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Argentine province plans to shoot seagulls eating the flesh of surfacing
southern right whales
Daniel Feldman/Associated Press - In this Aug. 19, 2012 photo, a seagull
pecks at a whale in the southern Atlantic Ocean near Puerto Piramides,
Argentina. As seagulls have become a hazard for whales in one of their prime
birthing grounds, provincial authorities are planning to have police shoot
the gulls. Environmentalists are crying foul, saying officials should
instead close a nearby garbage dump and stop fishermen from dumping
By Associated Press, Published: August 28
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — What began as bizarre bird behavior has turned
into something out of a horror film for threatened whales in Argentina,
where seagulls have learned that pecking at the whales’ backs can get them
a regular seafood dinner.
Seagull attacks on southern right whales have become so common now that
authorities are planning to shoot the gulls in hopes of reducing their
population.
Environmentalists say the plan is misguided and that humans are the real
problem, creating so much garbage that the gull population has exploded.
Both sides agree that the gull attacks in one of the whales’ prime birthing
grounds is not only threatening the marine mammals, but the region’s
tourism industry as well, by turning whale-watching from a magical
experience into something sad and gruesome.
Seagulls around the city of Puerto Madryn discovered about a decade ago that
by pecking at the whales as they come up for air, they can create open
wounds. Then, each time the whales surface, it’s dinner time: Gulls swoop
down and dig in, cutting away skin and blubber with their beaks and claws.
The problem has only grown more severe since then as more gulls caught on
and the bird population exploded due to easy access to human detritus — not
only open-air garbage heaps but fish parts as well, dumped directly into
the water by fishermen and a seafood packing plant.
“It’s not just that the gulls are attacking the whales, but that they’re
feeding from them, and this way of feeding is a habit that is growing and
becoming more frequent,” said Marcelo Bertellotti, who works for the
National Patagonia Center, a government-sponsored conservation agency. “It
really worries us because the damage they’re doing to the whales is
multiplying, especially to infant whales that are born in these waters.”
Whales also are changing their behavior in response: Instead of breaching
the water and dramatically displaying their tails, they rise just barely
enough to breathe through their blow-holes before descending to safety,
Bertellotti said.
Bertellotti’s answer: Shoot the gulls that display this behavior with air
rifles and hunting guns, and recover each downed bird before they are eaten
along with the ammunition, causing still more damage to marine life. His “
100-day Whale-Gull Action Plan” was approved by the government of Chubut,
and provincial officials came out Tuesday in defense of it.
“We are preparing a pilot plan that seeks to stop the damage from the gulls
that pick at the flesh of the whales, because this is putting at risk the
resource. It will be a minimal intervention to protect the life of the
southern right whale and thus provide a response to the complaints of the
sightseeing businesses that operate in the place,” Gov. Martin Buzzi posted
on his Facebook page.
Whale-watching is big business for Chubut. Southern right whales have
recovered to about 8 percent of their original population since becoming a
protected species worldwide, and hundreds come to the relatively calm and
warm waters of the gulf formed by the Valdez Peninsula to give birth and
raise their newborns each July to December.
Seeing them surface from nearby boats can be a magical experience, and gull
attacks were rare until about eight years ago, said Milko Schvartzman, who
coordinates the oceans campaign for Greenpeace in Latin America.
But more gulls have caught on, and their population has boomed to the point
where whales are attacked at least every fourth time they surface, he said.
Now the tourists are suffering along with the whales. “It’s not so
pleasant anymore,” Schvartzman said.
Environmentalists say the only way to effectively reduce the seagull
population is to deny the birds food by closing open-air garbage dumps
around the gulf and stopping people from dumping fish parts. Activists have
been lobbying Chubut for many years to develop plans to reduce, recycle and
properly contain garbage and strictly regulate fishing, but politicians have
resisted, Schvartzman said.
Chubut’s environmental minister, Eduardo Maza, blamed the problem on
previous governments, and said the province is now working on permanent
solutions. Shooting the gulls “is surely not the most pleasant measure, but
it’s necessary to do something to control a situation that has been
growing after many years of inaction,” Maza said.
“At year’s end, we’re going to inaugurate garbage-separation plants,”
Maza said. “All the garbage in the protected Peninsula Valdes area that isn
’t recyclable will be properly disposed of, which will enable us to
mitigate the open-air garbage dumps.”
Schvartzman said that if humans don’t solve the problem quickly, the whales
will simply stop coming.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Argentine province plans to shoot seagulls eating the flesh of surfacing
southern right whales
Daniel Feldman/Associated Press - In this Aug. 19, 2012 photo, a seagull
pecks at a whale in the southern Atlantic Ocean near Puerto Piramides,
Argentina. As seagulls have become a hazard for whales in one of their prime
birthing grounds, provincial authorities are planning to have police shoot
the gulls. Environmentalists are crying foul, saying officials should
instead close a nearby garbage dump and stop fishermen from dumping
By Associated Press, Published: August 28
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — What began as bizarre bird behavior has turned
into something out of a horror film for threatened whales in Argentina,
where seagulls have learned that pecking at the whales’ backs can get them
a regular seafood dinner.
Seagull attacks on southern right whales have become so common now that
authorities are planning to shoot the gulls in hopes of reducing their
population.
Environmentalists say the plan is misguided and that humans are the real
problem, creating so much garbage that the gull population has exploded.
Both sides agree that the gull attacks in one of the whales’ prime birthing
grounds is not only threatening the marine mammals, but the region’s
tourism industry as well, by turning whale-watching from a magical
experience into something sad and gruesome.
Seagulls around the city of Puerto Madryn discovered about a decade ago that
by pecking at the whales as they come up for air, they can create open
wounds. Then, each time the whales surface, it’s dinner time: Gulls swoop
down and dig in, cutting away skin and blubber with their beaks and claws.
The problem has only grown more severe since then as more gulls caught on
and the bird population exploded due to easy access to human detritus — not
only open-air garbage heaps but fish parts as well, dumped directly into
the water by fishermen and a seafood packing plant.
“It’s not just that the gulls are attacking the whales, but that they’re
feeding from them, and this way of feeding is a habit that is growing and
becoming more frequent,” said Marcelo Bertellotti, who works for the
National Patagonia Center, a government-sponsored conservation agency. “It
really worries us because the damage they’re doing to the whales is
multiplying, especially to infant whales that are born in these waters.”
Whales also are changing their behavior in response: Instead of breaching
the water and dramatically displaying their tails, they rise just barely
enough to breathe through their blow-holes before descending to safety,
Bertellotti said.
Bertellotti’s answer: Shoot the gulls that display this behavior with air
rifles and hunting guns, and recover each downed bird before they are eaten
along with the ammunition, causing still more damage to marine life. His “
100-day Whale-Gull Action Plan” was approved by the government of Chubut,
and provincial officials came out Tuesday in defense of it.
“We are preparing a pilot plan that seeks to stop the damage from the gulls
that pick at the flesh of the whales, because this is putting at risk the
resource. It will be a minimal intervention to protect the life of the
southern right whale and thus provide a response to the complaints of the
sightseeing businesses that operate in the place,” Gov. Martin Buzzi posted
on his Facebook page.
Whale-watching is big business for Chubut. Southern right whales have
recovered to about 8 percent of their original population since becoming a
protected species worldwide, and hundreds come to the relatively calm and
warm waters of the gulf formed by the Valdez Peninsula to give birth and
raise their newborns each July to December.
Seeing them surface from nearby boats can be a magical experience, and gull
attacks were rare until about eight years ago, said Milko Schvartzman, who
coordinates the oceans campaign for Greenpeace in Latin America.
But more gulls have caught on, and their population has boomed to the point
where whales are attacked at least every fourth time they surface, he said.
Now the tourists are suffering along with the whales. “It’s not so
pleasant anymore,” Schvartzman said.
Environmentalists say the only way to effectively reduce the seagull
population is to deny the birds food by closing open-air garbage dumps
around the gulf and stopping people from dumping fish parts. Activists have
been lobbying Chubut for many years to develop plans to reduce, recycle and
properly contain garbage and strictly regulate fishing, but politicians have
resisted, Schvartzman said.
Chubut’s environmental minister, Eduardo Maza, blamed the problem on
previous governments, and said the province is now working on permanent
solutions. Shooting the gulls “is surely not the most pleasant measure, but
it’s necessary to do something to control a situation that has been
growing after many years of inaction,” Maza said.
“At year’s end, we’re going to inaugurate garbage-separation plants,”
Maza said. “All the garbage in the protected Peninsula Valdes area that isn
’t recyclable will be properly disposed of, which will enable us to
mitigate the open-air garbage dumps.”
Schvartzman said that if humans don’t solve the problem quickly, the whales
will simply stop coming.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
