Japan ready to spare humpbacks for another year

Whale watching - is there any other better way to observe these magnificent marine mammals? Pic is of the Bass & Flinders whale watching cruise in Sydney, N.S.W, Australia.

~The Mandarin~ has contributed a photo to this story.

Seeing humpback whales in Alaska was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Knowing that Japan kills these beautiful creatures for research and then they end up on supermarket shelves sickens me.

This was shot on a whale watching excursion off of Bar Harbor, Maine.

emelvee has contributed a photo to this story.

Shot while whale-watching in Monterey, California.

ShaharEvron has contributed a photo to this story.

This female whale was catching a little breakfast before a hard day of swimming.

This picture was taken off the coast of Boston, MA in June, 2008.

nengard has contributed a photo to this story.

Humpback whales are magnificent animals that deserve to be left in as close to their natural state as possible. This fellow put on a remarkable show that I had the privilege to watch from over a half mile away. It is difficult to imagine how much energy it must take to move an animal of this size out of the water. He followed a fairly regular pattern of a pectoral fin waive, followed by a tail slap, followed by a deep dive and culminating with a jump. The jumps were spectacular, but difficult to capture because he kept varying his direction.

b.campbell65 has contributed a photo to this story.

These pictures were taken off the coast of Massachusetts in May '08.

drumil has contributed a photo to this story.

Conservation efforts have greatly improved the state of the North Pacific population. The photo of the young humpback performing "head slaps" was taken during a population survey off the coast of Hawai'i in 1992. At that time, it appeared that their numbers were greatly increasing in the area.

digitalfrontiersmedia has contributed a photo to this story.

This picture was taken in Maui, Hawaii, in March 2008. These whales are just amazing!

Lina Santiago has contributed a photo to this story.

Humpback whale in Resurrection Bay (Seward, AK) in June of 2008.

Cars Guitars and Photos has contributed a photo to this story.

These two whales where feeding at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, off the Massachusetts' coast. It was such a wonderful experience to see them out in the wild.

stariver has contributed a photo to this story.

It's shocking that they would even consider hunting these magnificent creatures again. The intelligence you can see in their eyes and their playful nature is amazing.

Syncharmony has contributed a photo to this story.

Watching these mammals in their natural habitat never gets boring, and it is always fascinating to see how beautiful and agile they are. Risking their existence is absurd and brutally negligent of us.

hkarrandjas has contributed a photo to this story.

Taken off the coast of Boston, MA in July 2007.

Jenvet1 has contributed a photo to this story.

I was on a cruise through the inside passage of Southern Alaska. We stopped in Sitka, Alaska and went on an excursion to view wildlife in its natural environment. As we cruised around the waters of Sitka, we came across a few humpback wales, Bald Eagles and Sea Otters. It was awesome to see these animals in action in their natural environment. This is just one photo of many I took while on this vacation. I also came across a mother and calf while in the waters of Juneau as well as sea lions and more Bald Eagles. If you'd like to see more, contact me any time at aemountcastle@yahoo.com.

bm100168 has contributed a photo to this story.

good stuff:

Jeff:  They really are some beautiful animals...  This is an important story!

While on a cruise on Alaska's inside passage we greatly enjoyed a family of humpbacks playing around our ship for nearly an hour. They seemed to enjoy our presence and even waved their fins at us when they left.

Jim Liestman has contributed a photo to this story.

Blow of a Humpback Whale off the western side of the Antarctic peninsula.  15 January 2008

Gordonvansmith has contributed a photo to this story.

These humpbacks were feeding in Icy Straits, Alaska. The sun caught the spray and created a rainbow effect. They are extraordinary creatures.

RebeccaBoyd has contributed a photo to this story.

How anyone can claim that whaling is regulated and sustainable I do not understand, especially since the recent Minke whale population estimate fell extremely short of what it was expected. Adding new species to this exploitation, ones that have just recovered to approximately that of the pre-whaling era, is just plain irresponsible. Just because they have somewhat recovered does not mean we have to try to drive them back towards the endangered status.

My humpback whale pictures were taken off Boston, we had the luck to see this mother and calf breach just next to our whale watching boat, predictably my film ran out at that point but at least I had this incredible experience-something our children may not have if whaling is not more rigorously controlled.

whitesideddolphin has contributed a photo to this story.

Yes I was here and I heard and saw and took this photo. These are Humpback whale. This is in the Tongass Narrows, in Ketchikan Alaska. The island you see behind is Gravina, which has a population of 50 and houses the Ketchikan National Airport. The rest of us live on the other island of Ravilla. Population apprx. 8000. These magnificent mammals are so amazing and believe it or not, very clever. They were so active today. This picture only shows two of them but, there were at least six. They would dive deep and you could here the wonderful song they sing that is passed down from generation to generation. Each generation learning and adding a new twist to it each year. The song this day... I would dare to say... they were speaking and telling the others where and how. They would come up in a pyrimid formation while singing with their mouths open eatting all the fish they scared up. The population of the whale are deminishing fast and I for one can not believe that people kill these wonderful animals just to use it for perfume! They waist most of it. The Eskimos up here would be very disappointed. Where are your senses of servival and honor. There are so many other resources one can use for things such as perfume...Leave the whale alone!

mrswentworth has contributed a photo to this story.

My humpback whale photos were taken on a whale watching trip from Long Beach, CA in May 2008, during the seasonal whale migrations off the California coast. It was my first time ever seeing whales in the wild, and the experience is one I'll never forget. It's not that my experience -- or that of any one person -- is important, but that we preserve the possibility of this experience for future generations. We are here to be stewards of the earth, not destroyers of earth and her wondrous creatures.

Flukes of a sounding humpback about 10 miles west of San Francisco. I think few on the November 2007 Oceanic Society trip to the Farallones that allowed me to take this photo imagined the seas outside the Golden Gate held so much wildlife!

mhruffin has contributed a photo to this story.

Saw a small pod near Ketchikan, AK. It was truly amazing.

mike wages has contributed a photo to this story.

Humpback whales are amazing, They appear each year in the Bay of Banderas of Puerto Vallarta Mexico. They visit the Bay in order to reproduce and give birth. They're arrival begins around mid to late October and extends to about end of March. During that time, some female whales give birth while others reproduce before returning to their feeding grounds. You can see whales just about everyday during those months playing around. I have had the opportunity to view them on several occasions. Very magical.

tiger_army_nicole has contributed a photo to this story.

I took this photograph of a humpback whale breaching in the Gulf of the Farallones off San Francisco on Friday, June 13.

Pasted below for context about our trip is an email from Mary Jane Schramm of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

-- Craig Noble, California Media Director, Natural Resources Defense Council

=====================

WILDLIFE SIGHTING LIST
Gulf of the Farallones
National Marine Sanctuary
Friday, June 13, 2008
Naturalist: Mary Jane Schramm/GFNMS

Friday the 13th was a lucky day for our wildlife cruise into the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and our voyage to the Farallon Islands Archipelago! The sea gods were smiling and we enjoyed some quality wildlife sightings. With the best ocean productivity in several years, the nesting seabirds were feasting in the waters of the gulf (one Pigeon Guillemot could barely take off, he seemed so full!) and most of the islands' species were seen around and on the island.

Another high point was watching as personnel and supplies were transferred by small boat and Billy Pugh, the crane that hoisted them onto the island’s rocky shores. Russ Bradley from PRBO Conservation Science met our landing party (Zach and Richard) and provided a brief update on how the breeding season was going. Most species were breeding more successfully than they have in several years, with the mysterious exception of the Brandt’s Cormorants who were abandoning nest sites in significant numbers, despite an abundance of food.

Nature moves in mysterious ways.

Sea/Shore Birds
1. Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
2. Great Egret, Ardea alba
3. Black Crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
4. Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis
5. Common Murre, Uria aalga
6. Western Gull, Larus occidentalis
7. California Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis
8. Cassin’s Auklet, Ptychoramphus aleuticus
9. Rhinoceros Auklet, Cerorhinca monocerata
10. Sooty Shearwater, Puffinus griseus
11. Tufted Puffin, Fratercula cirrhata
12. Brandt's Cormorant, Pelecanus pencillatus
13. Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus
14. Pelagic Cormorant, Phalacrocorax pelagicus
15. Pigeon Guillemot, Cepphus columba

Marine Mammals
1. Harbor seal, Phoca vitulina
2. California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
3. Harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena
4. Steller’s (Northern) sea lion, Eumetopius jubatus
5. Northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus
6. Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
7. Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
8. Northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
9. Dall’s porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli

Miscellaneous
Kelp fly, Fusella evermanni – a Farallones endemic!

ITINERARY: San Francisco, past Points Diablo and Bonita, north along Marin County coast to Double Point/Point Resistance and Alamere Falls. West to the North Farallon Islands, then south past the Middle Farallon Island (“the pimple”) to the South Farallon Islands. Then SSE toward the edge of the Continental Shelf, and back to San Francisco.

REMEMBER: If you got a photo of the humpback as it dove and the pattern on the underside of it’s fluke (tail) is clear in your photo, you can send it for inclusion in the regional catalogue and comparison against other photos. Email only clear images which show the color pattern, along with the date (06/13/08) and location (~6 miles SE of SW Farallon) to: calambokidis@cascadiaresearch.org. This was a pretty small animal, so it may not have been catalogued yet. If the photo is usable for inclusion in the catalogue, it’s quite an honor to contribute a “new” individual whale to the scientific database!

--
MARY JANE SCHRAMM
Media/Outreach Specialist
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
991 Marine Drive, Presidio of San Francisco
San Francisco CA 94129
415/ 561-6622 ext 205

craigjnoble has contributed a photo to this story.