Showing posts with label Animals - Birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animals - Birds. Show all posts
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Mystery as ‘corkscrew’ kills Scottish seals
Daily Mail, By MAIL ON SUNDAY REPORTER, 15th August 2010
Dozens of seals are dying from unexplained ‘corkscrew’ injuries, prompting the launch of a Scottish Government investigation.
Seven incidents involving common and grey seals, such as the one pictured below, were reported in the past two months alone in St Andrews Bay and the Firth of Forth, Scottish officials said.
Carcasses washed ashore showing a single, smooth-edged cut starting at the head and spiralling around the body. Experts do not believe the injuries were caused by fishing nets or boat propellers.
'Strange deaths': Seven incidents involving common and grey seals were reported in Scotland in the last two months
Environment Minister Richard Lochhead said: ‘It’s critical that we establish the cause of these strange deaths and do all we can to protect our seal populations, particularly as numbers have reduced in recent years. I would encourage anyone who encounters a seal carcass to contact the Sea Mammal Research Unit.’
In total, 33 seals have washed up along the east coast of England and Scotland, including six in St Andrews Bay and the Firth of Forth in 2008 and 2009.
Similar incidents have been reported in Norfolk and off the Canadian coast.
Mr Lochhead has asked scientists from the University of St Andrews to investigate.
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Friday, August 13, 2010
Gulf fishermen: oil tainted our waters, our trust
Reuters, By Leigh Coleman,BILOXI | Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:35pm EDT
Shrimp boats sit idle in the Venice Marina as fishermen await the news of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in Venice, Louisiana May 3, 2010. (Credit: Reuters/Joe Mitchell)
Mississippi (Reuters) - Some U.S. Gulf Coast fishermen say they have caught crabs with black-stained gills and others report seeing fish and marine life gathering strangely on the sea surface following the massive BP Plc oil spill.
They fear these abnormalities could point to a lasting and potentially devastating impact on their fishing grounds and livelihoods from the world's worst offshore oil accident, and they say BP and the government may be downplaying the issue.
State and federal authorities, who insist they are closely following safety protocols, have begun reopening selected segments of Gulf of Mexicowaters to recreational and commercial fishing after the successful capping and cementing of BP's blown-out deepwater Macondo well in recent weeks.
But fiercely independent Gulf fishermen, many of whom harbor a deep mistrust of authority since the much-criticized government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, believe both President Barack Obama's administration and BP may be moving too hastily to close this ecological and financial nightmare.
"The government is telling us the waters and seafood are safe, but I would not feed my family on anything I catch out there now," said Jerry Miller, who has fished off Mississippi's coast for 35 years.
In contrast, President Obama has said publicly that Gulf Coast seafood is very much on the menu in the White House. "Americans can confidently and safely enjoy Gulf seafood once again ... In fact we had some yesterday," he said on Monday.
As a relief well closes in to permanently kill the ill-fated BP borehole, government scientists admit it could be years before the full long-term spill impact on the Gulf's marine ecosystem is known. Nearly 5 million barrels of oil is estimated to have spewed into Gulf waters, but the government says 75 percent has now evaporated or been dispersed or contained.
"The BP Deepwater Horizon incident was without a doubt a very significant environmental disaster ... it will undoubtedly continue to play out for a long, long time," Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told reporters this week.
But reassurances from the president downward that the administration will not abandon Gulf residents do not convince local fishermen. Many fear they have still not been told the full truth about the toxic effects on sea life of the oil and millions of gallons of chemical dispersants that were sprayed or pumped onto and into Gulf waters to disperse the crude.
'WHO DO YOU TRUST?'
"Fishermen here are calling it 'Voodoo seafood' because we are all cursed," said Bill Thompson of Long Beach, Mississippi. Fishermen from Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida gathered in Biloxi last week to discuss their fears.
"We do not think it is safe but the state officials say it is. Who do you trust? The people that know these waters or the government?" Thompson added.
Some local fishermen say they are seeing strange behavior by marine life -- mullets, crabs and other creatures which normally stay well under water have been sighted congregating on the surface -- and they relate this to the spill.
"It looks like all of the sea life is trying to get out of the water," said Alabama fisherman Stan Fournier. "In the 40 years I have been on these waters I've never seen anything like this before."
Earlier this month, some Hancock County, Mississippi, crabbers reported that when they cracked open their catch they found the crabs' gills tainted black, possibly by oil. But state environmental authorities said shrimp, oyster and crab samples have not shown any dangerous contamination so far.
Federal authorities say they are being extra cautious over seafood safety, but do not immediately have all the answers.
"I think it's fair to say we won't know for some time yet the full impact ... Many of the suspected impacts will be on the juvenile stages, the eggs or the larvae, for example, of fish, but also crabs, shrimp, other species. And it's very difficult to detect as it's happening," NOAA's Lubchenco said.
HUNT FOR SUB-SURFACE OIL
Government and private scientific vessels are out in the Gulf testing the waters and marine catches.
Part of the search is focused on trying to ascertain the full extent of oil that has remained under the surface in the water column -- a hotly discussed subject among scientists.
Crab traps carrying absorbent pom-poms are being lowered to the seabed along the coast to see if they come up with oil.
"If we start losing parts of the ecosystem ... it will be devastating," said Thomas Shirley, a marine biologist at Texas A&M University.
"I am much more inclined to believe fishermen about what they see in the Gulf and what they say about our waters," he said, adding that one critical factor will be any losses to shrimp and crab populations in coming seasons.
BP, which is funding the spill cleanup, has pledged to pay all legitimate economic damage claims and this week made an initial $3 billion deposit into a $20 billion escrow fund established to cover income and livelihood losses.
Many fishermen say the government's close cooperation with BP since the start of the spill in April means all official statements should be treated with caution, if not skepticism.
"We know these waters like the back of our hand. We all know what we see and things are not normal out there," said Lynn Wazenski, a charter boat captain in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
(Writing by Matt Bigg and Pascal Fletcher; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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Tuesday, August 10, 2010
RI-US team discovers 52 new marine species
Sangihe Talaud, the two-month long deep-sea exploration project led by scientists from Indonesia and the US, officially ended Monday at Bitung Port in North Sulawesi.
Gellwyn Jusuf, the Indonesian representative of the Sangihe Talaud expedition, which was also called Index Satal, said he hoped the bilateral cooperation behind the team effort could be continued.
“This is ourfirst deep-sea research with the NOAA Okeanos and supported by every relevant agency here in Indonesia,” said Jusuf, who is also head of the Maritime Research and Fisheries Agency (BRKP).
“The maritime affairs and fishery minister hopes that this cooperative effort can put Indonesian researchers on par with international researchers. We hope this cooperation can be further sustained,” he added.
The 2010 Index Satal, which lasted for two months, was a bilateral Indonesian-US research expedition intended to explore the fields of maritime biology, geology, oceanography, deep sea exploration technology and maritime information technology.
The expedition was expected to advance understanding of undersea ecosystems, particularly those associated with submarine volcanoes and hydrothermal vents.
The geographical area of operation for the research expedition was entirely within the Coral Triangle Region, the global heart of shallow-water marine biodiversity.
Scientists used a remotely operated vehicle to get a glimpse of deepwater biodiversity in the waters of Sangihe-Talaud region.
At the end of the expedition, 52 new species of were discovered 300-2,000 meters beneath the ocean’s surface, including fish, shrimp, coral and shells.
Researchers also identified six sea mounts near North Siau Island and two sea mounts near Bunaken.
“We found the sea mounts 700-1,600 meters below the sea,” said Indonesian deep sea research team leader Sugiarta Wirasantoso.
Secretary to the coordinating public welfare minister Indroyono Soesilo said the bilateral cooperation was of great advantage to Indonesia, especially in research and development and in exploring available natural marine resources.
“The deep-sea research expedition involving the research ship Baruna Jaya and the US’ NOAA Okeanos Explorer is the Indonesian people’s investment in exploring the diverse potential of the available undersea life which could be used for the sake of humanity,” said Soesilo.
Kristen Bauer, the US Consul General in Surabaya, also attended the closing ceremonies of the expedition, which is expected to be followed by another deep sea research voyage called Index Halmahera.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Deep-sea discoveries off Canada's coast
CNN, By Derrick Ho, Special to CNN, July 21, 2010 -- Updated 2301 GMT (0701 HKT)
An octopus: Coral's calcified deposits can grow to enormous sizes over long period pf time and form coral reefs -- one of the world's most productive ecosystems, which can harbor more than 4,000 species of fish and many other life forms.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The scientists discovered deep-sea marine life that could shed light on the ocean's climate
- Robotic cameras scoured the ocean bed at a depth of 9,800 feet off the Canadian coast
- The research will also help evaluate if the protected areas should be further conserved
(CNN) -- Using high-tech robotic cameras, a team of scientists is getting a rare first glimpse of marine life in the North Atlantic that could shed light on the ocean's ecosystem and climate to as far back as 1,000 years.
Images of tulip-shaped sponges, brightly colored corals, delicate pink stars and feathery organisms were among the breathtaking marine life beamed up by a submersible robot that scoured the ocean bed at a depth of some 9,800 feet [3,000 meters] off the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland.
The team, from three Canadian universities and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, is in the midst of a 20-day expedition to study 11 areas under the protection of the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization.
Exploring these areas is important because they contain the "trees of the ocean," said Ellen Kenchington, research scientist with the Fisheries Department of Canada. She is among the lead scientists in the expedition.
"It's been really spectacular," she told CNN affiliate CTV from her office at the institute as pictures from the robot streamed on her computer. "It's really changing our perception of the diversity that's out there. ... We're seeing new species in deeper waters."
Kenchington told the Montreal Gazette that scientists potentially can look at the coral's chemical composition and determine the temperature of the water and other data from 1,000 years ago.
"That's how we are able to say if there is warming or a change in climate direction," she said. "In order to understand the present, we need to put it into context."
Corals have been a highly successful life form for 250 million years. They are tiny animals and polyps that exist as genetically identical individuals and can eat, defend themselves and kill plankton for food. In the process they also secrete calcium carbonate, which becomes the basis for an external skeleton on which they sit.
These calcified deposits can grow to enormous sizes over a long period of time and form coral reefs. The reefs are among the world's most productive ecosystems and can harbor more than 4,000 species of fish and many other marine life forms.
Some estimates have suggested 20 percent of the world's coral reefs are already dead and an additional 24 percent are gravely threatened.
In the week they have left in the expedition, Kenchington and her team hope to collect samples and video from the depths of the ocean to gain a new understanding of these corals as well as other marine life.
The underwater robot, operated by crew aboard the Canadian Coast Guard ship Hudson, is enabling the crew to go about 500 meters deeper than they have before.
Kenchington told CTV the research will also help them evaluate areas that are still too deep for current fishing technologies but could be accessible in years to come.
"This will enable us to give advice in the future about what types of organisms are in these areas before they're fished," she said.
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Thursday, July 8, 2010
Scientists claim fish 'talk' to each other
Fish communicate with each other in a secret language of grunts, growls, chirps and pops, researchers in New Zealand have discovered.
Goldfish were found to be good listeners Photo: IAN JONES
Far from being a place of deep silence, the underwater world is abuzz with the sound of fish sweet-talking the opposite sex, warning others of danger, giving directions, and general background chatter.
Predators may even hunt out prey by intercepting fish talk, researcher Shahriman Ghazali of Auckland University said.
"All fish can hear but not all can make sound -- pops and other sounds made by vibrating their swim bladder, a muscle they can contract," he said.
Mr Ghazali, who is presenting a paper on his research to fellow marine scientists in Wellington this week, hopes to decipher the contexts for different types of communication.
"This is the next step. We are 99 per cent sure they are fish sounds.
"Now we want to find out what the sounds mean," he told the New Zealand Herald.
The main reasons appear to be attracting mates, scaring off predators, and orientating themselves around reefs, he said.
He placed groups of fish into tanks in a laboratory, gave them a few weeks to settle in, and monitored them using an underwater microphone and instruments that detect water movement.
It emerged that gurnard are among the most talkative, making distinctive grunts and keeping up a pattern of chatter throughout the day.
Cod, on the other hand, stay mostly silent, except while spawning when they become very vocal.
"The hypothesis is that they are using the sound as a synchronisation so that the male and female release their eggs at the same time for fertilisation," Mr Ghazali said.
"Outside spawning season, you won't hear a sound from them."
Fish known as bigeyes produce a popping sound, which appears to operate as a sort of Morse code.
Mr Ghazali debunked a commonly held belief that crayfish in New Zealand waters make a similar popping sound when divers approach.
"I didn't get any sound from any of them," he said.
He also advised pet owners who tap the bowls of goldfish not to hold their breath for a reply.
"Goldfish have excellent hearing but they don't make any sound whatsoever," he said.
Fish are far cleverer than scientists have previously believed
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Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Egypt oil spill threatens Red Sea marine life
Yahoo/AFP, Sun Jun 20, 10:39 am ET
 |
| AFP/File - A sea turtle swims with scuba divers in the Ras Mohammed protection area near Sham el-Sheikh Egypt |
CAIRO (AFP) – An oil spill off the Egyptian Red Sea coast of Hurghada threatening to damage marine life in the area has promptedenvironmental agencies to demand tighter regulation of offshore oil platforms.
Large quantities of oil have appeared in recent days around the resorts of Hurghada which draw millions of tourists who come to dive or snorkle, according to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency.
"It started four or five days ago and the companies responsible didn't notify anyone. It is catastrophic," HEPCA Managing Director Amr Ali told AFP.
The spill was caused by leakage from an offshore oil platform north of Hurghada and has polluted protected areas and showed up on tourist beach resorts.
"The companies have said they will pay damages, but it is the environmental damage that we are concerned about," Ali said, declining to name the companies for legal reasons.
"We will take all measures, including legal, to make sure this does not happen again," he said.
HEPCA's warning comes amid ongoing efforts to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which has already damaged fragile ecosystems along the US south coast and halted the region's multi-billion-dollar fishing industry.
HEPCA, a non-governmental organisation based in Hurghada, has been working for the protection of natural resources in the Red Sea.
Egypt's environment and tourism ministries said the oil spill was contained and that measures were being taken to "deal with the pollution caused by the spill," the official MENA news agency reported.
Authorities protective of the lucrative tourism industry were eager to resolve the matter quickly. Both the Environment Minister Maged George and Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy visited the area of the spill on Saturday.
But HEPCA says it was too little too late.
"Visits won't help. We would like to see a clearer plan of action on the ground," Ali said.
"We would also like to see more stringent standards imposed on these offshore platforms to ensure naturalareas are protected," he said.
Residents have been told to stay away from contaminated beaches
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Friday, June 18, 2010
Fishers call for strong action to prevent bycatching
Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Fri, 06/18/2010 10:29 AM
Fishers from local communities and private companies in the Coral Triangle region have called for a stronger partnership and collaborative measures to prevent the unintended capture of animals in commercial fishing gear.
A three-day forum, which closed here Thursday, discussed ways to prevent the phenomenon, which in the industry is known as “bycatching”. The forum heard that millions of marine animals were inadvertently killed every year by the fisheries industry in the Coral Triangle.
Bycatching is a major cause of death of endangered species, such as turtles, sharks, marine mammals, as well as thousands of tons of fish species that are not eaten that get entangled in fishing gear each year, the forum heard.
“Such ineffective fishing practices are undoubtedly depleting our highly valuable marine species on which millions of people depend for food and income,” said Keith Symington, bycatch strategy leader of the coral triangle program at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
“This forum has created a collaborative platform for fishers to start working closely together to solve bycatching and secure a more sustainable and equitable future for the fishing industry in this region,” he said.
The forum was jointly held by the WWF, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC).
Some 100 participants at the forum collectively agreed on a set of recommendations, including mainstreaming bycatching regulations in regional legislation and implementing them into national policies, as well as providing incentives to fishermen to turn to more environmentally friendly catching methods.
Other recommendations included conducting more research and studies to inform decisions on policy.
The forum also agreed to establish partnerships with academic institutions and fisheries schools to raise awareness about bycatching among new fishermen.
“It is urgent for fishers in this region to transform their practices into more eco-friendly ones and cooperate with key players across the entire supply-chain to ensure the health of ocean resources and the future of their business as well,” Symington said.
Narmoko Prasmadji, the ministry’s representative and the executive secretary of the national coordination committee of Coral Triangle Initiative Indonesia, said the ministry would support a plan of action arrived at during the meeting in line with its own policy of reducing bycatching.
“The bycatching issue should be included in the mainstream of the national fisheries policy and should be well implemented and legally enforced,” he said.
The SEAFDEC noted that many fishing operations were guilty of bycatching, with many simply throwing unwanted dead catches back into the sea.
Some shrimp trawling operations can discard up to 90 percent of their catches, while some fishing
operations kill seabirds, turtles and dolphins, sometimes in large numbers.
The Ministry’s Center for Analysis and International Cooperation estimated that 15 percent of every 5-ton catch was bycatch, while the FAO estimated commercial fishing wasted at least 27 tons of marine resources every year due to indiscriminate fishing.
Since 2006, WWF Indonesia and the ministry have initiated a bycatch mitigation program that requires the use of circle hooks for long-line tuna fishing in harbors in Benoa in Bali and Bitung in North Sulawesi.
Whistleblower aims to expose dark side of Japanese whaling
'Mr Whale' alleges widespread criminality among former colleagues on mother ship of Japanese whaling fleet
guardian.co.uk, Justin McCurry in Tokyo, Monday 14 June 2010 19.03 BST
'Mr Whale' wearing his Kyodo Senpaku whaling fleet uniform. Photograph: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Greenpeace
He once wielded a knife on the deck of a Japanese whaling ship, slicing apart the behemoths of the ocean in the name of "scientific research", while much of the rest of the world looked on in horror.
Now, as Japan pushes to overturn the 24-year ban on commercial whaling, the former whaler has come forward with allegations of widespread criminality among the men with whom he spent months in the freezing waters of the Antarctic.
Sent every winter to slaughter the mammals for research that Japan says is vital to our understanding of whale populations, the crewmen are instead seizing and selling prized cuts of meat to earn extra cash and, in at least one case, earn many more times their annual salary, says the whaler-turned-whistleblower.
He refers to himself only as "Kujira-san" (Mr Whale), a precaution necessitated by a genuine fear for his safety. But the personal risks will be worthwhile, he says, if it means the world learns the truth about the dark side of Japan's whaling industry.
"Even before we arrived in the Antarctic Ocean," he says of a recent expedition, "the more experienced whalers would talk about taking whale meat home to sell. It was an open secret. Even officials from the Institute of Cetacean Research [a quasi-governmental body that organises Japan's whaling programme] on the ship knew what was happening, but they turned a blind eye to it."
Kujira, who worked aboard the Nisshin Maru mother ship, saw crew members helping themselves to prime cuts of whale meat and packing them into boxes they would mark with doodles or pseudonyms so they could identify them when the vessel reached port. "They never wrote their real names on the boxes," he said.
Some whalers would take home between five and 10 boxes, he said, while one secured as many as 40 boxes of prime meat that fetches ¥20,000 (about £148) a kilo when sold legally. One crew member built a house with the profits from illicitly sold whale meat, he said. "Another used the money he earned to buy a car," he said. "They were careful to select only the best cuts, like the meat near the tail fin. I never dared challenge them."
Kujira paints an unpleasant picture of life at sea, although he is reluctant to divulge details for fear of revealing his identity.
Newcomers are badly treated by more experienced whalers, fuelled by a machismo culture that is disappearing from other parts of the fishing industry. "The treatment of junior crew has improved a lot elsewhere over the last 40 years," he said. "But the industry seems to be trapped in time."
He contradicted Japan's claims that the industry, which reportedly required government subsidies of almost $12m in 2008-09, is highly efficient. The fleet would sometimes catch more whales than necessary, he said, strip them of their most expensive parts and throw what was left overboard.
"I didn't think of the embezzlement at first. I just couldn't stand the waste. A lot of meat was being thrown away because we kept catching whales even after we'd reached our daily quota. I decided I had to tell someone what was happening."
Oddly, perhaps, for someone with his professional background, he sought help from Greenpeace. In 2008, the organisation launched a secret investigation into embezzlement by the crew of the Nisshin Maru, during which two activists, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, intercepted a box containing 23kg of whale meat – worth about ¥350,000 – at a warehouse in Japan that they later presented as evidence.
After initially agreeing to act on their claims, prosecutors dropped the case and instead, Sato and Suzuki were arrested and charged with theft and trespassing.
Last week, prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison sentence for the "Tokyo Two", who were held without charge for 23 days and interrogated while strapped to chairs without their lawyers present. A ruling is expected in the next few months.
Kujira's allegations come as the International Whaling Commission [IWC] prepares to meet next week in Morocco to discuss a proposal that could end the moratorium on commercial whaling in return for whaling nations agreeing to smaller quotas. In the run up to the meeting, Japan has reverted to its preferred tactic of using aid to sway small islands and even landlocked nations to vote with it in the 88-member body.
Under the IWC moratorium, Japan is permitted to catch just under 1,000 whales – mainly minke – in the name of scientific research. Meat from the cull is sold on the open market and the profits used to fund future whaling expeditions.
Japan denies allegations of vote-buying, but has acknowledged that it invests heavily in the fishing industries of some IWC allies, and pays the expenses of delegates from poorer countries.
Kujira says Greenpeace's investigation has forced whaling crews to change their ways. "I heard from my sources that the theft of whale meat has stopped because of the media attention. But dozens of younger crewmen have left the fleet because they can no longer steal whale meat. They only joined the fleet because they knew they could make lots of money at the end of each trip. It was the only perk of a very tough job. The older whalers are just hanging on for their pensions."
The Institute of Cetacean Research has insisted that crew members take home only small quantities of whale meat as a reward for spending months working in some of the world's most inhospitable waters.
Kujira is trying to generate interest among Japan's media, which are reluctant to criticise the country's research culls while it defends itself against mounting international criticism of the annual slaughter.
Although he no longer works for the fleet, Kujira adds that he will continue to campaign behind the scenes, at great risk to his own safety, until the Japanese public learn the truth about the industry: "I dread to think what the other whalers would do to me if they knew who I was. They could do anything they wanted to me. I would be living in fear of my life."
A whale tale
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is bitterly divided over Japan's research whaling programme.
The country slaughters about 950 mainly minke whales every year in the name of scientific research, but critics say the culls are commercial whaling in disguise, since the meat is sold on the open market.
Under a proposal submitted by IWC chairman Cristian Maquieira, Japan would be permitted to resume commercial whaling for 10 years, but would have to adhere to strict quotas "significantly lower" than current ones.
One estimate says the move could spare more than 5,000 whales over the next decade. Two other whaling nations, Iceland and Norway, would also be able to take part in the experiment. The three nations have killed 35,000 whales since the IWC ban went into effect in 1986.
They would have to agree to other conditions, such as the presence of observers on ships, DNA registers of slaughtered whales and market sampling to detect illegal whaling.
Campaigners fear the proposal could lead to a return to large-scale commercial whaling and say the IWC should be forcing whaling nations to end the culls altogether.
There are large numbers of minke whales in the north Atlantic and western north Pacific, but the proposal would also permit limited catches of fin and sei whales, both listed as endangered.
The move is under discussion and would require the support by 75% of the IWC's 88 members to pass. Despite allegations of vote buying, Japan is currently some way short of acquiring the votes it needs.
Allegations: The Yushin Maru ship captures a whale. Japan has been accused of bribing small countries with cash and prostitutes to help end the ban on whaling
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Sperm whale faeces offset CO2 emissions
Sperm whales may put a gentle (and unwitting) brake on climate change
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sperm whale faeces offset CO2 emissions
Sperm whales may put a gentle (and unwitting) brake on climate change
In a somewhat unusual research project, scientists have found that sperm whale faeces may help oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
Australian researchers calculate that Southern Ocean sperm whales release about 50 tonnes of iron each year.
This stimulates the growth of tiny marine plants - phytoplankton - which absorb CO2 during photosynthesis.
They note in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B that in the end, this also provides more food for the whales.
Phytoplankton are the basis of the marine food web in this part of the world, and the growth of these tiny plants is limited by the amount of nutrients available, including iron.
Faecal attraction
Over the last decade or so, many groups of scientists have experimented with putting iron into the oceans deliberately as a "fix" for climate change.
Not all of these experiments have proved successful; the biggest, the German Lohafex expedition, put six tonnes of iron into the Southern Ocean in 2008, but saw no sustained increase in carbon uptake.
But the Australian group calculates the natural fertilisation by the 12,000 or so sperm whales estimated to inhabit the Southern Ocean result in the absorption of about 40,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year - more than twice as much as they release by breathing.
The Lohafex expedition was the latest to probe iron fertilisation
Although 40,000 tonnes of carbon is less than one-thousandth of the annual emissions from burning fossil fuels, the researchers note that the global total could be more substantial.
There are estimated to be several hundred thousand sperm whales in the oceans, though they are notoriously difficult to count; and lack of iron limits phytoplankton growth in many regions besides the Southern Ocean.
So it could be that whale faeces are fertilising plants in several parts of the world.
Crucial to the idea is that sperm whales are not eating and defecating in the same place - if they were, they could be just abrosbing and releasing the same amounts of iron.
Instead, they eat their diet - mainly squid - in the deep ocean, and defectate in the upper waters where phytoplankton can grow, having access to sunlight.
Releasing the iron here is ultimately good for the whales as well, say the researchers - led by Trish Lavery from Flinders University in Adelaide.
Phytoplankton are eaten by tiny marine animals - zooplankton - which in turn are consumed by larger creatures that the whales might then eat.
The scientists suggest a similar mechanism could underpin the "krill paradox" - the finding that the abundance of krill in Antarctic waters apparently diminished during the era when baleen whales that eat krill were being hunted to the tune of tens of thousands per year.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Japan 'gave cash and call girls to rig whaling vote' in bid to end 24-year ban
Allegations: The Yushin Maru ship captures a whale. Japan has been accused of bribing small countries with cash and prostitutes to help end the ban on whaling
Japan has been accused of bribing small countries with cash and prostitutes to help end the ban on whaling.
Poor nations have 'sold' their votes on the International Whaling Commission to Japan in return for millions of pounds of aid, free travel, bribes and the services of call girls for ministers, it is claimed.
The IWC will vote later this month on ending a ban on commercial whaling that has been in place for 24 years.
Backing from several small nations – including Caribbean and Pacific islands and impoverished African states – could lift the moratorium and allow the hunting of thousands of whales, including the endangered fin and sei species.
Yesterday the British Government and environmental campaigners demanded that the IWC investigates.
Many of the tiny nations – who have a vote equal in weight to countries such as Britain and France – have no interest in whaling but joined the IWC at Japan's behest because it offered huge aid payments, it is claimed.
During an undercover investigation, a senior fisheries official from Guinea said Japan gave its minister a minimum of $1,000 (£680) a day spending money during IWC meetings, with the cash handed over in envelopes.
The average annual wage in Guinea is £680. Tanzania's IWC commissioner said 'good girls' were available for ministers during all-expenses paid trips to Japan.
He said he always turned down 'massages and comfort', but said Japan had given his country £80million in fisheries aid in the past two years.
An official from the Marshall Islands, a nation in Micronesia in the Pacific, said: 'We support Japan because of what they give us.'
The claims, which Japan denies, raise serious questions about the IWC's credibility, and there were swift calls for an investigation.
Britain's minister for the marine environment, Richard Benyon, said: 'These are serious allegations and I'm sure the IWC will wish to look at them more closely.'
Dr Nicky Grandy, secretary to the commission, said: 'We have no comment to make because this has not yet been raised with member governments. I do not know if it will be.'
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