Fossil Fuel Beach Rake and Beach Vegetation

Fossil fuel machinery ensuring no beach stabilising vegetation takes hold of the eroding beach. The tractor-drawn beach rake destroys the endemic flora/habitat, but leaves most of the plastic and cement rubble behind. A tidy event space!Carpobrotus glaucescens, (Pigface)
See also
Anxious settlers awaiting tool supplies brought in by ships from the motherland 0611

Sooty Oystercatcher

A rare visit from a Sooty Oystercatcher at Shelly Beach headland Off leash dog got rid of shorebird. 31052011

Four Sooty Oystercatchers foraging at Manly Beach today http://tinyurl.com/3ne9de2 birds shorebirds habitat Haematopus No-Take zones Rain wild, rising ocean 01062011

Long-nosed Bandicoots of North Head Manly

2010 8 killed, May 2011 7 known bandicoots killed
Vehicles rush in 'to get a view' on North Head 'Scenic Drive'. They park for free or take their dogs for walks. Pet rabbits are also being 'freed' and mingle with the giant rabbit population denuding the National Park. Free range pets, motor vehicles and urban intensification contribute to the declining populations of this endangered species.

Humpback Whales Passing Manly Beach

Whales are passing by. Today two Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) swam slowly along Manly Beach. It appeared like mother and calf logging, in close contact. After Shelly Beach they slowly drifted along the shore in the shallow water. Their habitat was free of polluting motors in the air and in the ocean, which is rare.A bit further north in a more protected terrestial area, there are rock engravings by the Eora of a Humpback mother and her calf. The 14 m long petrography depicts them overlapping in close body contact. An engraved person nearby is watching with views of the Pacific. Today the aquatic territory is littered in motorboats. Like measles they clutter up the shorelines. Noise and chemical pollution emanating from their presence interferes today with the large marine mammals pursuing their ancient migratory routes.The place is framed by the Eora shield, lovers and various symbols etched onto the sandstone.

With the unregulated access of mountain bikes these memes from 25000 years ago could disappear from the rocks and human memory. The whales too have to battle a degraded habitat with many human-made dangers.
More on whales and bikes in NPs.

Seven Little Penguins killed by a Dog at Manly Beach

Seven endangered Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) were butchered by one dog in their "protected" habitat in the National Park. (Images). This is the last and only colony in N.S.W.

Dog owner's attitude: ‘what’s one penguin against my dog’s freedom’ Manly Daily 060709

Mnly Blog points to an abundance of dogs being illegally allowed to be on Manly Beach (daily), in penguin habitats, Shelly Beach, North Head NP and the National Parks. There seems to be very little enforcementt and a lot of encouragment of the introduced canine obsession. The unleashed dogs are gaining territory, as wildlife is lacking a sponsoring industry.

Many cafes have dogs INSIDE, and outdoors they have their snouts on the same plates as the customers. Staff fondle the saliva of dogs and then continue to serve human beings.

But then in a society where children are mauled by dogs, people have their face ripped off, little flightless birds only get a few lines, before its back to serious business.

It is a state of poverty to exchange rich biodiversity for a monoculture of dangerous animals mauling people and Australian wildlife.

Questions:
How many convictions (on-the-spot fines) have been served on dog owners for illegal behaviour?
What proportion of resources are being devoted to the protection of wildlife?
What is the ratio of dog sponsorship by council, compared to the effective enforcement of the 'critical habitat' law?
Which tourist/visitor will want to see packs of dogs?

Update: 170709
T E N endangered penguins killed. Mnly Tweet
Penguin Habitat, Manly Cove

Less Fig Trees at Manly Beach

Large old endemic fig trees are dying mysteriously along Marine Parade. In the first image, the circled tree has been dropping its leaves for a long time now. The one around the corner at the sandstone sculpture (image 2, below) has just recently decided to shed most of its leaves and immature figs (image 3).
It appears that the cliff face is becoming increasingly tree-free. Instead weeds are spilling down and Indian Mynas are replacing the native dragons. Changes!
More on Fig trees in Manly
Trees on Council Land
Images: Google Maps

Roadkill at Ivanhoe Park, Manly

Parks or public green spaces are under constant pressure as they are seen as Terra nullius to be 'developed'. Ivanhoe Park is squeezed by two large roads (Sydney/Raglan), giant sports arenas, a large pub and other commercial facilities. The squeeze continues on this little island of flora and fauna.

We have stopped counting the road kill on both roads of native birds and marsupials. Today another Ringtail possum was smeared by racing drivers across Sydney Road. There seems to be a kill every day now... going unnoticed.
Image: Google Maps

Bird-Unfriendly Structures in Manly Aquatic Reserve

Cormorants used to perch on this lamp pole in the day and owls used to sit there at night. Now it has bird-unfriendly spikes all along it. Adjoining the Fairy Bower Pool and Manly's Cabbage Tree Bay aquatic reserve the urban wildlife has been sitting there for years in the absence of large trees. These native shorebirds are being repelled from their habitat.
Possible arguments for the bird repellent structures could be the animal feaces.
On the same grounds one would have to act on:

The tonnes of untreated dog faeces running into the bay and beach.
The multiple decaying and smelling pipes draining Bower street onto Marine Parade and finally into the ocean.
The public health hazard of invasive species (Common Mynas) encrusting (Sydney Road/ Central Ave.) Manly CBD in their faeces. The tables and plates of eateries are densely visited by this species, leaving their traces.
The feeding of seagulls could be actively discouraged.

Urban wildlife could be encouraged by:

refraining from habitat destruction
controlling introduced pets
reducing glass surfaces in human dwellings
reducing nightglare
planting more trees
not exposing them to mobile tower radiation

Update: By November 09, Bird spikes get discovered by humans in Manly

Manly Jazz Festival

Day two of Manly's Jazz Festival. Car-free for a tiny bit of beach road, pedestrians pushed at the Corso end to the wharf as well against pushy motorists. Maybe, one day they will come around and declare public space for people every Sundays as in other world cities and not just for smelly cars. Maybe the pedestrian areas will truly have no motors in them.

The roaming bands could move with crowds of pedestrians and entertain without the emission intensive stages with hot, blinding spotlights on the audience (in the day-time), that took days of petrol-fueled erection time. As before - a lot of the amplified music had noise pollution and chemical pollution as a side-effect, as the petrol generators buzzed on. Many push bikes were out feeling free to move along the beach 'road'.

Bad planning, to place really loud amplified music on top of the penguin habitat.

North Head NP Occupied - More Toxic Diesel in Wildlife Habitat

North Head, Lady Fairfax walk today. Toilet litter all over on the ground from mass-tourism (without the facilities). The National Parks sign is a sure indicator for what is to be expected: dogs, bikes, litter. The rare Banksia vegetation had been damaged on the 'walkway' by cars. Although there were no black plumes (soot) visible from ocean-going vessels, the entire air around the walk seemed saturated in diesel fumes. And then there it was again - another giant infrastructure development IN the national park, placed on the main 'tourist-attracting' look-out, directly on the cliff of North Head.

Diesel-belching clutter IN the wildlife refuge (NP)
A huge diesel-belching, humming demountable, with a large spinning radar antenna had been placed in the middle of the Sydney Harbour National Park's territory. Seeking to “add value to all aspects of Sydneys port operations... (and) protect the environment and have regard to the interests of the community “, the Sydney Ports Corporation planted this air-conditioned, video and radar surveillance object into a wildlife refuge. This 'state-of-the art' technology (pdf) is to aid in the intensification of trade and logistics from Botany Bay to Sydney Harbour (North Head).
Intensify - more for more, 'exploit & open up NPs'
The “Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) provides active monitoring and navigational advice for vessels in particularly confined and busy waterways with complex traffic movements...Sydney’s ports alone handle over $50 billion of international and domestic trade annually. Total trade through Sydney’s ports was 29.2 million mass tonnes, 5.0 per cent higher than last year.” Obtaining ROI in a harbour full of tinnies is not easy. Infrastructure is likely to be erected in various harbour sites and widening the bays (dredging) is already starting in Botany Bay and elsewhere.

Deadly trade
As in colonial times, the growing population (pdf) is still dependent on the boats coming in, bringing the essentials. Only this time, the huge diesel-powered vessels (container ships, tankers, bunk carriers, tugboats and cruise ships) are costing lives and health. Most diesel powered ocean-going vessels are significant contributers to air pollution in the heads, the harbour, ports and cities. Ports, handling the bulk of imports, are among the biggest sources of air pollution and greenhouse gas emission. “Each step of the goods movement process is powered by diesel fuel, which releases greenhouse gases and toxic, smog-forming air contaminants...ports pose "grave health risks" to millions of people living in metropolitan coastal areas, especially those living nearest the ports." In 2002 "60,000 people living in coastal communities along major shipping routes died from lung and heart complaints as a result of high sulfate emissions from ships". Particulate matter from ocean-going ship causes asthma, heart attacks, hospital admissions, and premature mortality. “Particle pollution from shipping to tens of thousands of premature deaths each year, most of them along coastlines in Europe, East Asia, and South Asia." This dirty trade is causing harm to public health and to the environment.The ocean, its life and the atmosphere becoming degraded
"Ships use the tar-like, sulfur-concentrated remains of petroleum left once the gasoline, oil and all other products have been extracted. This high-sulfur fuel is responsible for the significant environmental impacts of ship sulfur emissions. Regionally, sulfur emissions contribute to acid rain, which can pollute freshwater lakes and rivers, and damage vegetation." Even cloud formation over the Pacific is influenced by trade-carrying cargo ships powered by diesel engines."The annual costs of sea traffic’s contribution to air pollution, climate change and marine pollution are estimated to amount to 260 billion euro for the world fleet and 57 billion euro for the EU fleet." These 'externalities' are probably not lower for the Asian/Pacific region.

Intensifying diesel-powered traffic that 'costs the Earth' and has negative impacts on the marine foreshore and protected wildlife refuges is unsustainable.

Links:
- International Maritime Organization
- "In accordance with the Australian Government's responsibilities and policies, Australia's obligations under IMO Conventions and AMSA's functions specified in Section 6(1)(a) of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990, AMSA coordinates a national pollution prevention and response strategy to protect Australia's marine environment from pollution caused by shipping and related activities. This document lists the prevention components of this strategy, based largely on several IMO Conventions given effect by domestic legislation, implemented and enforced by Commonwealth and State/NT Governments." Protection of the Sea - Conventions and Legislation in Australia, AMSA, Australian Government
- Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983, NSW
- The National Parks and Wildlife Service, DECC
- National Parks & Wildlife Act 1974
- NCC/NPA Submission to Taskforce on Tourism and National Parks, Submission of The Nature Conservation Council of NSW and the National Parks Association of NSW and the Blue Mountains Conservation Society. 0808, pdf 1,2MB

Update 111008
"The International Maritime Organization on Thursday adopted stringent new controls on airborne pollution from the world’s 300,000 oceangoing vessels. Emissions from ships steaming into ports from Rotterdam to Shanghai to Long Beach, are blamed for about 60,000 premature deaths around the world annually. Sulfur emissions are a major source of airborne fine particulates, which have been associated with pulmonary and cardiovascular disease. In some ports in Europe and in the United States, environmental groups, using the courts, and local governmental bodies have required ships to shut off their engines and plug in to the local electrical grid to keep ship operations functioning while in port." NYT 101008

Little Penguins, Electrocuted Birds, Mauling Dogs, Bogong Moths, Spilled Oil and Artistic Inspiration

A visit to the the Manly Art Gallery, where the current exhibition is by Bruce Goold. The designer/printmaker displays woodcuts/linocuts of iconic Australian objects. Nautical themes and Aussie flora and fauna get mingled with sub-urban culture jamming. The fragipani, banana and (unfortunately) bamboo convey that coastal holiday feeling.

Some thoughts on the following themes seen there, which are relevant for the northern beaches:

'Telegraph crows' 1995 depicts Australian Crows getting electrocuted in power lines. Think about it every time you flick on that convenient switch, how many birds and other fauna get killed and crippled by this underdeveloped landscape feature bringing power to you.

The design with Bogong moths was very timely as they will start their annual migration next month. This gets too messy for tidy-town then.

Eora Rock engraving of Little Penguin, close to Lion Island

'Lion Island' depicts a Sydney nature reserve. On its beach is a Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) and a large poodle looking very canine. This ever-same theme of irresponsible people bringing their mostly degenerated canines into protected wildlife refuges that are of great biodiversity is unfortunately repeating. Maybe Lion Island will no longer have the 'largest penguin colony' in Sydney if the boat & dog community continue to defy the law.
The few remaining little penguins in Manly get regularly mauled by off-the-leash dogs. One of their 'habitats' at the Manly Cove is a busy human infrastructure with fireworks, bands and other mass events. The little bird needs to live in a partial marine and partial terrestial territory. This is the space where human impact in Manly is most noticeable.

Habitat for Manly's endangered Little Penguin population (pdf) , Manly Cove. More than a webcam needed here.

'Pasha Bulka' 2008 visualises the stranding of a huge cargo ship beached on a Newcastle surfing beach in 2007. 'Heavy fuel oil ' ran into the Pacific Ocean. Such scenarios are not unthinkable for the Manly region. For now, we get the sulphur particle emission from ships that are near Manly.

Outside the Art Gallery there were numerous very large motor bikes parked on the “pedestrian and bicycle path only”. Aerial garbage is a new thing here: Plastic kites in Manly Beach pines, a very long nylon fishing line dangling from a tall palm in front of the gallery, waiting for that next bird to entangle. Aqua-parking as far as the eye could see in Manly Cove, right along the penguin's feeding grouds. Wharf construction set the acoustic ambience.
See also Bogong migration incompatible with humans

Links:
- Endangered Population of Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) at Manly, NP, pdf
- Caution: Electrocution! Suggested Practices for Bird Protection on Power Lines, BUND, pdf
Update: 0709 The slaughter of 11 Little Penguins by a dog/s in their last mainland habitat on mainland NSW.

Wobbegong Dreaming at Shelly Beach Aquatic Reserve

The Spotted Wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus) is a shark that lives in temperate to tropical rocky reefs. It likes to rest in caves during the day and at night it inhabits the bottom of the shores. Occasionally it ventures offshore. Sea grass beds are the preferred nursery. It has nice spots and a substantial 'beard'. If all is well, it can become 100 years old and measure up to three metres.

But there is a hitch, which is that the majority of Australians live along this very coast-line. The interface of shark habitat and the human field of activities has led to the near eradication of this species.

In the last 20 years the Spotted Wobbegong declined by 60 %, more in NSW

The coastal habitat has human infrastructure sprawling all over, sea grass beds are becoming rare.

Extractive practices are seeking to plunder or commericalise every bit of the creature:

• Flesh for flake
• Skin for hide
• Poaching for aquaria trade
• Peep & pay industries

Commercial fishing with a high rate of by-kill extracted many, sometimes chucking them if there was no market for them. “Recreational”, sports-fishing competitions and spearfishing do the rest.

All is well, now that the remaining wobbegongs in the 'wild' are tagged with radio transmitters and seven were bred in captivity, then also tagged and released into Shelly Beach Reserve. ”...Acoustic study and tracking devices will ensure that we can find much more about it.” Fitting electronic devices onto or into juvenile creatures usually employs invasive methods, as the gear is glued on with epoxy resin or suction pads. The ethics of this practice is questionable. Data-gathering from the dry comfort of the screen and DNA mapping might just reveal that the object turned into flake or by-kill yet again. Managing the mind-sets and practices of their own kind might ensure a sustainable habitat and an effective biodiversity management.

Large boats throw their heavy anchors into this delicate aquatic reserve. The noise and chemical pollution they cause is not compatible with a reserve for 'wildlife'. Suburbs drain their effluent into the shores and at night keen divers disturb creatures in their habitats with bright torches.
Just yesterday there were, yet again people line fishing IN the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve. Spearfishing in it has also been reported.

Links:
Spotted Wobbegong, IUCN Programme
Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, Shelly Beach, Manly
NSW AMSA Position Statement on Marine Protected Areas and No-take Marine Sanctuaries, 2008, pdf
Australian shark fishing out of control ,The Nature Conservation Council?
The cost of Recreational Fishing and Boating on the Moreton Bay Marine Park, Bay Journal
Marine, National Parks Association of NSW, advocating the establishment of marine sanctuaries in NSW, only 6.5 % of NSW marine habitat is protected.

Manly's Bandicoot & Wildlife Code

Replacing the unique with the ever-same
The unique Manly treasures, such as bandicoots (little penguins etc) and the sprawl of human urbanisation make for a predictable outcome. Wildlife habitat and sprawling sub-urbia are incompatible. Attempts to limit the negative impacts by "best practice" recommendations and "awareness education" are dubious. We are assured that the owners of the St Patrick's Estate townhouses were given their bandicoot awareness education. "The houses themselves also had to be bandicoot-friendly.."
Manly's surging dog (cat etc) population is making a practical statement to replace the unique Australian biodiversity with a monoculture of foreign animals. The interface between wildlife refuge and human infrastructure and their destructive packs is the killer-zone.

Effective protection of threatened Australian wildlife
Manly’s North Head developments are said to be contingent on " keeping their dog in at night and never letting their cat outdoors unless it is in a sealed cat run." But there are dogs ON the beach (illegally) every morning and night, sometimes even defecating ON the beach on a busy Sunday. They are un-leashed most of the time, hunting little penguins or hunting bandicoots at night in Shelly Beach bushland. With a lack of enforcement and a population wanting to expand the ever-same, the diverse uniqueness of the Manly ecology is sacrificed.
via Pets curfew in building code, Manly Daily 100908

See also:
Bandicoot Habitat I
More on Bandicoots in MNLY
Images: 0808 all via Google Maps
1. - 3. National Park, St Patrick's Estate townhouses developments
4. End of Osborne Rd
5. Montpelier Pl./ Bower St. development

Watching Whales and Dolphins in their habitat

WATCH the beauty of these free whales and dolphins in the ocean, unencumbered by human artefacts and not harassed by human noises. Great work by Okeanos – Foundation for the Sea which is concerned with whale welfare. More resources on the impacts of human noises and their blog.

Whale Calf Rescue, Sydney, Pt. II

An abundance of vessels and a new abundance of whales in the "least concern" category set the scene in this inter-species competition. The infant 'Moby Dick' seeks protection in the sheltered bay of the Sydney Basin.

Speculation has it, that it was "abandoned". As the bay of Pittwater is synonymous with yacht racing the Humpback calf turns into a 5 tonne 'problem'. Coaxed out into the deep Pacific, it would have been unclear whether the 5 m mammal was the responsibility of Zoo vets, NSW Parks and Wildlife Service, international agencies or even marine experts. The lone infant returned for the sheltered bay, seeking out what is most plentiful there, namely boats. Voices say that it would "have to be put down", "destroyed" or "euthanized".

Options of feeding it krill outside of captivity are dismissed, despite the 1997 baby whale rescue in the U.S."...The whale was hand-reared back to health before being released into the wild 14 months later. Our veterinarians and our animal care teams immediately went to work to try and save the animal" Such a rescue of a fellow mammal infant would only take a fraction of the budget of dog food or imported seafoods.

Human caused stressors to whales:

• In the anthropocene, megafauna (Megaptera novaeangliae) have been radically depleted due to commercial exploitation. Just recently were they allowed a little bounce back. The bounce comes to a halt with vessel strikes or collisions. Whales are slow to respond to approaching boats, especially those trying to smash race records."A collision with a ship’s propellers can sheer off a whale’s tail, slice them apart, or cause huge contusions." Speed in the marine environment is as deadly as it is on roads. Speed restrictions would reduce the likelihood and severity of vessel collisions. A set-aside Area to be Avoided (ATBA) in the prime migration season would reduce the risks of being separated, severely injured or killed on the annual trek.
• Noise : The roaring of the industrialised marine commerce or 'sport' is interfering with whale communication. The noise can cut off vocal, behavioral and physiological responses between a whale and its offspring. To get entangled in our debris is a further hindrance.
• Human-caused climate change deprives whales of food. Krill populations decline in rising temperatures, which " will require migratory whales like this Humpback whale to swim further for less food."
• Mining the oceans with invasive, noisy and polluting practices "Oil and gas exploration expose whales to noise pollution, oil spills, chemical pollution, vessel collisions and entanglement with or ingestion of marine debris."

Share the habitat!

• Effectively protect these highly migratory marine mammals in their habitat.
• Impose (seasonal) speed restrictions in areas frequented by whales and other protected fauna.
• Create a protected crucial habitat as an Area to be Avoided (ATBA).
• Divert some of the attention and budget bestowed on pets to unique marine mammal protection.
• Reconsider mining and dredging Megaprojects on the coastline
  

Previous:
Humpback whale calf lost in Sydney's buzz, Pt I
Desalination, a Megaproject or Water Conservation and Whales

Links:
-Melville, Herman, 1819-1891. Moby-Dick
- "Vessel Collisions with Whales: The Probability of Lethal Injury Based on Vessel Speed," (PDF) by Ms. Vanderlaan and Dr. Taggart,MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 23(1): 144–156 (January 2007), C# 2006 by the Society for Marine Mammalogy, DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2006.00098.x
- IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Images:
1. Humpback whale, Brehm, Alfred, Brehms Thierleben, via Zeno
2."The Large Fish eating the Little ones", Bruegel d. Ä., Pieter, via Zeno

Updates 210808
- Now the military has been approached about towing it out to sea again. Imagine the smelly giant carcass in the middle of a yachting bay! abc 210808
- One person was attempting to feed the whale, but authorities stepped in.
- Event hungry people are moving in on the starving whale, keeping authorities busy to enforce the required exclusion zone, Manly Daily 210808
- Image:" The baby whale with wounds on its back thought to be from swimming under the yachts" SMH Blog 210808
- Meetings are on: tow out 'with the sharks' again or euthanise. Feeding option, a 'can't do'. SMH 210808
- A carcass in the Pitwater Bay would be smelly, an obstacle for yachts and would attract sharks.
- The death penalty has been pronounced by the the National Park and Wildlife Service: ".. the calf would be killed by lethal injection overnight or in the morning... Aboriginal "whale whisperer" Bunna Lawrie, who spent time with the whale this afternoon, patting the calf and singing to it..He heard me singing and came over. I looked at him and he was full of life. He had a few scratches and cuts on him and I was a bit worried about his eyes...All we have to do is get it out to sea, nurse it out there and guard and wait for pod of whales. Let the whales figure out if they can accept it. A mother may think it can feed two." SMH 210808

Update 220808:
- Euthanasia for the lost whale calf. A cost-effective and widely used chemical club on Australian wildlife. New experts will seek the truth in the entrails of the mammal and the remaining bones will serve “research” (sounds familiar!). So much for the human wildlife interface. via SMH 220808

MORE Starving Whales:
- Another starving humpback whale is in the overfished Baltic sea. It " is getting critical ... the whale is having trouble nourishing itself." Greenpeace " is now prepared to intervene to stop the whale from beaching itself." Spiegel 200808

Update 110908:
An application has been lodged for a licence to explore for gas in a 6,000 kilometre zone between Sydney's and Port Stephens, north of Newcastle. Seismic tests could interfere with whale migration. In Alaska the whale watching industry it taking mining operators to court. Gas exploration on the coastline has the potential to devastate the beaches and ruin the whale habitat. abc 110908

Update 180908
- "The International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) says undersea noise blocks animals' communication and disrupts feeding. Levels of noise in the world's oceans are causing serious problems for whales, dolphins and other marine mammals. Humanity is literally drowning out marine mammals" BBC 150908

Update 111008
- Speed limits for large commercial ships travelling coastal waters populated by whales migrating have been applied by the U.S. government.Ships must now go below 10 knots in specified coastal regions. 091008 The NEW YORK TIMES

Update 171008
Autopsy results: The male calf "was suffering from acute pneumonia, serious body and pancreas emaciation, acute intestinal erosion and ulcers in the stomach and there were a number of infected shark bites as well" abc 171008 But why did he get so ill in the ocean?

Update 211008
"NOAA officials today issued a regulation that will implement new measures to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. The regulation will, for the first time, require large ships to reduce speeds to ten knots in areas where the whales feed and reproduce, as well as along migratory routes in between. The goal of the regulation is to reduce the risk of ship collision with the whales." But it would also lessen the possibility of separating the mother and calf in busy traffic! More on ship strike noaa news 211008

Update 061208
More on disruptive noise in the oceans for marine mammals:
"Ocean Noise: Turn it Down", pdf
Noise from vessels, increased seismic surveys for oil and gas, off-shore construction and recreation, and a new generation of military sonars can interfere with whales. "The United Nations Environment Programme's Convention on Migratory Species conference in Rome, are urging governments and industry to adopt quieter engines for ships, tighter rules on the use of seismic surveys, and new, less intrusive sonar technologies by navies...Ship noise in the Pacific Ocean has doubled every decade over the past 40 years and the global shipping fleet is expected to double in size by 2025, after doubling between 1965 and 2003.There is now evidence linking loud underwater noises with some major strandings of marine mammals.
By 2050 the chemistry of seawater could increase in acidity by 0.3 pH units... this change in ocean acidity would allow sounds to travel up to 70 percent farther underwater." Environmental News Service 031208

Humpback whale calf lost in Sydney's buzz

Imagine a baby and its carer get separated at a busy freeway node – impossible to find each other again, the weakened child mistakes a parked SUV for its mother and attempts, in vain, to get nourishment. Helpful creatures manoeuvre it out into the 'wide and open spaces' where it might be hopefully reunited with its mother.

Humpback calf lost in Pittwater
Such is the story (sad video) of a very young humpback calf found in isolation from its mother in busy Pittwater bay, north of Sydney. These slow-moving marine mammals, with their offspring in tow are on age-old journeys across the globe. For eons they have traversed their same marine territories. First, they were massacred by Australian whalers, now the whale watching industry has to lure the tourist dollar. Their habitat has also changed rapidly: The sheltered bays and the open ocean are more like the terrestial world's car-parks, oozing repair workshops, endless wider roads to shoot private mobility capsules along. The largest obstacle to their efficient flow are soft-bodied, slow-moving organisms, known as pedestrians and wildlife.
Boating Habitat
Aqua motoring in the Pittwater region (or anywhere else) operates according to the same mind-set. One look at Google Maps reveals the area is criss-crossed with boats racing and most of the shores are more akin to "car-parks". Industrialising and commercialising the water-bodies and the marine habitat brings about many "externalities" for the environment. Eutrophication from combustion powered boats, from sprawling sub-urbs and the associated 'shared debris' turns the beautiful Pacific and its bays progressively into dead zones. Not just for seasonal visiting whales - but for all living creatures. If they do not get entangled by anthropogenic debris or get infected, human business also robs them of their habitat, the open ocean.
Mega fauna is in the way
The intensification is a take-over by the terrestial mammals of the habitat of the whales, that do not have any other habitat to survive in. On the open oceans, whales are simply in the way of busy shipping lanes and other boats.. "In places where marine traffic is heavy, vessels fast and whale numbers expanding, violent encounters are increasingly common.” As on our roads - many cetacean and other marine animals are being maimed or killed by the 'collisions'. The wildlife of the oceans is becoming a "a hazard to sea craft" in their own habitat. In some areas the International Maritime Organization has designated an "Area to Be Avoided" for container ships to avoid killing them.
Noise
Even when not assaulted by aqua motoring the noise and vibration caused by the human racket will diminish their life or even kill them: "The throb of mighty engines and the thrash of propellers as 60,000 huge vessels plough the world’s sea lanes; the hammer of diesels and scream of outboards as 4 million fishing boats and more than 10 million ferries and pleasure craft surge to and fro; the thump and ping of military and fishing sonars; the deafening crash of seismic ships seeking oil and gas; the blare of acoustic harassment devices; the grinding of drills and dredges; the low-frequency growl of scientific experiments designed to monitor global warming."

Could it be, that in such a hostile habitat the whale and its calf became seperated though a degraded habitat and many missiles interjecting their journey?
> > Part II, Whale calf rescue, Sydney Basin

See also:
Desalination, Drilling rigs Sth of Sydney & Whale migration
More on Whales
MSM Updates:
- 'Out with the sharks', abc news, 190808
- Three weeks old calf "abandoned" and "doomed to die" speculations, SMH, 190808
- "The baby has further injured himself from its attempts to rub up on boats, with clearly visible sores on its back. In a last-ditch effort they convinced the whale to follow their boat out to sea, and it disappeared from view about 1km off Barrenjoey headland. It wasn't in good condition." Manly Daily, 190808
Images:
1. Part of Warren Langley's, Manly Visions, glass art at Manly Library
2. & 3. dotAtelier, inspired by Eora Rockengravings of the Pittwater region.

Can Manly afford not to share North Head with Penguins?

Manly is fortunate to still have a population of the endangered Little Penguins. The 30 cm tall flightless seabird only weighs between 1000 and 1200 g . They are very social and like to live in some foreshore shelters, when they are not in the ocean/harbour hunting for fish and squid.

Humans are deciding at the moment whether they should have a right to a home or even a life. Habitat destruction/robbery, polluted water quality and unleashed dogs are the main threats to the existence of these little Fairy Penguins.

Some humans have already built a big building on top of a penguin colony in the National Park. That is not enough, they now would like to make it bigger and bring many more people to the place. They are willing to spend $21 million to turn the nice bush-land into an “eyesore”. There will be more cars, bright lights, noises and dogs – all of which the little fellows get scared of.

Other people think, that they should build the big buildings and roads where there is already infrastructure. They also would like their hunting ground, the water, protected and made into a Marine Reserve. That would mean, no more dirty runoff, noisy stinking boats, throwing fish corpses and plastic debris around, or even turning little penguins into bait. It is a tough struggle to give these unique creatures a right to exist.

Elsewhere the government has realised how these Penguins contribute to the economy and attract many visitors. They decided to invest many million dollars and buy them a big home: foreshore and ocean where they can live happily for a long time. No noisy, yucky building sites or dogs on the loose will threaten them in their new home there.

In such a place they can do what they naturally like doing, stay with their mates (cohorts), walk together in a ‘synchronized parade’, hunt for food and spend most of their time and life in that little in-group. Only disturbance, mostly from humans and dogs, makes them give up their normal social life.
Previous:
North Head Developments, before and after
Penguins or dogs
Leave some of Manly as Penguin Habitat
Links:
Penguin Images
Poisonous plankton blooms killing Fairy Penguins
Video animation: The plight of the Little Penguin, Animation Oz, Act now!
Images: 1. Street art Manly, 2. Sign on gutter, urging not to pour pollutants down the drain, then to the ocean, then to the fish, then in to penguins or humans.