here for video by astounding 18-year-old Madison Stewart about the vilification of sharks and the atrocities of shark-finning . . . 73 million sharks killed/year for their fins = 190 sharks killed/minute.

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle off the Coast of BC!

[Update: Another Olive Ridley Sea Turtle was found in BC waters on September 30, 2019 in the Alberni Inlet. It is in care with Marine Mammal Rescue. It is the 4th Olive Ridley Sea Turtle ever known to be off the coast of BC. Has been named “Berni” and progress can be tracked at this link. ]

4th Olive Ridley Turtle known to be found off BC’s coast. Found 2019-09-30 in Alberni Inlet by Kraig Kimoto.

Below, initial blog item about the first ever Olive Ridley Sea Turtle found off the coast of British Columbia in 2011.

An Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) washed up on the southwest side of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Rim National Park on November 23rd, 2011. It was alive when found but tragically has died Since sea turtles other than Leatherbacks can go into a comatose-like state due to “cold stunning”, great care was taken to ensure the turtle was indeed dead. The necropsy determined that the turtle had suffered blunt force trauma, which suggests there had been a collision with a boat. 

This 2011 sighting is the first known sighting of this sea turtle species in British Columbian waters although, since they have been sighted in Alaska and Washington, it was anticipated that B.C. is part of their range. With the find of this unfortunate Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, B.C. can officially state that there are  3 species of sea turtle known to be in our waters. The other two are the Leatherback Sea Turtle (endangered and belongs in our waters) and Green Sea Turtle (endangered and also a species that would go into cold shock).  The Olive Ridley is the smallest of the world’s sea turtles with a maximum size of 1 metre. 

For facts about the natural history and conservation concerns for Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, click here for the Cetacean Sightings Network’s fact sheet. Click here to directly link to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) assessment report determining this species is “Vulnerable”; one risk level below Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The report includes natural history information in addition to relaying conservation concerns.

I was unsuccessful in finding out the origin of this turtle species’ unique name. “Olive” is due to the colour of the carapace but why “Ridley”?

From the Westerly News article about the 2011 historic sighting: Westerly News; November 25, 2011; “Sea turtle found in Pacific Rim park – A first for B.C. waters”

A sea turtle species never before observed in B.C. waters was discovered at Wickaninnish Beach in Pacific Rim National Park reserve this week.

A species of sea turtle never before seen in B.C. waters arrived on Wickaninnish Beach this week.

Parks Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Vancouver Aquarium worked together to confirm the event as the first-ever sighting of an olive ridley sea turtle in B.C. waters.

“B.C. residents can be proud to learn that we now officially have three sea turtle species in our waters,” stated a media release from the three organizations involved.

A visitor to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve discovered the stranded and badly injured turtle on the beach on Tuesday. The visitor alerted park staff who examined the turtle and noted it had a broken shell and very few signs of life, only occasional flipper and eye movements.

Staff took the turtle away for monitoring and transport and on Wednesday staff from Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Marine Mammal Response Network took the turtle for further examination.

The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre provided help identifying and assessing the turtle, stabilizing the animal and recommending treatment.

“Since there was a small chance the turtle was affected by cold-stunning, a comatose state that develops in sea turtles that are exposed to sub-optimal temperatures, the turtle was transported to the aquarium where Dr. Martin Haulena and his team could do an examination,” stated the media release.
At the aquarium’s hospital, the team provided emergency treatment including fluids. An electrocardiogram and ultrasound were performed to look for a heartbeat.

Although there were faint electrical deflections noted, they were very weak and very infrequent. It was confirmed dead the very next morning.” On Thursday, B.C. Ministry of Agriculture pathologist, Dr. Stephen Raverty, performed a necropsy at the Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Vancouver Aquarium veterinary staff.

The necropsy found that the turtle was a sub-adult female that died of blunt force trauma of an unknown source. Two small pieces of hard plastic were found in the turtle’s stomach. “Although not the cause of death for this turtle, the finding was an important reminder that the ingestion of marine debris is a significant threat to sea turtles.”

Future plans for the turtle’s body include genetic testing to confirm its species and to determine which population she belonged to. “It is not yet clear which population the turtle comes from, but [the] closest olive ridley nesting areas are on Pacific beaches of Mexico and Central America.”

The olive ridley is a small sea turtle that typically lives in tropical and warm waters.

“Scientists had been anticipating evidence that the olive ridley sea turtle was found in B.C. waters,” stated the media release, “since other sightings have been confirmed in Alaska and Washington.”

“Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Vancouver Aquarium appreciate the public’s role in reporting this important marine animal sighting.  Reports of dead, injured, distressed marine mammals and sea turtles can be reported to the Marine Mammal Response Network hotline 1-800-465-4336. Sightings of live, free swimming sea turtle and cetaceans can be reported to the Vancouver Aquarium’s BC Cetacean Sightings Network at 1-866-ISAWONE. When inside a national park, reports can be made directly to Parks Canada staff.

Further links related to sea turtle standings in British Columbia:

The Tide is High . . .

The tide is high and I’m holding on . . . in attempting to explain the following.

Truth is, even thought I taught science for years and live by the tides, I get a little dizzy when I strive to explain how our winter tides can be particularly high and low.

Why this is topical is because, this Friday, November 25th, there will be an extremely high tide and a very large tidal exchange. Tide tables for Alert Bay indicate that the ocean will bulge to a 17.44′ (5.3 m) high at around 12:30. Then it will drop by 17.16′ (5.2 m) to a 0.28′ (8.5 cm) low tide around 7:30 PM. It is relevant that this is happening in the winter.

To challenge my teacher skills, I will try to be as succinct as possible in explaining what is causing this.

  • Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun.
  • The strength of this gravitational pull is constantly changing because the earth is rotating on its axis (cycle of a day; 23 hours and 56 min) while orbiting around the sun (cycle of a year; 365.24 days) and the moon is orbiting around the earth (cycle of a month; 27.3 days).

 

  • I will not get into the detail of how this happens, but because of the movement of the moon relative to the earth, a “tidal day” is about 24 hours and 50 minutes long so the cycle of high and low tides is about 50 minutes later each day. In our position on earth, we get “mixed semi-diurnal tides”  which means that over 24 hours and 50 minutes we get a high tide, then a low tide, another high tide (of a different height that the first high tide), and then another low tide (of a different height that the first low tide). 
  • When the moon and sun are in line with the earth, their gravitational forces combine and the high tides are higher and the low tides are lower. These strong tides are known as Spring tides (but they have NOTHING to do with the season “Spring”!) There are two scenarios when the moon and sun are in a line. (1) Full Moon and (2) New Moon. Please see diagram below. 

 

  • This Friday, we have a New Moon. The moon will be in a line between the sun and the earth. The sun and the moon will therefore combine their forces on the ocean making for a really high tide and a really low tide.
  • HOWEVER, it is also significant that it is winter for us now. The gravitational pull is even greater because, the way the earth travels in its yearly elliptical orbit around the sun, it is closest to the sun during the northern hemisphere’s winter. The earth is closer to the sun so there is an even greater gravitational pull.
  • Wait, if the earth is closest to the sun in the winter WHY is it colder for us right now?! This is because of the way the earth tilts. Our half of the world is tilted away from the sun right now. The southern hemisphere is basking in the rays.

How was that explanation?

How about this animation? Does it offer any greater clarity?


Okay, how about this . . . Blondie, from 1980!  

Your reward for “hanging on” in wanting to understand why  . . . the tide is high! 


Update:

As a very valued by-product of his reading this blog, Rod Gray dared go where I did not and shared an explanation of why we have 2 high tides and 2 low tides per day in our area (i.e mixed semidiurnal tides):

“The “main” high tide, the one caused by the earth rotating under the bulge in the ocean caused by the moon’s gravitational pull is easy enough to understand, but what about the other tide, caused by a bulge on the other side of the earth? The (very simplified) explanation goes like this:

To say that the moon orbits the earth is not precisely correct. Actually, the moon and the earth both orbit around a common point which is their center of combined mass. This point happens to be within the earth, but not at its center. Thus, the position of the earth (within the earth/moon system) is not stationary, but travelling in a relatively small circle (whose period is that of the moon’s orbit around the earth). Therefore, just as a person on a merry-go-round feels an apparent centrifugal force (seemingly) pulling them away from the center, the ocean (on the opposite side from the bulge caused by the moon’s gravity) also bulges in response to the apparent centrifugal force caused by the earth “orbiting” around the earth/moon center of gravity. In other words, one of the high tides is caused by the pull of the moon, and the other high tide is caused by centrifugal force.”

Yeah Rod!  And thank you!

Octo-brrr Octopus!

Image 1: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

It was 7.2° C (45° F)  in the ocean yesterday. Even in summer, I’ve only experienced a high of about 10° C. 

Typical for Northern Vancouver Island at this time of year, it was also windy enough for us to abort going out for a boat dive.  

Windy, chilly, drizzly, grey . . . what’s a cold-water scuba diver to do?

Get in the cold, dark green water however you can because you KNOW what kind of beauty and wonder are always to be found below the surface, even where you moor your boat! 

And indeed, under the dock, at only 6 m (20′) we found a Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), curled up on a piling, incredibly tolerant of  this ecstatic marine educator. Octopuses are SUCH intelligent animals.  I felt as much like I was being scrutinized as he/she must have felt as I observed and photographed this awe-inspiring creature.  

This individual was “only” about average size (23 to 42 kg).  They can weigh more than 73 kg!  I promise many more details on this species in future blog items.

Image 2: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

There was so much other beauty under the dock but, for this blog posting, I will leave it at sharing the wonder of this Octo-brr octopus. 

 Bring on Novem-brrr to Fe-brrr-ary! The cold-water diving is so worth it! 

To see these (and additional) images from this octopus photo-shoot at full size, click here.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me know, via blog comments, which image (#1 to 6) you believe is the best. This will determine which image ends up in next year’s WILD Northern Vancouver Island Calendar.


To see video of a Giant Pacific Octopus subtly changing colour and texture, please see this previous blog item. 

Image 3: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

Image 4: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

Image 5: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

Image 6: Oct. 29 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Hildering

Holy Mola!

Update February 2nd, 2021
This blog was written in 2011 reporting this to be a Mola mola.
I can now share that this is NOT a Mola mola. It is a Mola tecta! It is now known that there are two species of Mola in the NE Pacific Ocean. See the CBC news article announcing this here: Meet the Hoodwinker, the Ocean Sunfish we Misidentified for Years.

Mola tecta is the Hoodwinker Sunfish. See diagram at the end of this blog for the discerning characteristics.

As a result of writing this blog in 2011 (with the great photos taken by friends), I was contacted in 2020 by the researcher who could discern this species, Marianne Nyegaard who works in New Zealand. Now, in my role with the Marine Education and Research Society, we are helping get more sightings of Mola off the coast of BC to get a better sense of relative abundance. To relay sightings, please see this link.

Something very unexpected landed near the Port Hardy seaplane base on October 20th, 2011 – a dead Mola tecta. This species of ocean sunfish looks like a cartoon character rather than a relatively fast-moving, deep-diving fish whose design has been perfected by millions of years of evolution.

Chad Chrighton, the pilot who found the Mola tecta near the seaplane base. Photo credit: Mike D’Amour (North Island Gazette).

This fish species is aptly named since Mola means “millstone” in Latin and indeed this fish looks like a huge, flat, gray circle and has rough skin.  It appears to have no body, only a giant, round, flat head with a small beak-like mouth. It is propelled by two pointy fins (dorsal and anal) and is steered by a wide, rounded, rudder-like tail. 

Photo credit: Erika Grebeldinger.

Mola species were believed to be passive drifters who travelled only at the surface, wherever the current took them. However, satellite tracking studies have revealed that they dive deeper than 600 m and travel an average of 10 to 20 km per day, the same distance traveled by open-ocean shark species. 

 

Matthew Drake measuring the Mola tecta To give you get a sense of size, Matthew is 2m tall (6.5′). Photo credit: Erika Grebeldinger.

They are certainly a rarity on the inside of Vancouver Island however and I greatly appreciate that Matthew Drake let me know about this find and that he undertook a necropsy of the giant together with Louisa Clarke and Natasha Dickinson. 

This Mola tecta measured 2.00 m wide, from beak to tail fin, and 2.06 m long, from the tip of one pointy fin to the other. It may have weighed more than 200 kg. Remarkably, this is small for its kind. Mola tecta hold the record for being the largest bony fish on earth with an average mass of 1 tonne. The largest Mola mola (cousin to Mola tecta) ever recorded was 2,235 kg and 3.10 m by 4.26 m (it was struck by a boat near Australia in the early 1900s). Note that the whale shark can be more than 9 times bigger than this but, it is not a bony fish. 

Mouthparts. Photo credit: Mandy Ludlow.

Matt and the team concluded that the Port Hardy Mola tecta was female which meant that she could have up to 300 million eggs in her one ovary. This is another record for the species: having more eggs than any other animal with a backbone.  Another astounding fact is that the larvae could grow to be 60 million times their weight at hatching.

The investigation also revealed partially digested jellyfish in her gut, which is the typical prey of Molas / Sunfish. Their diet also includes small fish, eelgrass and crustaceans and they are able to spit out and pull in water and food with their unique mouthparts. As with all species that feed on jellies, a conservation concern is that they mistake plastic bags for their food. However, there was no evidence for this being the cause of death for this particular Mola tecta.  

Maybe parasites were a factor in her death? The team found lots of skin and intestinal parasites! Some of the round worms in the guts were even still alive. Parasites are common for Mola molas. In fact, it is now believed that the behaviour of “sunning” at the surface (hence, ocean “sunfish”) might be so that birds can feed on the skin parasites and that jumping more than 3 m out of the water might help dislodge some parasites too. Mola tectas are also found associated with drifting kelp patches, where small fish can clean away the pests.  

HOLY MOLA you never know what you are going to find in our amazing marine backyard. 

All the information collected was reported to oceansunfish.org and the mouth parts are on display in Telegraph Cove’s Whale Interpretive Centre. 

 

Beware!  Fabulous Mola tecta parasite pictures below! 

Advance only if you are NOT about to eat lunch and/or if you a biology-type like me who can view these kinds of photos in rapturous fascination anytime!

Photo by Erika Grebeldinger.

Sources: 

Links regarding other Mola species:

 

 

Her intestines were an astounding mass of worms. Likely the species include the parasitic flatworm, Nematobibothrioides histoidii which is thread-like but can grow to be over 12 m (40′). No one apparently knows just how long they can become, in part because dissections/necropsies on Mola mola are rare events. Photo credit: Natasha Dickinson. 

Parasites near the eye. Photo credit: Mandy Ludlow.

More great ectoparasites. Photo credit: Matthew Drake. 

Her single ovary. Can have 300 million eggs. Photo credit: Natasha Dickinson.