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We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deep ocean and this is the habitat of the mysterious beaked whales. Without even basic knowledge about beaked whales, conserving them is a major challenge.
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ORCA is coordinating a survey of Cuvier’s beaked whales in the southern Bay of Biscay this July.
Over the last ten years, ORCA’s ferry surveys have shown that beaked whales regularly occur in southern Biscay. It’s one of the best places in Europe to study these elusive creatures. The survey will assess the distribution and occurrence of this species in the deep Torrelavega Canyon, just 17km off the northern coast of Spain. It will also define the habitat of the Cuvier’s beaked whale by relating distribution to water depth and temperature. Each individual will be photographed so we can determine how many there are, whether they are faithful to a particular area or whether they have a large home range.
All this information is crucial to informing conservation policies.
Experienced observers will join the vessel, Bluefin, owned by our partners The Seamark Trust for one month. As well as making visual observations, the yacht will tow a hydrophone to test whether beaked whales can be detected acoustically. No one has done this before! Beaked whales produce echolocation clicks so that they can find food when they are at depth. Because they can dive to over 1000m and remain submerged for an hour, visual observers will often miss beaked whales because they’re underwater. Improving ways to detect beaked whales during surveys will mean that a picture of their distribution can be built up more accurately and ultimately, advance conservation efforts.
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Cuvier’s and other beaked whales are very sensitive to man-made noise, such as that produced during navy operations from sonar. Mass strandings of beaked whales in the Ionian Sea, Canary Islands, Bahamas, Madeira and most recently off northern Spain, have all have been linked to sonar use. It is no longer disputed that sonar can kill beaked whales; the question now is what can we do to stop it?
Military use of sonar is not going to stop. The noise in our oceans is only going to get worse. We need to identify areas where beaked whales occur and carry out research to fully understand their ecology. Only then will we have a strong case to present to the military and other noise-producing marine industries to stop activities within key areas. The Bay of Biscay is a key area and we must work quickly to conserve its beaked whales and other marine wildlife.
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ORCA has secured partial funding for this work from the Mammals Trust UK and the Sea Mammal Research Unit, St. Andrews. These organisations and our Spanish partner AMBAR are also loaning equipment and expertise.
However, we are still short of funds to meet the full scientific costs of this important work. Please help us sail this project to success.
Thank you.
Organisation Cetacea, Chair and Science Officer.
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