Saving Sri Lanka's blue whale
Within view of shore the
spinner dolphins twist and turn energetically, flying fish launch out of
the water and cruise for what seems like ages, and a manta ray
gracefully glides under my boat. In the safety of my 20-foot research
boat. I am the biggest thing on the water.
Suddenly, a blue whale
emerges close by, and as it breaks the surface, it exhales. This
creature is so immense that the vertical tower of mist that escapes from
its blowholes is taller than my boat is long. As it calmly swims, it
teases me by revealing just parts of its huge self. It is hard to fathom
just how large this creature truly is. I am mesmerized by the scene,
impressed at how the buoyancy of the ocean has aided this giant to
achieve near maximum size.
Asha de Vos
My moment is disrupted
when I become aware of the fleet of container ships close by. Each
carries thousands of containers, which are on average twice the length
of my boat. Welcome to one of the busiest shipping highways in the
world.
What I see is no
different from what I hear when I drop my hydrophone (underwater
microphone) in the water. The cacophony of the ships' propellers drowns
out all other sounds in the ocean before, during and often even after we
have lost view of them in the distance. These ocean-going monsters are
at the beck and call of human needs and their increasing numbers are a
reflection of the escalating wants of an ever-growing global population.
This morning's lesson has been about perspective but I soon realize there are many more lessons to be learned.
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Moments like these
concretize my desire to scientifically understand these whales in order
to protect them. Moments like these drive me to work harder.
Over the years, my
research has shown that these whales are different, unorthodox even.
Science has often described baleen whales (the group that blue whales
belong to) as creatures of habit. They travel to the poles to feed and
then migrate to the lower latitudes to mate and calve. But we find that
quite incredibly, those within the Northern Indian Ocean choose to
remain in tropical waters year-round.
These blue whales grow up
to 24 meters (78.7 feet) and have incredible energetic requirements so
it makes sense for them to exploit the most productive areas of the
ocean to ensure their survival. But these waters are often considered
less productive than their temperate or polar counterparts, and this
anomalous behavior leads me to question why? How? The Northern Indian
Ocean clearly holds many secrets that we have yet to unravel.
What excites me most is
that the waters around Sri Lanka, slap-bang in the heart of the Indian
Ocean, are home to a resident group of Northern Indian Ocean blues. My
research is just beginning to shed light on what sustains this group of
the largest animals to ever roam the oceans throughout the year. But
besides fulfilling their nutritional needs, Sri Lankan waters provide a
safe haven for mothers and calves and have given me the opportunity to
observe mesmerizing portrayals of the persistence of males and the
pickiness of females engaged in courtship rituals.
The Northern Indian
Ocean is as unorthodox as the blue whales that live within it. It is the
only ocean that is not connected from the North Pole right through to
the South Pole. The effects of this geographic isolation are profound,
and the differences these blue whales display may be driven in part by
this.
Unfortunately, this
isolation and their dependence on a restricted area for their most
fundamental needs -- feeding, breeding and calving makes these blue
whales increasingly vulnerable to threats. Very little is known about
the causes of natural mortality for blue whales. They are after all,
very large. However, human-induced threats abound. Not least, off the
south coast of Sri Lanka.
Sadly, the overlap
between prime blue whale habitat and extremely busy shipping lanes
increases the risk of mortality by ship strike. Blue whales do not
belong wrapped on the bow of a container ship. They belong swimming
freely in the ocean.
Available data tells us
that commercial shipping densities off the southern coast of Sri Lanka
are double those in California's Santa Barbara Channel where measures
are already being taken to mitigate the risk of collisions with blue
whales.
My mission is to
decrease whale mortality by ship strike in the waters off Sri Lanka with
the support of a strong network of scientists from around the world.
But to achieve this mission, I realize I have to be an unorthodox
scientist. I have to ensure that people, not just scientists know of the
problems faced by this population. I believe that the more we know, the
more we care and the more we feel responsible and subsequently, the
greater our chance of success.
My dream is to work to
protect these whales as best I can to ensure that the immense blue whale
skeleton hanging from the ceiling of the Colombo National Museum since
1894 is not the only option for seeing blue whales in the future.
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