Sea Shepherd Assisting in Study of Fin Whales and Micro-Plastics

Sea Shepherd Assisting in Study of Fin Whales and Micro-Plastics

The Crew of the R/V Martin Sheen is Working with Scientists on an Unprecedented Study in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, Before Launching the Second Leg of Sea Shepherd’s Vaquita Defense Campaign, Operation Milagro

The crew of the R/V Martin Sheen. Photo: Sea Shepherd/Jean-Paul GeoffroySea Shepherd Conservation Society’s research sailing vessel, the R/V Martin Sheen, arrived this past weekend in the Sea of Cortez, where Sea Shepherd’s crew is working with a team of scientists from the University of Baja California South on an unprecedented project to assess the presence of micro-plastics in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. As long-lived, resident top predators of this marine region, fin whales will be the primary focus of the research, serving as bio-indicators of the health and balance of their entire eco-system.

Captained by Jean-Paul Geoffroy and crewed by a team of five Sea Shepherd volunteers, the R/V Martin Sheen will serve as home base for the marine research project. From onboard the Martin Sheen, the team will also search for fin whales, using a small boat to cautiously approach the whales once they are spotted. Non-harmful skin biopsies and fecal samples will be taken to determine the presence of micro-plastics and other toxins in the whales. In addition to benefiting the Sea of Cortez by studying the presence of plastics and other harmful debris, the study also seeks to determine why fin whales may be declining in number in this region.

Sea Shepherd will assist the team of marine scientists, led by marine biologist Dr. Jorge Urban Ramirez of Mexico’s Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, in the collection of water samples using a mantra trawl (a specialized net that samples the surface of the water) provided by the scientists. The samples will be studied by researchers to determine the extent of micro-plastic pollution, an important effort to produce Mexico’s first-ever formalized data on pollution in the Sea of Cortez.

Upon completion of the fin whale and plastics study, the crew of the R/V Martin Sheen will begin the second leg of Operation Milagro, a campaign to protect another species of cetacean endemic to the Sea of Cortez – the petite vaquita marina porpoise. “Milagro” is the Spanish word for “Miracle” and the first leg of Operation Milagro was indeed the beginning of a possible miracle for the vaquita porpoise population, which has dwindled to an estimated 97 individuals. In April 2015, Sea Shepherd successfully documented the first recorded sighting of a vaquita since 2013, disproving claims by some that the species has already vanished and is no longer in need of protection. The following month, Sea Shepherd established an ongoing partnership with the government of Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), joining forces in the conservation of this critically endangered marine species.

“Sea Shepherd is proud to continue its work with Mexico and will soon return to the protected refuge of the vaquita, the world’s smallest and rarest porpoise,” said Captain Jean-Paul Geoffroy. “The R/V Martin Sheen is well suited for marine research and our crew is happy to provide this vessel as the base for this groundbreaking research in the Sea of Cortez. The study of the health of fin whales and the level of micro-plastics in these waters will benefit not only the fin whales, but the vaquita as well, as these cetaceans call the same marine environment home.”

from Sea Shepherd News http://ift.tt/1GneiD3
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