deaths

— TV reporter: “Woah! Dead whales!” Record high number of dead whales in Hawaii; “Carcasses scattered throughout islands”; low numbers of calves and cows off Hawaii, Philippines, Japan; “Possible health effects” from Fukushima radiation (VIDEO)

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“Swimming through that for eight hours a day for an entire year could have possible health effects,”
Dr. Ken Buesseler, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

What do whales do for the other 16 hours a day, Dr. Buesseler? Stop the smoke and mirrors! 

Educational comments posted with the article as well. 

From ENE News

February 5, 2017

KGMB, Jan 17, 2017 (emphasis added): Officials investigate record number of humpback whale deaths… Six humpback whale carcasses have washed up onto Hawaii shores since November. That’s double the number typically found in a season, which runs from November to May… The previous record [of five] whale carcasses found in Hawaii waters was in 2013… Biologists aren’t sure what’s behind the increase in deaths. “It is higher than usual. It’s almost double this early in the season for what we’d get in a whole season,” said [NOAA’s] David Schofield… Since November, whale carcasses have been scattered throughout the main Hawaiian islands… Biologists are investigating to see if the whales starved or if there’s a problem with the ocean’s health… officials will be meeting with partners in Alaska and Washington D.C. to investigate further.

KGMB reporter Mahealani Richardson, Jan 17, 2017: Woah! Dead whales! Wildlife officials are investigating a mystery over a record number of humpback whale deaths

Other recent whale deaths in Hawaii

KHON, Nov 22, 2016: Beached melon-headed whale euthanized on Maui… “The body condition was significantly compromised…” said [NOAA’s] Aliza Milette-Winfree… a necropsy will be done to determine what made it sick.

KHON, Oct 23, 2016: A pregnant dwarf sperm whale found dead on Maui’s Makena shoreline… this is very unusual because these whales normally live in deep waters… samples have been sent to the mainland to see if the whale also had any diseases… [NOAA] reported that a witness saw two small whales stranded in Makena…

AP, Aug 26, 2016: Experts are reporting the sighting of a sickly humpback whale off Maui. [NOAA’s] Malia Chow said Friday the animal is emaciated and covered in whale lice… She says the animal’s poor condition is a mystery.

Hakai Magazine, May 25, 2016: No-Show Pacific Ocean Humpbacks Stump Scientists… Whale researchers from around the Pacific are reporting that far fewer whales showed up in their usual wintering grounds…  [NOAA’s Ed Lyman] says he started noticing changes in December 2015… [He] was getting calls from tour boat operators asking where the whales were. “Something happened this year,” agrees Jim Darling, a researcher with the nonprofit Whale Trust Maui. “It almost seemed as if the females didn’t bother to show up”… the density of cows and calves was especially low… Darling also reported hearing from colleagues in the Philippines and Japan of similarly low whale numbers… Also striking was the low number of calves… Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, also saw fewer whales than normal says Oscar Frey, an oceanographer… he observed “the least number of mothers with babies that I have ever seen.”

How about in 2017? — The Garden Island, Jan 30, 2017: Annual whale count… [Jean Souza, HINMS Kauai programs coordinator] said the Kauai sites… saw an average of four whale viewings within a 15-minute time count period… down from the six sightings of the 2016 count.

Dr. Ken Buesseler, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Jan 7, 2017: “We know there can be health effects from exposure to any amount of radiation… the highest level we’ve seen north of Hawaii is 10 Becquerels per cubic meter. Swimming through that for eight hours a day for an entire year could have possible health effects, but that additional dose is one thousand times smaller than a single dental X-ray.”

Watch KGMB’s broadcast here

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— Monterey Bay: Another dead whale found at Santa Cruz, California

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From the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Monterey Herald,
May 4, 2015

NOTE: The Herald article is not on the home page and is difficult to find unless you have the link. It has been changed a lot from the print edition and it is missing these paragraphs about cause of death and investigation –

Milbury said it’s not clear what caused the whale’s death.

“There is nothing external on the whale, like entanglement or ship strike marks, that indicate the cause of death,” Milbury said.

Karen Grimmer, NOAA’s resource protection coordinator in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, said two NOAA officials took tissue samples from the whale to help determine its cause of death.

The Sentinel is missing this paragraph published in the Herald.

Karen Grimmer, NOAA’s resource protection coordinator in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, said two NOAA officials took tissue samples from the whale to help determine its cause of death.

The article notes that a dead grey whale calf was found in April. Killer whales are in the bay. However, if they killed this calf, why wasn’t it eaten?

More photos online
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By Stephen Baxter

A kayaker investigates the carcass of a humpback whale caught in the kelp off of West Cliff in Santa Cruz Tuesday morning. (Shmuel Thaler — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

SANTA CRUZ >> A dead 40-foot humpback whale caught the attention of residents and authorities off West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz late Monday and early Tuesday.

Leaders from Long Marine Lab launched a kayak on Tuesday to get a closer look at the whale, which was about a quarter mile off Woodrow Avenue and Columbia Street in a kelp bed.

Jim Milbury, a spokesman for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Tuesday afternoon that a decision had not yet been made whether to move the animal further offshore or to another location. Dead whales often attract sharks, and some residents expressed concern that sharks could endanger surfers at nearby Steamer Lane.

Don Kinnamon, senior deputy harbormaster of the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor, said authorities typically don’t intervene with dead whales off beaches.

“Any time there’s a dead marine mammal, they let it take it’s natural course. The regular chain of predators will feed off it,” Kinnamon said Tuesday. “We’re not doing anything with it at this stage.”

Milbury said it’s not clear what caused the whale’s death.

“There is nothing external on the whale, like entanglement or ship strike marks, that indicate the cause of death,” Milbury said.

Karen Grimmer, NOAA’s resource protection coordinator in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, said two NOAA officials took tissue samples from the whale to help determine its cause of death.

The Coast Guard first received reports of the whale on Monday. It appeared to be drifting slowly toward Its Beach and Lighthouse Point.

The dead cetacean is at least the second whale to wash up on Santa Cruz County shores this year.

A dead gray whale calf beached itself at Hidden Beach in April. Its carcass then drifted to the Cement Ship off Seacliff State Beach, said photographer and boat captain Giancarlo Thomae.

“White sharks are feeding on it,” Thomae said April 24. “Although it’s extremely rare for sharks to attack live whales, it’s very common for them to feed on the carcass.”

A dead 30-foot gray whale also washed up at Lower Trestles, a surfing beach south of San Clemente, last week. It was chopped up and taken to a landfill, according to the Los Angeles Times. Thousands of gray whales are migrating north this time of year, authorities said.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/environment-and-nature/20160503/dead-whale-examined-by-authorities-in-santa-cruz

http://www.montereyherald.com/general-news/20160504/dead-40-foot-humpback-whale-examined-by-authorities-in-santa-cruz/1 downloaded at 2:55 pm PT

Also, http://www.kionrightnow.com/news/local-news/dead-whale-of-west-cliff-may-be-the-result-of-more-orcas-in-the-monterey-bay/39366164