Update: Planning your Winter Wedding

Stop in and check out my other blog for tips, tricks and techniques for planing special occasions! Or visit my new website featuring graphic designs and custom invitations for every event!  NOTED OCCASIONS!

http://customstamps.blogspot.com/

UPDATE ON COMMERCIAL WHALING COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING

Today it was announced that the International Whaling Commission's controversial proposal to legalize commercial whaling has failed.


Delegates of the commission’s 88 member governments had been discussing whether to maintain a 24-year-old moratorium on commercial whaling. A 10-year compromise plan proposed by the United States and other antiwhaling nations would have allowed the three countries to resume commercial whaling, but at significantly lower levels and under tight monitoring. Had the ban been lifted it would have lived on in infamy and allowed commercial whaling to continue. 


The struggle to monitor and reign in the whaling nations continue but there is a collective sigh of relief that the industry will not be able to have their hunting legalized.

UPDATE TO CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ON WHALES IN CAPTIVITY

On April 27th I posted a blog about the planned congressional hearings on orcas and other marine mammals in captivity in theme parks across the United States. Today I found an excellent update that is well worth reading:


http://www.sacurrent.com/blog/queblog.asp?perm=70330

Theme parks were not on trial per se, but received much attention during the testimony.  For background, the Marine Mammal Protection Act was enacted in 1972 (revised in 1994) by the National Marine Fisheries Service and permits the display of whales, dolphins, seals, etc. only if there are proper education or conservation programs.  Therefore, Congress asked what construes “meaningful public education” using these animals.

SEA WORLD ALSO COVERED THE HEARINGS HERE:  

http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/05/08/us-congress-questions-seaworld’s-educational-value/

New NotedOccasions Blog Post Featuring Bridal Shower Invitations

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A Man's Dream Can Be A Child's Vision: Killer Whale Tales Comes to Friday Harbor Elementary School

Oh---to be a ten year old in 2010, when your imagination and dreams come to life in the auditorium of your very own Elementary School. Yesterday that dream became a reality for the children of Friday Harbor when Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales, introduced our youngest stewards to his vision that began many years ago.

It's been 35 years since I stepped foot in an Elementary School. Since my "kids" are labrador retrievers I have not had much opportunity to revisit my past nor did I have many expectations for the experience. However, upon entering the "kid friendly zone" at 8:30am, the memories washed over me as I was greeted by the morning announcements over the PA system and the principle waiting at the door. My inner child was transported back to a small homeroom class, hand over heart, reciting the pledge of allegiance- but the adult in me was quite aware of the staring (albeit smiling) principle across the hallway. Funny how your triggers amass when least expected.

I walked over to the smiling authority figure and asked for direction to the gymnasium- my destination for the next hour or so. I was here to take part in my educational experience of the day- Killer Whale Tales 101, courtesy of Jeff Hogan, friend and school teacher extraordinaire. I arrived just in time for a quick chat with the main man, took my seat and watched as the cutest procession of kindergartners to sixth graders arrived, taking their seats in rows and chatting happily as their day began. (Just in case you were wondering- elementary school gymnasiums have not changed much at all.) I smiled just watching the expectation on their faces.

Have you ever had the chance to watch an actor turned educator in action? If you havent- make plans to do so. Jeff easily interacted with these little ones , taking the stage as a counterpart to their youthful experience and telling jokes that had all ages roaring with laughter. The better part of the session is based on Jeff's dream that he has woken up as a young whale and now needs to learn all about his new underwater life from the fellow pod members around him. The kids can completely "get" this take on learning- but I was also amazed by how much our kids know about not only the whales but sustainability and our environment.

Jeff:  "What do whales use their flukes for?"

Kids: "Steer. Swim. Slap the water, communicate."

Jeff: "Wave your pec fins at me."

Kids: Shake their arms and wave to Jeff.

Jeff:  "Look at your neighbor's blowhole."

Kids:  Every set of eyes alighted upon their neighbor's nose

Jeff:  "What do the southern resident whales eat?"

Kids:  "Salmon."

I think our kids know more about our environment and the whales than most tourists. I bet they've never asked what time the whales come by!

The story goes like this. Once upon a time, Jeff goes to sleep and wakes up as a young killer whale in J Pod. He spends his days hanging in the Haro Straits with his Grandmother, Granny (J2) and his fellow pod members. Just like any little kid the world is full of wonder as he swims around, plays with his siblings and learns about the environment through his journey. It's pretty cool being a killer whale baby- as he learns all the major life lessons- how to speak whale, how to eat and what happens when he ignores his mom.  Jeff takes the kids through a fun filled underwater land wherein the whales teach the young killer whale how to make it in the Salish Sea and through life. At one point, we are treated to "whale talk lessons," an interactive take on learning whale speak.

There are 28 different calls, whistles and lots of clicks used by the southern resident pods, the young killer whale is told. For instance- S1 (which Jeff terms "the Cowboy call") for J pod, or S2 (the "broken drill call") or S4 ( the "duck with a boo boo call"). The whales produce each call and the kids in the auditorium laugh....but not for long, because soon they are also making "a duck with a boo boo call" and also speaking whale. Now how cool is that?

Soon, the young whale gets hungry and figures it's about time to head to Herbs and grab a cheeseburger. The kids laugh with glee because even THEY know whales don't eat cheeseburgers!!! But the little whale has to learn from Granny that whales don't go to Herbs- instead, they echolocate to find their food. I was floored as the children explained a basic understanding of echolocation and sat in awe as Jeff explained the intricacies of echolocation and finding the big chinook salmon they love to eat.

He went on to explain how whales sleep, before heading into a bit of background about how the pod is protected by whale watching guidelines, a bit of population decline and what we, as humans, can do to protect them. All the while the kids watched with wonder and the auditorium echoed with their laughter and enjoyment.

_______________________________________________________________

BREAK OUT SESSIONS: SCIENTIST FOR A DAY

Once the auditorium cleared we headed for the fifth grade classroom to put the teaching to the test. The kids partnered up with one another to become scientific teams- they were given field surveys, data collection points ---even a budget to use based on their findings. The kids had the opportunity to collect salmon tissue to determine where the whales food was coming from and were then asked to chart the frequency, location and exact rivers from which the salmon originated. During the exercise, there were a few phone calls from WDFW and some other organizations asking for either money for enforcement efforts or information which they had collected to append to ongoing studies- not unlike the real world in which we live.

The session ended with data analysis and budgeting for conservation, additional field work education for the general public. Don't you wish our government could be so thorough and timely in their efforts?

All in all, I was amazed at the quality of the presentation and inspired by how much it appeared to impact our youngest stewards. Jeff Hogan was an excellent teacher and the presentation was absolutely wonderful.  This year, Jeff (and Killer Whale Tales) have touches the lives of 9,000 students in the State of Washington- teaching stewardship and creating a platform for each to find their inner scientist.  

Please visit Killer Whale Tales at http://www.killerwhaletales.org to learn more about Jeff's inspirations, goals and how you can have the experience brought to your classroom. 

Alexandra Morton Salmon Update

I received this email from Alex Morton today. Read on...

Government memos reveal fish farmers pressured government to keep sea lice drugs secret, six years before biologist Alexandra Morton made it public 

A series of government memos reveal a heated debate in 1995 over a sea louse outbreak on a farm salmon on the Fraser sockeye migration route (Okisollo Channel). In 1995, a salmon farm requested permission to usehydrogen peroxide to treat an extremely heavy outbreak of sea lice on their fish.  When the Ministry of Environment, Parks and Lands (MELP) informed the company that their drug application would have to be released to the public, the fish farmer withdrew the request. When environmental groups found out about the sea lice outbreak, the BC Salmon Farmers Association called for an investigation of MELP and a guarantee that fish farmers had a right to secrecy in the future.

Sept 6, 1995 Don Peterson of MELP writes, “The company has withdrawn their application (for hydrogen peroxide) because they heard there was a requirement to advertise if a pesticide was going to be applied. I guess they were either afraid of the shareholders…or the public finding out... the company has asked that this request be kept strictly confidential and that all correspondence on the subject be destroyed.”

September 28, 1995 the BC Salmon Farmers Association criticized Minister Moe Sihota (MELP): “…government has an obligation to maintain confidentiality… Government is further prevented from unauthorized collection, use or disclosure of information…. puts at risk … capital investment of private citizens and individual companies…”

However, salmon farms operate in Canada’s public waters and impact a Canadian resource - wild fish.

On October 23 Earl Warnock of MELP writes, “I find it unconscionable that they (fish farmers) are only prepared to undertake measures appropriate to protect their stock health and the environment unless they can do it in a clandestine manner.... and for them and MAFF to ask us to operate with them in this way says something about the people we are dealing with.”

“MAFF” = Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, now Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAL).

Either the sea lice remained on the farm fish on the Fraser sockeye migration route or they were treated without permission from MELP.

November 03, 1995, Bryan Ludwig, MELP writes: “…we are in the difficult position of being concerned about use of pesticides for treatment of sea lice, but also wanting to ensure we avoid a severe outbreak for fear of transfer to wild stocks.”

These documents reveal heroes among our MELP bureaucrats who tried to protect our wild salmon from salmon farms.  Gordon Campbell disbanded MELP as soon as he took office in 2001, and he renamed MAFF, MAL and gave them control of allocation of Crown Land. The fish farm industry did not develop a sea lice action plan, the public lost their government biologist advocates, sea lice outbreaks continue with lethal infection underway today rates on wild juvenile salmon on the Fraser migration route (Okisollo Channel)  (photos available) and Fraser sockeye stocks migrating through Okisollo Channel are in steep decline.

October 23, 1995 Earl Warnock MELP:  “If the truth harms their integrity perhaps they need to look at themselves…”

If we cannot save wild salmon in British Columbia, we do not live in a democracy.

All documents available at www.salmonaresacred.org, “Breaking News” 

New Blog Announced Today: Custom Wedding and Party Invitations

Just wanted everyone to know I've started another blog which may be of interest when you are planning your next party, wedding, shower or event! I won't be posting each blog entry here, but feel free to stop in, browse around and contact me at limekilnwhalewatcher@yahoo.com if you would like a customized invitation or coordinating stamps for an event in your schedule!! You can visit the blog NOTEDOCCASIONS or any of my graphic design shops below. Thanks and have a great weekend!!! Sandy

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Congress Schedules hearings on Marine Mammals in Captivity This Week

Prompted by the recent death of SeaWorld trainer, a Congressional committee will hold hearings that may lead to more oversight.

They've entertained millions at marine parks and aquariums — whales, dolphins and other sea mammals spinning and splashing to the delight of audiences for decades.

But the recent death of a SeaWorld trainer by a killer whale in Orlando and the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," about dolphin captures in Japan, have cast unprecedented attention on the industry that brought us Shamu and Flipper.

A Congressional committee has scheduled an oversight hearing April 27 to hear testimony on marine mammals in captivity. The Sun Sentinel confirmed the hearing by the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife through federal officials who have been asked to testify.


Click Here to read more.....   OceansDefense

Alexandra Morton: A Success Story

Great news from Alexandra Morton! Received an email today which follows:


Department of Justice lays charges against fish farm company
Unlawful by-catch of wild salmon by Norwegian fish farm company

(April 20, 2010, Port Hardy) Today, Todd Gerhart of the Department of Justice, stayed charges laid by biologist Alexandra Morton against Marine Harvest, the largest Norwegian fish farm company in the world, for unlawful possession of wild salmon. In a landmark initiative Gerhart advised the Court that on April 16, 2010, DOJ filed a new indictment against Marine Harvest, including the original charges laid by Alexandra Morton as well as new charges for unlawful possession of herring reported in October 2009. Mr. Gerhart will be the prosecutor.

Morton and her lawyer Jeffery Jones are relieved. “It is my strong opinion,” says Mr. Jones, a former Crown Prosecutor for DOJ, “that this industry was given access to the BC coast and appears to have been conducting itself as if it were above the law. Today’s decision by Mr. Gerhart and the Department of Justice confirms that no corporation is above the law. This is why private prosecutions are important democratic safeguards. Ms. Morton’s prosecution has triggered enforcement action by DOJ. I am extremely pleased by Mr. Gerhart’s decision.”

In June of 2009, young wild salmon were observed falling from a load of farm salmon being off-loaded from Marine Harvest’s vessel Orca Warrior. Some of these fish were collected and Marine Harvest admitted in the newspaper to catching the wild salmon. “By-catch” is fish caught without a licence in the process of fishing for other species. By-catch is strictly controlled in all other fisheries and in some cases causes entire fisheries to be shut down.

“For decades we have heard reports of wild fish trapped in fish farms, eaten by the farm fish and destroyed during harvest,” says biologist Alexandra Morton, “but when DFO was informed of these offenses they would not, or could not, lay a charge. Canada cannot manage wild fish like this. You can’t regulate commercial and sport fishermen and then allow another group unlimited access to the same resource. BC will lose its wild fish.”

In 1993, the Pacific Fishery Regulations exempted salmon farms from virtually all fishing regulations. Unlike commercial fishermen, salmon farmers can use bright lights known to attract wild fish. The oily food pellets they use also attract fish and wildlife. Commercial fishermen are required to pay for observers and cameras on their vessels that record by-catch, so that fishing can be halted to preserve non-targeted stocks. No such enforcement has been applied to salmon farmers, despite regular reports of black cod, rock cod, herring, lingcod, wild salmon, Pollock, capelin and other species in the pens, in stomachs of the farmed fish and destroyed at harvest time….Until now.

“This is a ray of hope that we can work through the issue of Norwegian salmon farming in BC waters. I am thankful to hand this over to the Department of Justice. Aquaculture is not the problem. The problem is the reckless way government sited it, managed it and gave it priority over the public fisheries. I call on government to protect the families now dependant on this industry as it undergoes the long overdue scrutiny of the courts, the judicial inquiry and public opinion.“

Alexandra Morton 

Orca Update & News on the Struggling Salmon Stocks

Local orcas are having a baby boom, but will it last?

There's been a baby boom in the local orca population. Last year five orcas joined the pods that frequent Puget Sound and the waters around the San Juan and Gulf islands. And two more killer whales have been born so far in 2010.

Cascadia Research has posted a scorecard/ special series covering this topic as well as the plight of struggling salmon stocks in the region. See how closely the two are interdependent and read the rest of the story here. 

Following up on Robson Bight: Accountability at Hand

This week,  A British Columbia trucking company was found guilty of six pollution charges stemming from spilling oil into Robson Bight, BC, in August of 2007. The Ted Leroy Company was found guilty on all six charges relating to an Aug. 20, 2007, incident where a barge tipped and dumped logging equipment, along with diesel fuel and oil, into the waters surrounding Robson Bight.

The former Duncan-based logging company had contracted Gowlland to tow a barge loaded with heavy equipment from Beaver Cove to a camp in Bute Inlet, when it tipped and dumped most of the equipment into the ecological area, located about 110 kilometres north of Campbell River.  As you may recall,  the barge had been so riven with leaks that it lost its stability, pitching to one side and dumped its entire cargo into the sea.The Michael Biggs Ecological Reserve at Robson Bight is world-renowned area where northern resident orcas come to rub themselves on the smooth rocks below the water’s surface, particularly during the summer.   All but one of the 12 pieces of logging equipment, along with a cargo container, went overboard after the barge “Kathy L” took on water and tipped. Approximately 20,000 litres of petroleum products were aboard the barge, and hours after the spill, a 14-kilometre long oil slick extended from Robson Bight to Hanson Island.

Oonagh O’Connor, energy campaign manager for the Sointula, B.C.-based Living Oceans Society, said the trucking company has declared bankruptcy.

She added that the Canadian taxpayer will likely be on the hook for the spill’s $2.5-million cleanup.

O’Connor is also currently concerned over a proposed pipeline project between Alberta and Kitimat that could see 200 tankers each loaded with two million litres of crude oil travelling along B.C.’s coast. 

Puget Sound's Altered Shores

John Ryan
03/22/2010

Close to 40 percent of Puget Sound's shorelines have been covered in concrete or otherwise walled off from the tides. State officials say restoring the health of Puget Sound will require removing some of those walls. But it's local governments that control the shore, and property owners want to build more seawalls as coastal developments expand.

If you want to take a walk along the shores of Puget Sound, you've got about 2500 miles of shoreline to choose from. I'm walking along the beach beneath Magnolia Bluff, just south of Seattle's Discovery Park.

 Read the rest of the article here.