4 dead humpback whales found washed up in British Columbia, Canada

 

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating whether there’s any link between four humpback whales found dead off B.C.’s central coast over the last week.

 

Marine mammal coordinator Paul Cottrell said necropsies were performed on two of the whales, but it could take weeks to determine the causes of death.

 

Though details are sparse, Cottrell said the number of recent discoveries is troubling.

 

“It’s definitely a pulse and it’s something we are concerned about,” he said. “We’re hoping we don’t get any more.”

 

One of the whales, a young female, was reported a few days ago near the community of Klemtu, north of Bella Bella. Someone from the local First Nation secured the whale to the shore, allowing Cottrell and a provincial veterinarian to perform a necropsy on Saturday.

 

Philip Charles, a guide with Spirit Bear Adventures, shared breathtaking photos of the animal online along with an emotional farewell.

 

“A gentle giant has fallen,” Charles wrote. “We are truly blessed to spend so much intimate time with these magnificent and globally iconic creatures.”

 

Charles, who has a background in conservation and biology, told CTV News he’s concerned entanglements with commercial fishing gear may have played a role in the whale’s death.

 

“This happens in areas with high humpback activity,” he said. “Most of the time it’s pretty preventable if people take a bit more caution and care.”

 

Cottrell confirmed that scars found on the animal’s tail indicate it was entangled at some point, but it’s not clear yet whether that played a part in its death.

 

The apparent entanglement scars were already necrotized, according to the DFO, but there was also a fresher cut on the whale’s tail that was still open.

 

Another necropsy was performed Tuesday on a whale found in Haida Gwaii. The animal didn’t show signs of entanglement but had some of its baleen, a filter-feeding system in its mouth, removed.

 

Cottrell thanked First Nations members for reporting all the discoveries quickly – a key to obtaining information that could help determine a common cause – and urged the public to do the same for potential future finds.

 

“It’s really important because the fresher the animals the more likely we’ll get better tissue samples,” he said.

Courtesy of bc.ctvnews.ca

http://goo.gl/pQroJr

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4 Whales stranded, 3 dead on the coast of New Taipei, Taiwan

The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday it found four whales stranded on the beaches of New Taipei City after Typhoon Soudelor, only one of which survived.

The four whales ranged in size and included a dwarf sperm whale and a three-foot-long Bryde’s whale, the CGA reported last night.

 

The sole survivor was a 250-kilogram sperm whale that was spotted around 1 p.m. yesterday on Kuo-sheng-ts’un Beach in New Taipei City. Three Coast Guard officers and one civilian fishing boat lifted the whale and were able to lead it back to deeper waters for release.

 

A Bryde’s whale and a second sperm whale were found later yesterday in Wanli District in northeastern New Taipei City. Both died onshore shortly after discovery.

 

The Bryde’s whale was found at around 4 p.m. in Xialiao Beach and died an hour later despite rescue efforts, according to the CGA. The Taiwan Cetacean Society said it will conduct an autopsy Wednesday to determine the cause of death.

 

At 200-cm-long sperm whale was found at Dingliao Beach and was declared died at around 7 p.m. yesterday.

 

Late Monday night, authorities found a dwarf sperm whale that had washed up on Longmen Beach at Gongliao District.

 

The New Taipei City’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office and the Taiwan Cetacean Society arrived at the scene to find the whale alive but physically enervated.

 

The Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office said that the whale was an adult dwarf sperm whale that weighed in at 300 kilograms. It had been battered during Typhoon Soudelor and bitten by cigar sharks, authorities said.

Courtesy of news.asiaone.com

http://goo.gl/DPOncK

Tens of thousands of fish have died (3rd mass die off this year) in a lake in Mandalay, Myanmar

In the third mass die-off this year, tens of thousands of fish have died in Mandalay’s Lake Taungthaman. The number of dead fish appears to be less than in the previous events of April and May

This time, the finger is pointing at factory waste.

 

“I think these deaths occurred because factories disposed of their wastewater into the lake during the heavy rains,” said U Aung Lwin, who is in charge of the licensed fishery in the lake.

 

A technical investigation by the Myanmar Fisheries Federation cleared local factories of responsibility for the death of hundreds of thousands of fish in May in the Amarapura township tourist site.

 

U Aung Lwin said he had not seen such a case before. “If fish are killed during ebb-tide, the pile of dead fish can be seen at the bank. This case occurred when the level of water in the lake was high, and the dead fish are distributed throughout the lake, not at one place. But since so many fish were killed in the northern part of the lake, where the wastewater enters, we can conclude that wastewater was the cause. There are no dead fish in the southern part of the lake, where the Doktawaddy and Ayeyarwady rivers enter,” he told The Myanmar Times yesterday.

 

Industrial effluent from a distillery, a tannery, and factories making paper, sugar and soap in Mandalay Industrial Zone flows directly into Lake Taungthaman, while household and commercial wastewater leaches in via Pan Yan Taw Creek. According to the regional fisheries department, the pollution impairs oxygenation and leads to the death of fish.

 

Department head U Myo Aung said, “At a time of higher water levels caused by heavy rain, five or six fish are killed in a one- or two-acre pond. For the entire lake, the fish will die in significant numbers.”

Courtesy of mmtimes.com

http://goo.gl/A9iWVF

Hundreds of dead herring found washed up on a beach in Unalaska, Alaska, USA

Dead herring on an Unalaska beach on Wednesday. KUCB/John Ryan photo

Hundreds of dead herring washed up on Front Beach in downtown Unalaska on Tuesday.

 

“Hundreds of herring floating in the water,” Caleb Livingston, who lives nearby, said as he was walking his dog Hazel on the beach. “But what really got my attention was the few that drifted on the beach were not being eaten by the eagles, or seagulls or terns.”

Courtesy of kucb.org

http://goo.gl/nMWMP1

Two more depressions are forming in the Atlantic

In the coming days, we will hear about two more depressions forming in the Atlantic.

 

Please stay tuned for further updates and be alert

Boat explosion badly burns 1 in Maine, USA

A man was burned Monday when an open flame on his boat ignited gasoline fumes, causing an explosion and fire.

 

The State Fire Marshal’s office said Marco Lamothe was working on his 21-foot boat at the Saco Yacht Club’s parking lot when he tried to loosen a hose to the boat’s fish live well with an open flame. The 53-year-old suffered burns and a broken hip and is being treated at Maine Medical Center.

 

According to Keeper Charters’ website, Lamothe is the captain of the the fishing expedition company. It says Lamothe has been fishing on the waters near Saco for more than 40 years.

Courtesy of wcsh6.com

http://goo.gl/wlfzVP

Train and lorry collide killing at least 5 in India

Five people including an Indian National Congress lawmaker were killed and 20 others injured on Monday morning after a lorry hit a train at a level crossing in Anantpur district in Andhra Pradesh state of India.

 

Daily News & Analysis (DNA) India, the granite loaded lorry lost control and hit the AC coaches of Bengaluru-Nanded Express at around 2:30 am.

 

The accident occurred at a level crossing at Madakasira in Penukonda mandal of Anantapur district.

 

AA Venkatesh Naik, a member of Karnataka assembly from Devadurg constituency in Raichur district, was among the train passengers killed in the disaster.

 

“The Bangalore-Nanded train collided with a lorry, it resulted in derailment of 4 coaches. Union Railways minister Suresh Prabhu ji is monitoring the situation closely.” said Railways PRO Anil Saxena.

Courtesy of dailypakistan.com.pk

http://goo.gl/Q9KwnY

MAGNITUDE 5.5 TONGA

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=456090

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 447 km N of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga / pop: 22,400 / local time: 10:49:16.2 2015-08-25
158 km N of Neiafu, Tonga / pop: 4,320 / local time: 10:49:16.2 2015-08-25

MAGNITUDE 4.9 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=456069

Subject To Change

Depth: 60 km

Distances: 135 km NE of Sendai-shi, Japan / pop: 1,037,562 / local time: 03:24:38.6 2015-08-25
61 km SE of Ōfunato, Japan / pop: 35,418 / local time: 03:24:38.6 2015-08-25

MAGNITUDE 5.0 KOMANDORSKIYE OSTROVA REGION

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=456024

Subject To Change

Depth: 30 km

Distances: 2190 km NE of Sapporo-shi, Japan / pop: 1,883,027 / local time: 20:51:01.1 2015-08-24
407 km SE of Palana, Russia / pop: 3,671 / local time: 23:51:01.1 2015-08-24
338 km S of Ossora, Russia / pop: 2,420 / local time: 23:51:01.1 2015-08-24