MAIACETUS

Sunday, August 1, 2010

178 sightings and >700 animals...in 6 days!

MMO work on CCGS J.P. Tully earthquake survey July 2010

Wow, it's been a lo-o-o-ong time since I've blogged! It's amazing how the time flew by in 2011. I was hoping to re-cap 2010 last January but, as is obvious, I never got around to it. I had another amazing year in 2011 having worked consistently on Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) and Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) contracts in Africa. In addition to this I finally committed myself to working as a research assitant on the Humpback whale and dolphin research project in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It was a great year, but first...time to catch up on 2010!!

2010 was my first full year working as an MMO/PAM operator. I finished my first contract of the year in the Gulf of Mexico in June and, fortunately, shortly after I completed that contract I was offered a position as an MMO on the Canadian Coast Guard vessel the J.P. Tully. The Tully was heading to the offshore waters of Vancouver Island for the Seajade survey which was a joint survey collecting both passive and active seismic data off Vancouver Island. The expedition operated in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada (Public Safety Geoscience Program and Gas Hydrate Program), the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and the United States (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the U.S. Geological Survey).

The end goal of the research project was to fill a critical knowledge gap in the assessment of earthquake hazard due to the Cascadia subduction fault. The survey area was on the continental slope, roughly from the entry point of Juan de Fuca Strait to the Nootka Fault Zone located off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

During the survey us three MMOs conducted visual observations during all daylight hours; we were there to ensure the crew conducting the survey operated under guidelines created to minimise acoustic disturbance to marine mammals and we certainly were busy!

Over the six days we conducted our visual surveys we observed over 700 individuals in 178 sightings of which half of these were Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli). Other species we observed included: 6 Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), 1 harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), 36 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), 29 killer whales (Orcinus orca), 1 minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), 17 northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), 3 northern right whale dolphins (Lissodelphis borealis), 122 Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhychus obliquidens), 11 sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and 1 Steller sea lion (Eumatopias jubatus).

This was an amazing survey for us and it reminded us of just how rich the marine wildlife off the coast of Vancouver Island and BC is, something we must try to keep in mind when we are back onshore conducting our normal day to day activities!

Following 6 photos: Pacific white sided dolphins (Lagenorhychus obliquidens) coming to bow ride alongside the J.P. Tully

One of the members of the survey crew preparing to deploy an Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) which will be used to record seismic activity from the seabed floor ~2000 m below us

Crew retrieving the OBS once it returned to the surface...with an ever present Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) coming along to check things out!

Following three photos: Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) who stuck around the boat for a while and played with this piece of bull kelp...very entertaining to watch indeed and certainly didn't seemed concerned about our presence!

Approaching Ucluelet, to pick up a part, on a beautiful sunny day

My co-MMOs enjoying our arrival in Ucluelet: although we weren't out very long we still appreciated the return to shore and some time to wander around town, enjoy the sun and check out the Ucluelet Aquarium

Following two photos: the very comfortable J.P. Tully - our home and survey platform for the duration the survey

Taking a breather on the transit back to the Institute of Oceans Sciences, Sidney where, sadly, we would be disembarking

Photo of the survey team with Natural Resources Canada, JAMSTEC survey crew and us MMOs

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) spotted on the way back to port

The amazing shore off the west coast of Vancouver Island...look at all the trees!

Oh, and of course... the sunsets :)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Post dedicated to the marine animals of the Gulf of Mexico

It’s been a while since I’ve written any blogposts but recently I felt I should to start again. This period of absence is a result of some personal conflict I’ve had as a result of the Gulf Of Mexico oil disaster and just plain busy-ness in life.

So why would I stop writing a blog because of an oil spill? Does it not seem a little counter-intuitive that somebody concerned with the environment and who has worked near the disaster location would stop writing about it? Well, I must be honest and say that it is because I was trying to get my head around the largest environmental disaster in the US and possibly the world and the fact that I have been working most of the past year as a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) for seismic exploration in the Oil and Gas industry.

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) on the helideck

Before 2009 most of my work was in whale watching and volunteering in marine mammal research (with the occasional paid job when I was lucky!). Since 1996 I have been involved in marine mammal activities in Canada and around the world as much as I possibly could afford or make time for. When I finally finished my my masters in 2008 and realized that I had been pushing my financial limits for years and I decided it was time I move into a different area of marine mammal work; I began working on seismic survey ships as an MMO and finally I was earning enough money to start paying down debt accumulated for marine mammal studies and years of travel and volunteering to work on various marine mammal projects!

Then on April 20th the Deep Horizon oil rig was destroyed in the Gulf Of Mexico; where I had been working as an MMO since December and where I had really started to appreciate the marine animals of the area. Suddenly I had moral questions about my work and the fact that I was benefiting by working in this industry.

Juvenile Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

I’ve thought long and hard about my role as an MMO, the reasons for this disaster and whether I should feel guilty for working in the industry. I have taken comfort in the fact that, at least, by working as an MMO I am on the environmental side of the business and do the best job I can to aid the industry to use practices to minimise impacts to wildlife and the environment. Unfortunately, I cannot claim to be innocent in this disaster and none of us really can. This disaster is connected to our consumption of fossil fuels and we can help prevent disasters like this one by reducing our dependence on these fuels. Every one of us makes consumer choices everyday and we must remember that these choices, whether it be about how we get from point A to point B or whether our food comes from the other side of the world, give us some say on how our natural world is impacted.

Although the spill was finally capped in July, research in the region has found that the Gulf of Mexico is still being impacted and will be impacted for many years. The following links have some fairly detailed information about these findings:

National Geographic: Gulf Oil Spill News
Seaweb Marine Science Review: Oil and Oil Spills Gulf of Mexico

Although I've let life sweep me months beyond the last time I blogged I have decided I would like to do a little catch-up blogging to summarize the last half of 2010 in my life as an MMO. Following are photos from my last trip working as an MMO in the Gulf of Mexico in May and June. It was an interesting trip for us MMOs with more sightings of marine mammals than my previous two rotations in the Gulf. These photographs show the amazing marine life in the region and the only thing we can hope now is that these animals, and most other marine wildlife, are able to avoid the worst impacts of this disaster and that this is a wake-up call for all of us to think about how our lifestyle choices impact the natural world.