Captive whales find new home as aquarium shows decline

Yahoo – AFP, Robin MILLARD, June 26, 2018

Filer of a captive beluga whale in a Beijing zoo, 10/01/16. Two beluga whales
performing in a Shanghai aquarium are to be flown to a new sanctuary in Iceland
as the popularity of marine shows wanes (AFP Photo/WANG ZHAO)

London (AFP) - Two beluga whales performing in a Shanghai aquarium are to be flown to a new sanctuary in Iceland, giving hope to more than 3,000 captive cetaceans as the popularity of marine shows wanes.

Little White and Little Grey will be taken next year from Changfeng Ocean World to Klettsvik Bay, organisers told a press conference at the Sea Life London Aquarium on Tuesday.

The 12-year-old female cetaceans will still be in human care in the netted-off sea inlet as it is thought they will never survive on their own in the wild.

But the founders said it will give them a better life -- and help research into how captive whales could one day be prepared for release out of human dependency.

British-based Merlin Entertainments operates attractions including Legoland, The Tussauds Group and the Sea Life aquarium.

It took over Changfeng Ocean World in 2012 and started looking for a new environment to house Little White and Little Grey.

Originally from Russian Arctic waters, it is thought they were two or three years old when captured. They weigh around 900 kilogrammes and are around four metres long.

Their 30-hour transfer planned for next year will involve stretchers and transport semi-submerged in tanks, by truck, chartered flight and then ferry.

'Showing the way'

They will be assessed in a care pool before being released into Klettsvik Bay at Heimaey, one of the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland.

The bay, which is leased, measures up to 32,000 square metres with a depth of up to 10 metres.

Klettsvik is where Keiko, the killer whale in the 1993 film "Free Willy", was flown in 1998. The orca was fully released in 2002 but did not fully adapt to life in the wild and died 18 months later in a Norwegian fjord.

Beluga whales perform at the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China, 29/04/14. 

Two beluga whales from a Shanghai aquarium are to be flown to a sanctuary in Iceland, 

giving hope to 3,000 captive cetaceans as the popularity of marine shows declines 

(AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON)

"We hope that by showing the way with our sanctuary, we will help to encourage the rehabilitation of more captive whales into natural environments and one day bring an end to whale and dolphin entertainment shows," said Andy Bool, head of the Sea Life Trust charity.

Campaigners have criticised Merlin for continuing the beluga whale shows ahead of the transfer and pointed to the irony of choosing Iceland as a destination since it openly defies an international ban on hunting whales.

The Shanghai whales are being trained to hold their breath for longer, become physically stronger to cope with tides and currents, and are putting on blubber to help them cope with the colder water temperatures.

A third beluga whale at the aquarium, Jun Jun, died from a bleed on the brain in June last year, aged 17.

Belugas typically live for 40 to 60 years.

More than 3,000 whales and dolphins are kept in captivity and it is hoped that up to eight other belugas could join Little White and Little Grey in the future.

"There is a real alternative now for these animals," Bool told AFP.

"The argument has been in the past that you can't just put them back in the sea -- and that's right. But hopefully, people will see what we're doing and want to replicate it."

Cathy Williamson, from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation charity, said public support for aquarium shows was waning.

"The world's first whale sanctuary presents a pathway towards the end of the keeping of whales and dolphins in captivity," she said.

Carolijn Brouwer makes history as first woman to win Volvo Ocean Race

DutchNews, June 25, 2018

Photo: Volvo Ocean Race

Dutch sailor Carolijn Brouwer has become the first woman to win the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race following a dramatic finish in Scheveningen on Sunday. 

Brouwer’s Dongfeng Race Team passed Team Brunel in the final hour of the last stage from Gothenburg to The Hague on Sunday, denying her countryman Bouwe Bekking a first victory in eight attempts. 

‘It was an insane race. The main thing was to keep a cool head and we managed that,’ said Brouwer, 44, who was trimmer in a crew skippered by Frenchman Charles Caudrelier. 

‘It was the most important race of my career,’ she said. ‘It’s a dream come true. We pulled it off.’ 

Originally from Leiden, Brouwer currently lives in Australia and has competed in the Olympics with both Dutch and Belgian crews. 

The Volvo Ocean Race lasts eight months across 11 stages spanning 45,000 miles. The rules were changed this year to encourage more mixed crews by restricting the size of all-male teams to seven. Mixed teams could have up to 10 members while all-female crews had a maximum of 11. 

Brunel, which finished fourth in the stage and third in the overall standings, was one of two Dutch crews participating in the nine-month race. The other crew, sponsored by AkzoNobel and skippered by Simeon Tienpont, took second place on the final stage to secure fourth place overall.

Number missing in Indonesia ferry disaster jumps again to 192: official

Yahoo – AFP, Lazuardy Fahmi, June 20, 2018

The wooden boat was believed to be operating illegally, with no manifest or passenger
tickets -- hampering efforts to estimate how many passengers may have been on
board (AFP Photo/JON NST)

Simalungun (Indonesia) (AFP) - As many as 192 passengers could be missing after a ferry sank into the depths of a volcanic lake in Indonesia, the search-and-rescue agency said Wednesday, tripling initial government estimates.

But the agency's head cautioned that it was still unclear how many people were aboard the vessel when it capsized Monday in Lake Toba, a popular tourist destination on Sumatra island.

The traditional wooden boat may have been operating illegally with no manifest or passenger tickets, sparking confusion and a string of changing official passenger estimates.

Indonesia's disaster agency originally said some 80 people along with dozens of motorcycles were on the overloaded, 43-passenger capacity vessel when it overturned and sank.

So far, four bodies have been found and another 18 people rescued, according to the agency.

By Wednesday, the official number of missing had jumped several times to 192 passengers.

Authorities based the figures on reports from families whose missing relatives may have been on the doomed vessel, but their accounts are difficult to verify.

If confirmed, it would be one of Indonesia's deadliest maritime disasters.

"Many people got on the boat without a ticket so it's unclear how many were on board," Muhammad Syaugi, the head of the search and rescue agency, told AFP.

Later at a press conference, Syaugi added: "There are many people who have reported their relatives missing, but whether they were on the boat or not we don't know."

The search has now turned to recovering bodies -- including those that may still be trapped inside the sunken boat.

'Please bring back my son'

"We'll be here until they find my brother's body," said Nurhayati, among hundreds of grief-stricken people waiting by the shore for updates.

"We just want to see his body and take him with us."

Rescue team members prepare to search for missing passengers at the 

Lake Toba ferry port (AFP Photo/IVAN DAMANIK)

Sobbing mother Suwarni pleaded for news of her son and his fiancé, both believed to have been on board.

"Why are the rescue teams so slow?" said the 55-year-old, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"I'm so disappointed -- there's no progress here. Please bring back my son."

Authorities have deployed divers and underwater vehicles, along with about 400 personnel, to search the enormous lake in an operation expected to last at least a week.

Lake Toba, popular with international and domestic tourists, fills the crater of a supervolcano that erupted tens of thousands of years ago.

It is one of the world's deepest lakes and extends some 1,145 square kilometres (440 square miles).

The rescue agency has said it plans to search as deep as 400 metres for the sunken vessel.

Images from the scene Wednesday showed rescuers covering up the bloated body of a woman who had washed ashore.

It was not clear if any foreigners were on board the ferry or what caused the disaster.

Survivor accounts said the boat began shaking as it struggled to navigate strong winds and high waves about halfway into the 40-minute trip from an island in the middle of the lake to shore.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has been celebrating the Islamic festival of Eid since Friday and millions go on holiday during the festivities, with Lake Toba among the top destinations.

The deadly disaster came just days after more than a dozen people were killed in an unrelated ferry accident in the Southeast Asian archipelago nation, where many people depend on boats to get around.

Traditional vessels -- like the one in the Lake Toba disaster -- are rarely equipped with enough life preservers and their condition can be dire.

Enforcement of safety standards also tends to be weak, underscoring Indonesia's woeful boat safety record.

In 2015 a ferry sank off the coast of the island of Sulawesi, leaving 78 dead or missing.

More than 300 people are estimated to have drowned in 2009 when a ferry sank between Sulawesi and Borneo.

Map of Indonesia locating the area where a ferry capsized on June 18 pic.twitter.com/k0OR3LfXpx

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 20, 2018

Thai turtle's plastic-filled stomach highlights ocean crisis

Yahoo – AFP, 11 June 2018

The green turtle washed up on a beach in Chanthaburi province on June 4
and died two days later

Startling images of plastic shreds, rubber bands and other debris found jammed in the stomach of a green turtle in Thailand have highlighted the crisis of waste-strewn seas following the widely publicised death of a whale this month.

Thailand is one of the world's largest consumers of plastic, which kills hundreds of marine mammals and reptiles swimming off its coasts every year.

The problem grabbed public attention in the first week of June when an autopsy of a dead pilot whale found near the border with Malaysia revealed 80 plastic bags inside its stomach.

The green turtle, a protected species, suffered a similar fate after washing up on a beach in the eastern province of Chanthaburi on June 4, Weerapong Laovechprasit, a veterinarian at the Eastern Marine and Coastal Resource Research and Development Centre, told AFP.

Plastic, rubber bands, pieces of balloon and other rubbish had filled 

the turtle's intestinal track, leaving it unable to eat

Plastic, rubber bands, pieces of balloon and other rubbish had filled the turtle's intestinal tract, leaving it unable to eat and causing its death two days later.

"It was feeling weak and couldn't swim," Weerapong said. "The main cause of death is the sea trash."

Veterinarians discovered the blockage using X-rays and tried to save the turtle by feeding it intravenously, but were only able to extract the garbage after its death.

Weerapong said that in the past about 10 percent of the green turtles stranded on beaches in the area had ingested plastic or suffered infections after coming into contact with the waste, but this year about 50 percent of the incidents were trash-related.

More than half of the eight million tonnes of plastic waste dumped into the world's oceans every year comes from five Asian countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, according to a 2015 Ocean Conservancy report.

Whale dies in Thailand after swallowing 80 plastic bags

Yahoo – AFP, June 2, 2018

An autopsy revealed 80 plastic bags weighing up to eight kilograms (18 pounds)
in the whale's stomach (AFP Photo)

Bangkok (AFP) - A whale has died in southern Thailand after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags, officials said, ending an attempted rescue that failed to nurse the mammal back to health.

Thailand is one of the world's largest consumers of plastic bags, which kill hundreds of marine creatures living near the country's popular beaches each year.

The small male pilot whale became the latest victim after it was found barely alive in a canal near the border with Malaysia, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources said on their Facebook page Saturday.

A veterinary team tried "to help stabilise its illness but finally the whale died" on Friday afternoon, the post said.

An autopsy revealed 80 plastic bags weighing up to eight kilograms (18 pounds) in the creature's stomach, the department added.

Photos accompanying the post showed a group of people using buoys to keep the whale afloat after it was first spotted on Monday and an umbrella to shield it from the scorching sun.

The whale was the latest victim of plastic bags which kill hundreds of marine 

creatures living near Thailand's popular beaches each year (AFP Photo)

The whale vomited up five bags during the rescue attempt before it died, the department said.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist and lecturer at Kasetsart University, said the bags had made it impossible for the whale to eat any nutritional food.

"If you have 80 plastic bags in your stomach, you die," he said.

At least 300 marine animals including pilot whales, sea turtles and dolphins perish each year in Thai waters after ingesting plastic, Thon told AFP.

"It's a huge problem," he said. "We use a lot of plastic."

The pilot whale's plight generated sympathy and anger among Thai netizens.

"I feel sorry for the animal that didn't do anything wrong but has to bear the brunt of human actions," one Twitter user wrote in Thai.

VIDEO: A mangrove forest in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province is draped with plastic rubbish washed in with the tide, a symptom of the plastic crisis that has gripped Asia #WorldEnvironmentDay pic.twitter.com/4p3jgYbGH1

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 5, 2018