Sonic Sea

1 comment on Hacker News

1. PositivethrowawayseaSep 13, 2020

   Visiting the whale museums and community-based orca tracking efforts in the Pacific Northwest has made me feel much more connected to the issues in our marine environment, which are easy to ignore because they are hidden from plain view. These issues are also more painful when it concerns orcas, because of how intelligent, social, and like us they are.

   Food is certainly a problem, and the one that gets the most attention. But there are significant issues in noise pollution as well. For example, if you listen to recordings of sounds in the Puget Sound / Salish Sea, you'll be stunned at just how loud boat traffic noise can be (https://vimeo.com/247051394). I imagine this is just plainly torturous to animals, particularly social ones that communicate through vocalizations. There's also the risk of sonar testing (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/orca-endangered-killer-whale-risk-us-navy/). You can learn more about this in the documentary "Sonic Sea" (https://www.sonicsea.org/).

   Other issues include reduced oxygen levels in the Puget Sound (https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Puget-Sound/Helping-Puget-Sound/Reducing-Puget-Sound-nutrients/Nutrient-pollution-studies), stormwater runoff pollution from dense sources like Seattle (https://komonews.com/news/local/new-project-to-tackle-puget-sounds-growing-polluted-stormwater), opioids and other pollutants from sewage (https://kuow.org/stories/relaxed-mussels-opioids-found-puget-sound-shellfish-hint-crisis/), etc. The number of issues impacting our marine ecosystem is staggering and poorly understood.

   On the bright side, I want to add that Tahlequah/J35 just recently gave birth to a new calf, J57. Fingers crossed for a healthy pod! News article at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/08/tahlequah-orca-southern-resident-killer-whale-gives-birth/5747567002/ and photos at https://www.whaleresearch.com/j57