"And we sail and we sail and we never see land, just the rum in the bottle and a pipe in my hand…"
Among the most interesting animals that cruisers encounter for the first time in the South Pacific is the coconut crab. Check out the one — they are typically blue — being held up by Randy Ramirez of the Stockton-based Mariah 31 Mystic at Suwarrov Atoll in the Cook Islands a few months ago.
Full story at ‘Lectronic Latitude
Lying 28 miles off the coast of San Francisco, the jagged silhouette of the Farallon Islands disrupts the clean line of the horizon. This foreboding knot of rocks sits amid one of the most productive marine food webs on the planet and hosts the largest seabird breeding colony in the continental United States. QUEST ventures out for a rare visit to learn what life is like on the islands and meet the scientists who call this incredibly wild place home.
Paul H. and I will be doing the Double Handed Farallones race tomorrow, but we will be more likely too busy dealing with the hefty amount of wind forecast to enjoy the scenery or wildlife.
The winds are expected to start very light in the morning in the Bay and near shore, and then rapidly build to 30 kts in some areas at around 4 or 5 PM, and then rapidly decline after that. Hopefully we will be reaching both ways and it can be a fast race.
More on the Farallones, the wildlife, and the famous great white sharks at KQED here.
Off the coast of San Francisco, an unexpected killing challenged the great white shark’s supremacy as the ultimate predator when one became prey to a killer whale. Whale-watchers witnessed a stunning act of nature as a killer whale rose to the water’s surface with a great white in its mouth and held it there for 15 minutes. Even more amazing, biologist Peter Pyle was nearby and able to get underwater footage of two whales feeding on the shark.
Watch this episode of Nature Untamed tomorrow night (Monday, March 21) on National Geographic at 9pm.
Looks like it was just off the Farallones. Heading out that way a couple of times this month, I’ll keep my eyes open.
via Sea Monstery
Now is it time to finally get an iPhone (or, more likely, an iPad2)?
Thanks to BitterEnd for the find.
Great news story broadcast just two days ago about a pod of killer whales (orcas), about 10 nm outside the Golden Gate.
Gray whale near Pacific Grove. Photo: Tom Clifton
It’s gray whale season. As you gaze out across the Pacific, you may see one. These whales are gray in color (hence their name), and are dotted with white markings—scars from parasitic barnacles that attached themselves to the whales’ skin, and then fell off. As they dive, you won’t see a dorsal fin—gray whales don’t have them—but you might see a series of bumps that extend from the middle of the back towards the tail.
The gray whales we see this time of year are traveling from the Bering and Chukghi seas, their summer feeding grounds, to Baja, where they mate and give birth to their calves. These are some big babies—they’re about 4.5 meters (15 feet) long and weigh up to 1,500 pounds!
Historically, gray whales had a wide distribution. There were four populations: the Eastern North Pacific population that we see migrating along our coast, a Western North Pacific population along the coast of Asia, and two populations in the North Atlantic. The Eastern North Atlantic population, along the coast of Europe, went extinct in the 5th century. The Western North Atlantic population, along the east coast of North America, went extinct in the 18th century because of whaling. Today, the North Pacific population close to Asia is critically endangered, with fewer than 200 individuals. The North Pacific population along our coast is doing well, with over 20,000 individuals.
Read the rest here, at the KQED QUEST site. S/V Temerity may be heading out the gate for a practice/whaling mission in February, wx permitting.
As a result (maybe) of global warming, the incredibly toxic, prolific, and all-but-invisible box jellyfix or irukandji (Carukia barnesi and similar species) are poised to become the dominant life-form in the world’s oceans. Or at least ruin your warm-water vacation. Declining populations of sea turtles, a major jelly predator, may also be contributing to the impending ecotastrophe.
The swarms of jellyfish are multiplying in the Western extent of the Pacific ocean and threatening 20,000 miles of coastline off Japan, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
In the film scientists conclude that they swim towards land because it is easier to kill their main prey – fish – in shallow water off the coast which puts them on a dangerous and potentially fatal collision course with unwary swimmers. [Telegraph]
More coverage: squidoo, The Telegraph, Life is Beautiful, wiki
Inspired by posts from blog-pals Monkey Fist (Adventures of the Blackgang) and Capt. Rodriguez (Bitter End Blog), the NSL investigative team of David and Char decided to see for ourselves what might be left of the whaling station at Point San Pablo, a 75 minute drive north of where we live.
A recently killed Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is suspended and about to be transported for processing at the Richmond whaling station. The Humpback was the most commonly hunted whale during the history of the whaling station, which was active from 1956 to 1972. More pictures can be found at the KQED flickr site here.
Continue reading ‘Mission to the West Coast’s Last Whaling Station’
Some of the nation’s most sophisticated military submarines are based in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, an inlet of islands, peninsulas and harbors that is worryingly vulnerable to terrorist attack from a furtive diver or brazen suicide swimmer.
But the Navy’s plan to use a squadron of highly trained dolphins and sea lions to patrol and protect the submarine fleet is running into opposition from those who fear the glacier-fed waters of the sound are too frigid for warm-water dolphins.
Full story, via Navagear
The Turritopsis Nutricula is able to revert back to a juvenile form once it mates after becoming sexually mature.
Marine biologists say the jellyfish numbers are rocketing because they need not die.
Dr Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute said: “We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion.”
The jellyfish are originally from the Caribbean but have spread all over the world.
Very nice video clip of dolphins, apparently engaged in cooperative hunting/feeding. Via S/A.
The Life Aquatic group is a tribute to ocean life and marine biology. Marine Biology is the scientific study of animals, plants and other organisms that live in or near the ocean and other saltwater environments such as estuaries and wetlands. One of the most important reasons for the study of sea life is simply to understand and preserve the world we live in.
15,045 pictures. That’ll keep you busy.
Luna / L98 the solitary killer whale socializes with dog. Please note that Luna was a southern resident (fish eating orca) and was not hunting the dog for food.
vimeo.com/1270981 a composite video of Luna
To learn more about Luna please go to lunastewardship.blogspot.com
Mostly orcas.
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