Seven Seas Bulletin September 13th 2020

In today's Seven Seas Bulletin we take a look at whales in the wrong place, using dolphin calls to estimate wild pod numbers, whale rescue training in Timaru, La Jolla, California's famous tidepools are being "loved to death", and the 10 rivers that contribute the most plastic pollution.

• Humpback whales stray up tropical Aussie river
  https://phys.org/news/2020-09-humpback-whales-stray-tropical-aussie.html

Humpback whales have been sighted for the first time in the rivers of the East Alligator River. Two of the three are believed to have already return to the ocean. The authorities have "set up a partial exclusion zone to protect unwitting boaters and any remaining whales, which can grow up to 16 metres long and weigh 30 tonnes". This is to help insure there are no vessel/whale collisions and that boats do not push the whale up river.

• Individual dolphin calls used to estimate population size and movement in the wild
  Call of the wild: individual dolphin calls used to estimate population size and movement in the wild
  https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/su-idc083120.php

For the first time researchers have used the individual whistles (calls) of dolphins to estimate the number of specimens. The technique was used with the Common Bottlenose dolphins of Namibia and is currently be worked on to be used with other species.

• Project Jonah to bring whale rescue training course to Timaru
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/122690387/project-jonah-to-bring-whale-rescue-training-course-to-timaru

Project Jonah will be teaching a whale rescue course in Timaru, New Zealand. Project Jonah hosts an annuam Marine Mammel Medic course tour that teaches such things as "stranding rescue techniques" and rescure training that utilizes a
"life-size, life-weight whale and dolphin".

• La Jolla tidepools are being ‘loved to death,’ environmentalists say
  https://www.lajollalight.com/news/story/2020-09-11/la-jolla-tidepools-are-being-loved-to-death-environmentalists-say

The tidepools of La Jolla, California are being visited at a much higher rate due to on going pandemic precautions. Normally many of these visitors would be at theme parks or other temperarily closed venues. The swift rise in people in the area has began to damage the fragile ecosystem of the tidepools. Local environmentalists are offering tips on how to safely visit these beautiful natural attractions in order to lower the risk of damaging the tidepools and the wildlife that call them home.

• Stemming the Plastic Tide: 10 Rivers Contribute Most of the Plastic in the Oceans
  The Yangtze alone pours up to an estimated 1.5 million metric tons into the Yellow Sea
  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stemming-the-plastic-tide-10-rivers-contribute-most-of-the-plastic-in-the-oceans/

Take a look at the 10 most plastic polluting rivers in the world. Remember these may be the top 10 but that does not mean we should ignore other polluted waterways or slack on dealing with our own polluted areas.

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