February 2009

  • New Weapon Used by Whalers?

    By sparklyscotty on 2/27/09 10:55pm
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    In 1986 an international moratorium was placed on commercial whaling, ordering whalers to cease and desist hunting of whales. Unfortunately, Japan has never felt that the moratorium applied to their commercial whalers.


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  • Exxon's War on the Last of the Remaining Western Gray Whales

    By Niki Fears on 2/18/09 1:18am
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    The Piltun Lagoon, in Russian Waters, is an oasis of biodiversity providing food and habitat for a variety of marine life including sea stars, clams, sea cucumbers, oysters, and sea anemones.  This vital lagoon is also a crucial feeding grounds for the few remaining Western Gray Whales in the world and if the oil and gas giant, Exxon, has its way they will move forward with a plan to build a pipeline right through the middle of this fragile habitat, which could effectively put an end to the critically endangered Western Gray Whales.

    When news of the Sakhalin-1 project, a plan to run a pipelin

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  • BBC Arctic Unicorn Footage

    By macallister on 2/14/09 11:18pm
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    Arctic Unicorn Footage

    BBC News has posted some really amazing (and rare) footage of the summer narwhal (monodon monoceros) migration, primarily filmed from a helicopter.

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  • Gray Whale Migration

    By macallister on 2/1/09 4:19am
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    Before I moved to Washington state, my first trip to the Puget Sound was a birthday present to myself, to catch the spring Gray whale migration. Some friends and I drove out to the Olympic Peninsula, rented a cabin at LaPush, and waited in the rain with our binoculars for most of the week. We didn't see any whales, but I caught a bad cold.

    Photo from the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Program

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