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Watch those nets

December 19 2008

Leg 3 certainly includes some challenges, one is by far the largest for my air breathing whale and dolphin friends in the world’s oceans - fishing gear. Fishing nets can be a threat both to whales and dolphins and to sailing boats, as Kosatka the boat, already experienced during leg 2 when she sailed into what is called a ghost net. On the way to Singapore, we will sail through intense fishing areas. But, while it can mean lost time for racing vessels, for us - whales and dolphins - it simply means death … a long and dreadful end.

Whales and dolphins need to come to the surface to breath and predominantly use sound to communicate and navigate. Fishing gear is often hard for us to detect. Once caught in a net, we hold our breath and suffocate from a lack of oxygen.

WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has just launched a report “shrouded by the sea …”, which summarizes the suffering caused by entanglement in nets. The document, addressed to governments, highlights that there is a huge unseen and hidden tragedy taking place under the surface of the sea, causing great suffering and the death of at least 300,000 whales and dolphins all around the world annually. I’m sure many people will wonder whether the same tragedy would be allowed to take place if it was happening on land.

However, there are some good news: WDCS experts achieved that governments decided earlier this month that in the near future range states shall develop an action plan to protect whales and dolphins in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Also, some coastal and artisanal fishermen have already started talking to those people who speak out for whales and dolphins to see how they can minimise the threat. That’s a promising vision, I’d say.

Kosatka

PS: more information about the WDCS Report can be found at www.wdcs.org.

PPS: here you can sign for the whale, helping to make the world’s oceans a safe place for whales and dolphins.