Show Date: March 8, 2006 
Pam Eastlick for THE DEEP on line

MOBY DICK REVISITED
OR
THE WHALE’S REVENGE

Welcome to The Deep science and technology column where we cover topics from the deep sea to deep space and beyond. Join us each week on Newstalk K57 on Wednesday night from 7 to 8 p.m. for exciting live science expeditions or listen live on our web site www.thedeepradioshow.com

Although we humans are definitely meat eaters, we also have a soft spot for the underdog. Sometimes animals ‘get their own’ in the constant struggle between animals and humans. The cow that escapes from the slaughterhouse truck, the turkey supposedly destined for the Thanksgiving table at the White house, the NASA chimps that have grown too old to serve; they all receive their reprieves. And when wild animals get the upper hand (or the prize), we invariably cheer.

This happened to me this week when I read the lovely tale of the recent adventures of longline fisherman in Alaska. We’ve talked about the terrible toll that longline fishing takes on the world’s fish populations. The lines are several miles long and if they aren’t reeled in frequently, the fish that are caught simply rot in place and die for no reason at all. But apparently, in at least some instances, that’s not what’s happening at all.

Longline fisherman in the Gulf of Alaska began to reel in their lines and discover empty hooks or hooks with heads or partially eaten fish. And that’s when they discovered that they had been “a-fishin’ for the whale” without even trying. Sperm whales, the only carnivores among the large whales, are treating their longlines as gigantic shish-kebobs; plucking lingcod, halibut and the incredibly trendy and expensive sablefish from the handy serving lines. Researchers estimate there are 90 male sperm whales feeding from longlines in the eastern Gulf of Alaska, part of the world’s largest sablefish fishery.

Keep revving those engines, mate!

Killer whales in the Bering Sea and Prince William Sound also plunder longlines. And Alaska isn’t the only place it happens. Sperm whales and other toothed whales, like pilot whales, cherry-pick fish catches all over the world.
There’s also been a lot of controversy about all the noise generated by human activity on the ocean. We’ve talked about how far noise travels in the deep ocean and how it could interfere with whale communication. Well, there’s communication going on here too. Scientists have recently figured out that the sperm whales find their dinner-on-a-hook by zeroing in on the sound of the boat engines hauling the lines. But they don’t use just any engine noise. Longliners turn their engines on and off as they haul in their lines, and the on-off pattern is Morse code that spells D-I-N-N-E-R to the wily and intelligent whales.

Longline fishermen are afraid the problem will get worse as the endangered marine mammals increase in number and teach each other the techniques of fish rustling. Sperm whales were once a prime target for whalers, but scientists suspect their numbers are increasing in oceans worldwide, although there are no definitive population numbers. In an effort to outwit the whales, some scientists have suggested that longliners fish earlier or later in the season, haul in the line without changing engine speed, or make decoy noises with the engine to draw whales to a different area. Fishermen said they will try the methods this season, but many say the large-brained whales are just too smart. Talk about your poetic justice!

Dinner is served! (Sperm whale photo courtesy NOAA Fisheries)

I say “Hurray for the whales” and “Keep up the good work” and “Keep ringing that dinner gong, guys, you’ve got some hungry and appreciative customers!” Sometimes the underdog does win!

The Deep is broadcast on Newstalk K57 every Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. You can also listen live from our web site www.thedeepradioshow.com. Join Jim Sullivan, Pam Eastlick, and Peter Melyan on the deepest radio show on Earth.