There's also no way firecrackers would be an option in the PacNW because the USN and USCG ships that ply these waters would know and come down on offenders like a ton of bricks.
No! On me and my fellow sailors. They get touchy about their ballistic missile subs. You haven't lived until you've had a USN gun boat come roaring up on you at 30 kts because they're clearing the east side of Admiralty Inlet for an Ohio Class.
Everyone on the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest is just crossing our fingers that this behavior doesn't cross pods and expand out from Iberia. It would heartbreaking and dangerous for all involved if the Puget Sound and nearby pods adopted this behavior.
Firecrackers have been used extensively since 2022, but care must be taken when using them because some people have lost fingers. The most effective way to use them is to tape small stones to them so that they explode underwater, maximizing the effect and minimizing the noise that can attract unwanted attention.
They are very effective, and the original idea came from the US, where they are used to scare marine mammals away from oil rigs.
Although effective, they are almost useless because most boats that are attacked only realize they are there when they suffer the first attack, and by then the damage has already been done.
The strategy that has been working very well is not to sail in bathymetric areas between 20 and 350 meters (continental shelf around here) and not to sail when they are nearby (we have rapid warning groups on Telegram and orcas.pt), which gives us a reasonable idea of where they are.
The problem is that navigating at 20 meters is only possible in excellent weather conditions (to close to the rocks in a long lee-shore), and above 350 meters requires moving away from the coast, something that crews are afraid to do or don't have time for.
We now have enough information to minimize the chances to acceptable levels but skippers keep trying pushing their luck.
Fascinating how desperation drives innovation, even questionable ones. The underwater acousitc sensitivity angle is solid though, considering how orcas hunt silently for tuna. What gets me is the comparison to WWII depth charges like it's becom a literal sea war. Seems like we're in uncharted territory where nobody really knows if this escalates behavior or solves it.
WOW I’ve never heard of this before. When sailing around the Gulf of Maine I certainly maintained a good lookout for whales never thinking if there was an orca in the area it would pose a danger. There is a pod of orcas around Cape Breton Nova Scotia, their diet mostly seals and sharks, never heard of any dangerous encounters with boaters. I have heard of fishing boats using ADD’s (pingers) on nets to deter whales and other marine mammals, maybe there is a case to be had for carrying an ADD.
There's also no way firecrackers would be an option in the PacNW because the USN and USCG ships that ply these waters would know and come down on offenders like a ton of bricks.
Are you saying the Coast Guard would drop bricks on the whales?
No! On me and my fellow sailors. They get touchy about their ballistic missile subs. You haven't lived until you've had a USN gun boat come roaring up on you at 30 kts because they're clearing the east side of Admiralty Inlet for an Ohio Class.
I kid you.
"Humor- it is a difficult concept." -Spock
Everyone on the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest is just crossing our fingers that this behavior doesn't cross pods and expand out from Iberia. It would heartbreaking and dangerous for all involved if the Puget Sound and nearby pods adopted this behavior.
Firecrackers have been used extensively since 2022, but care must be taken when using them because some people have lost fingers. The most effective way to use them is to tape small stones to them so that they explode underwater, maximizing the effect and minimizing the noise that can attract unwanted attention.
They are very effective, and the original idea came from the US, where they are used to scare marine mammals away from oil rigs.
Although effective, they are almost useless because most boats that are attacked only realize they are there when they suffer the first attack, and by then the damage has already been done.
The strategy that has been working very well is not to sail in bathymetric areas between 20 and 350 meters (continental shelf around here) and not to sail when they are nearby (we have rapid warning groups on Telegram and orcas.pt), which gives us a reasonable idea of where they are.
The problem is that navigating at 20 meters is only possible in excellent weather conditions (to close to the rocks in a long lee-shore), and above 350 meters requires moving away from the coast, something that crews are afraid to do or don't have time for.
We now have enough information to minimize the chances to acceptable levels but skippers keep trying pushing their luck.
Fascinating how desperation drives innovation, even questionable ones. The underwater acousitc sensitivity angle is solid though, considering how orcas hunt silently for tuna. What gets me is the comparison to WWII depth charges like it's becom a literal sea war. Seems like we're in uncharted territory where nobody really knows if this escalates behavior or solves it.
Firecrackers seem pretty tame compared to some other choices.
WOW I’ve never heard of this before. When sailing around the Gulf of Maine I certainly maintained a good lookout for whales never thinking if there was an orca in the area it would pose a danger. There is a pod of orcas around Cape Breton Nova Scotia, their diet mostly seals and sharks, never heard of any dangerous encounters with boaters. I have heard of fishing boats using ADD’s (pingers) on nets to deter whales and other marine mammals, maybe there is a case to be had for carrying an ADD.