Yesterday, I read this post from the Iberian Orca Protection & Conservation: Fatal deafness: the danger of firecrackers for Iberian orcas. The article explains how some measures sailors are taking are very dangerous to the (endagered!) orcas and can permanently and even fatally hurt them. These measures are illegal to use, but that doesn’t seem to stop most people. And it’s risking serious injury and even death for these orcas.
An excerpt from their post:
We can see in particular the use of firecrackers: these underwater explosions can cause serious burns and, above all, irreversible acoustic trauma. Such detonations can render an orca deaf. […]
Depriving an orca of its hearing is condemning it: it can no longer feed, protect itself from ship traffic or predators, or interact with its group.
On top of this come physical injuries: firecrackers can cause skin burns and trigger abnormal flight behaviors, such as erratic and dangerous dives.
Irresponsible and dangerous “defensive measures” against orcas
While I have left the groups where people seem to discuss little more than the most aggressive, violent ways they can think of to deter the orcas, I still see people in other groups discussing how they will shoot at the orcas, throw firecrackers or are trying to make a tool to stab them in their blow holes. To me, it seems like somehow it’s mostly humans that show the most uncontrolled, aggressive animal behavior – and not the orcas.
These endangered orcas have lived in this area for over three centuries. We are visiting their world, and it seems that we now serve a purpose as the orca equivalent of bath toys. An adult orca weighs somewhere around four to seven tons and they are arguably the most powerful marine mammals we can encounter. If they wanted to harm us and sink our boats, they would.
Sadly, a few boats did sink. That is horrible and traumatic and not something you ever want to happen to anyone, for any reason. But we do have to be honest: they did not sink because the orcas flipped them over or deliberately sunk them. It was due to collateral damage, as most modern boats are not made to deal with the forces orcas can extend when trying to grab your rudder or push your boat.
It is also important to remember that no wild orca has ever attacked or injured a human. Not even under the most extreme circumstances and definitely not when coming across people swimming or paddleboarding or in any other way, shape or form where it would have been more than easy for them. Stunningly enough, another new and unexplained orca bahavior is anything but violent: some have recently started to actively offer humans food.
Firecrackers can render an orca deaf, which is a death sentence
An orca that can’t hear will most likely die, as he or she can no longer hunt, feed, navigate or interact with its family members.
Sailors need to speak up against violent behavior
To my utter disappointment, I posted the article from the Iberian Orca Protection & Conservation in the Amel Owners Group on Facebook, specifically asking people to refrain from those kinds of comments and just read the information. Sadly, it took less than 5 minutes before the first person felt the need to comment how incredibly funny it was that firecrackers can actually hurt orcas. I deleted the post and decided to write an article here, and link to this website (with closed comments in FB).
As sailors, I think we can, and need, to do better than this. If we really want to keep our boats and crew safe, ignoring all the recommendations and instead setting sail with a boat loaded with firecrackers, guns and big sharp knifes on long poles seems counter productive. If you really are concerned about the safety of your vessel and crew, take responsibility and make sure you have the information you need to navigate the area with as little risk as possible.
Endangered but not protected?
The Iberian Orcas are endangered, but somehow not actively protected, which allows people to take whatever action they see fit to “deal with the problem”. So far, only Sea Shepherd seems to be speaking up for these orca and is actively trying to offer them at least some protection with operation “Save the Iberian Orcas” (you’ll find the English translation below the French text).
This critically endangered population, with barely 30 individuals recorded, has lived in the region for over 3,000 years. These orcas also venture into Moroccan, Portuguese and French waters, and have been seen as far north as Brittany.
[…]there is certainly no aggression to be found in these interactions. If the orcas were trying to sink these boats, they would all have sunk and people would have died.[…]
Worrying reprisals against orcas have developed, and the dangerous attitudes of some sailors who do not hesitate to use explosives, firecrackers or firearms against orcas are extremely worrying.
They have released a very informative video with none other than Dr. Ingrid Visser, the only researcher specializing in orca in New Zealand waters. The video is set to start at the moment they are discussing the use of firecrackers and guns, but I urge you to watch the entire video as there is a lot of interesting and important information shared.
Click on the [CC] button at the bottem for subtitles.
So what is our plan for sailing in the orca area?
I’ve written a post about our plans and how we prepare about a month ago, you can read it here: Avoiding the Iberian Orcas. We fully understand that we are sailing into their home. They have lived there for centuries, and we don’t have to be there, we choose to be there (mostly for a lack of good alternatives, but still a choice). It is our responsibility to keep both our boat and the orcas safe.
We’re following the latest recommendations, read the info in the Telegram groups and do our best to sail the area responsibly.
And if you, dear fellow sailor, have to sail in this area as well, please be responsible and educate yourself. We cannot be hurting and possibly killing orcas (especially not endangered ones) because we are afraid of damage to our rudder or boat. As a fellow sailor who has to navigate the area and risk, I fully understand how difficult it can be and how much we may want to protect our boats. But lets do so in a way that can be part of a future solution instead of escalating the situation and making it much more difficult in the future.
With thanks to the Iberian Orca Protection & Conservation for the permission to use their images!