Sea Lion Pulls Fisherman Off Boat, Whales Take Cod Off Lines. Following Loose Threads

It's hard to make sense of the news these days.  (Well maybe always.)  We get snippets, sometimes serious, sometimes not, that are often out of context.  Let's look at a couple of recent stories in the Alaska Dispatch:

  

1. Fisherman bitten, pulled off boat by sea lion in San Diego's Mission Bay

This man-bites-dog story seems to have been written for News of the Weird. Man holds up fish on boat for trophy picture and seal jumps out of the water and pulls the man in.  It's not clear what happened to the fish;  the article says the man was snatched by the sea lion "while attempting to

From old post on Seal Lfe Center Seward

snatch the large fish."  

What's missing from this story?  There have been a number of stories - including the Time magazine Feb. 18, 2015 story on the massive die-offs of sea lion pups in Southern California. 

"Experts at NOAA say that the culprit is rising ocean temperatures. (On a call with reporters Wednesday, a NOAA climate expert said that they do not believe the stranding increase is tied to climate change.) The warm temperatures are somehow affecting the squid, sardines and other animals that are the core diet of sea lions, perhaps driving the prey deeper into the water or farther offshore. So when mothers swim off to forage from the Channel Islands, where pups are weaned every year, they are having to stay away longer before they can come back.   .   . 

The root cause of the crisis, officials believe, is the odd wind patterns that aren’t cooling the ocean like they normally do. They aren’t certain of what’s behind the lack of cold winds, but they believe the patterns are creating a ripple effect through the food chain. The sea lions, at the top of that chain, are signaling that bigger things may be amiss among the larger marine food web. “There are a lot of puzzles here that we’re trying to put together,” says Nate Mantua, a NOAA climatologist. 'We don’t understand it. It’s a mystery.'”

Why are they dying?

"[T]hey do not believe the stranding increase is tied to climate change."  

But later on it says,

"We don't understand it.  It's a mystery."  

They think that

"warm temperatures are somehow affecting the squid, sardines and other animals that are the core diet of sea lions, perhaps driving the prey deeper into the water or farther offshore."

Is this related to climate change?  They think not, but they really don't know the cause.  But they believe there there's

"a ripple effect through the food chain."  

Was the sea lion that pulled the fisherman overboard particularly hungry because there's a sea lion food shortage?  The story never mentioned that.  And I don't know if this is affecting older sea lions or just the food they feed the pups.  But I suspect there's a bigger story we don't understand yet.

2.  Fish-stealing whales take bite out of black cod harvest in Gulf of Alask

This story goes into much more depth.  It's not a man-bites-dog story at all.  It's not a 'funny' one time event.  Rather it's come up at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (which is currently meeting in the Hilton in Anchorage April 6-15 and whose agenda is here) and is being taken seriously because the whales are taking, according to federal surveys cited in the article

"under 10 percent of the annual harvest of the more than 360 Gulf of Alaska vessels that fish for black cod."  

They also report, 

"One study found that killer whales can reduce the catch by an average 65 percent."  

I'm guessing that the 65% figure could be for an individual boat, but the impact on the overall fishery is closer to the 10% level.  

Loose thread  (thoughts I want to raise, but don't have time to pursue in depth):  

1.   Seems to me that there's some sort of connection(s) between a hungry seal lion trying to snatch fish from a San Diego fisherman and whales  on cod hooked on long lines from Gulf of Alaska trawlers.  Both incidents involve mammals taking fish from humans.  What else might connect them?

2.  There's a clear human-centric bias here that pits the sea lion and the whales as the criminals, but to what extent does it make sense to ask how much fish are humans taking away from sea mammals and other sea creatures and how is that affecting their available food supply?  To be clear, the article says the sperm whales seem to be thriving and they've learned that the trawlers mean easy pickings.  

3.  Also not mentioned, is that the nearby pollock fishery's halibut by-catch for this year is predicted to be 92% of the allowable Bering Sea halibut for 2015. From an ADN opinion piece by David Bayes:

The International Pacific Halibut Commission has proposed a 70 percent reduction in halibut harvest for the central Bering Sea region, the most recent cut in a steady quota decline. In the meantime, halibut bycatch caps in the region's trawl fisheries have remained largely unchanged for decades. If these numbers hold true for the 2015 season, 92 percent of halibut harvested in the Bering Sea will go overboard as bycatch. You read that right, 92 percent of the allowable halibut catch is caught, smashed in the nets, and then shoveled back into the water. While some portion is allowed to be donated to food banks, millions of pounds each year are discarded. 

So, if you're not worried about starving sea lions or hungry whales (that may actually benefit from the bycatch going back into the sea), you might care about rural Alaskans who depend on halibut fishing for their living and much of their nutrition.

3.  Ocean acidification triggered devastating extinction, study finds

This one is from the LA Times and was republished today in the Alaska Dispatch News.  It looks at a huge marine die off

"the Permo-Triassic Boundary mass extinction event, happened some 252 million years ago, which over the course of about 60,000 years is thought to have wiped out more than two-thirds of land species and more than 90% of marine species on the planet."

[I tend to take explanations of what happened 252 million years ago with a grain of salt.  I have a lot of respect for what scientists can do, but they taking a few clear facts and project a possible story.  They could be spot on, but I can't find the 252 million year old archives on google to support it.] 

I know that ocean acidification is again a problem - this time human, not volcano caused - and it's possible there's a connection between the hungry sea lions and ocean acidification.

I know that when people find a lucrative and satisfying way to earn a living, they get pretty hostile to events that threaten that.  Their perception of the situation narrowly focuses on the personal impact they foresee.  Southerners saw the abolition of slavery as a threat to their way of life, and some are still fighting that battle.  But those of us not so directly affected need to be able to more rationally assess the situation and come up with options that are don't ignore those most impacted (fishers here), but that are best for society as a whole into the future as well as for the planet. 

There's a lot humans don't understand, but I do know that for every 'event'  there are usually many, many factors that play a role.  It's not a clear, A caused B relationship.  But there are a lot of C's, D's, E's, etc. that work, perhaps independently, to influence each other and the major events.  They may slow things down or speed them up.  Their combined impact may be to maintain the status quo, or to tip it in one direction or another. 

But the basic point I wanted to make is that there is usually much, much more to every news report  - whether it's about a shooting, an election, or a marine mammal-human conflict over fish - that doesn't get into the article.  And even when the media doesn't provide the details, readers should be asking for them. 

Leaving LA

There were lots of things to do for my mom on this trip.  She's hanging in there well and it's great to have this time with her.  But there was also repair work and administrative changes to do. 

Here are a couple of shots as the plane took off just as it got dark last night. 

These are straight from the camera's memory card.  Just a result of a long lens opening.


And these are the amazing hands of the guy who runs the plumbing desk at local hardware store near my mom's place.  He's got an innate sense of how things work and he makes things happen as economically as possible for the customers.  I took this pictures while he was juggling about six customers at once - finding them the parts they needed even when they didn't know and explaining how they were going to use them.  Teasing them when they went on too long, reminding them that he had other customers.  An amazing man. 

Great Blue Heron Landing

I'm just experimenting here - trying to find ways to capture this bird landing here.  Think of it as a work in progress, an experiment that will lead to better future pictures.  The small insets just aren't big enough to see much detail, but they show the stages of the landing.  So I added the bigger picture.  I left this higher than normal resolution so you can see it much bigger by clicking on it. 

This too, was at Ballona Creek the other day, where I took the pelican pictures.  From the Washington State Fish and Wildlife:

"Mortality and Longevity

• Adult great blue herons don't have many predators, though bobcats, coyotes, red-tailed hawks, crows and bald eagles do occasionally kill an adult.
• Mortality of the young is high: both the eggs and young are preyed upon by crows, ravens, gulls, eagles, and raccoons. Heavy rains and cold weather at the time of hatching also take a heavy toll.
• Herons may live to be 15 years old, but six to eight years of age is the norm.
• Great blue herons were nearly hunted to extinction in the late 1800s because of a fashion trend for using their plumes on women's hats. In the 1960s, they were vulnerable to egg-shell thinning as a result of exposure to the pesticide DDT, which lowered reproductive success."

Remembering What's Important: The California Brown Pelican

I raced the rain Tuesday.

I  hung the laundry up to dry.

Then I got on my bike to take bird pictures at Ballona Creek.  In the midst of the traffic, the noise, the never ending houses and apartments and businesses, lies this relatively quiet bike trail along the cement lined Ballona Creek.  There were yellow daisy like flowers everywhere, and water, and birds.

I did get back just after the first scattered drops began to fall.

Here's the California brown pelican.  More birds soon.

I left this image larger so if you click on it, you can see it much bigger

There's so much more than just the whole image of the pelican.  The feathers, they eye, the beak, the feet all demand our attention.  And this 'new' camera (I guess it will be the new one until I get another one) allows me to get close enough to see some of the details. 


About the feathers, from the US Fish and Wildlife Service:

"In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pelicans were hunted for their feathers, which adorned women’s clothing, particularly hats."

I didn't realize that these pelicans had feathered Mohawks.  

At rest

There's a lot of information about the  on the California brown pelican on the Channel Islands National Park website.  Here's just a little bit of it:

"The brown pelican is the only pelican that is a plunge diver. The brown pelican is a unique feeder that makes impressive dives from ten to thirty above the surface. They are, however, able to dive from as high as one hundred feet. The deeper the meal the higher the dive. When it sees a potential meal it begins to tip downwards, the wings shape into a V, and dives. When the bill touches the surface of the water the pelican will push its legs and wings back creating a bit more force, under the water the bill opens and the pouch stretches out wide allowing the pelican to scoop up fish. The pelicans hit the water with such force that even fish six feet below the surface are stunned. Air sacs throughout the bird's body help to cushion the shock from the dive. Their pouch, attached to the lower mandible, when full can hold up to three gallons of water and fish, it is the largest pouch of any bird in the world. The pelican pops up to the surface, tips their head and bill forward letting the water drain out yet keeping the fish. Then they toss their head back to position the fish head first and swallow. It is said that brown pelicans can eat as much as four pounds of fish in one day."

Looks Like Berkowitz (36% now) Versus Demboski (24% now) In Runoff 96% of Precincts Reporting

Here's the 10:49 report - 97% of precincts reporting.  Miserable 24% turnout at this point. 

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		121	97.6%
Times Counted		49601/206033	24.1%
Total Votes		49288
KERN, Jacob Seth		53	0.11%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		29	0.06%
AHERN, Lance		339	0.69%
BAUER, Paul		188	0.38%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		18158	36.84%
COFFEY, Dan		7139	14.48%
DARDEN, Dustin		509	1.03%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		11980	24.31%
HALCRO, Andrew		10645	21.60%
HUIT, Timothy		101	0.20%
JAMISON, Christopher		37	0.08%
Write-in Votes		110	0.22%

Berkowitz at 37%, Demboski 24%, Halcro 21% at 10:32pm Report

Registered Voters 206033 - Cards Cast 45490 22.08%

Num. Report Precinct 124 - Num. Reporting 119 95.97%

MAYOR Total Number of Precincts 124 Precincts Reporting 119 96.0% Times Counted 45490/206033 22.1% Total Votes 45206 KERN, Jacob Seth 49 0.11% SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos 27 0.06% AHERN, Lance 307 0.68% BAUER, Paul 160 0.35% BERKOWITZ, Ethan 16890 37.36% COFFEY, Dan 6467 14.31% DARDEN, Dustin 460 1.02% DEMBOSKI, Amy 10902 24.12% HALCRO, Andrew 9714 21.49% HUIT, Timothy 94 0.21% JAMISON, Christopher 29 0.06% Write-in Votes 107 0.24%

Halcro 1000 Votes Behind Demboski, 7,000 Behind Berkowitz - 10:22pm Report

43795 votes in as of the 10:11pm report.  That's 21.26% of the registered voters (many of whom are phantom).  This may be close to half the people who actually voted, though this is a mayoral race and one with lots of candidates.

If things stay the same, Berkowitz will face Demboski in a runoff. 

Registered Voters 206033 - Cards Cast 43795 21.26%

Num. Report Precinct 124 - Num. Reporting 116 93.55%

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		116	93.5%
Times Counted		43795/206033	21.3%
Total Votes		43519
KERN, Jacob Seth		48	0.11%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		27	0.06%
AHERN, Lance		292	0.67%
BAUER, Paul		153	0.35%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		16345	37.56%
COFFEY, Dan		6236	14.33%
DARDEN, Dustin		452	1.04%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		10375	23.84%
HALCRO, Andrew		9372	21.54%
HUIT, Timothy		90	0.21%
JAMISON, Christopher		29	0.07%
Write-in Votes		100	0.23%

 Meanwhile, Prop 3 is even further behind 43% Yes, 56% No.

School board races show incumbents winning.  Snelling is 1300 votes ahead of Marsett in Seat G.

You can see the results yourselves at two muni sites:

1.  For mayoral and school board races

2. For ballot measures

Rankings Holding - Berkowitz back to 38%, Demboski 23%, Halcro 21%, Coffey 14%

21:55pm Updated numbers: 

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		108	87.1%
Times Counted		39779/206033	19.3%
Total Votes		39525
KERN, Jacob Seth		46	0.12%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		25	0.06%
AHERN, Lance		269	0.68%
BAUER, Paul		143	0.36%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		15135	38.29%
COFFEY, Dan		5600	14.17%
DARDEN, Dustin		416	1.05%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		9270	23.45%
HALCRO, Andrew		8417	21.30%
HUIT, Timothy		85	0.22%
JAMISON, Christopher		28	0.07%
Write-in Votes		91	0.23%

Berkowitz Still Ahead With 38% At 9:26pm Election Update, Then Demboski At 23%

With 20,985 votes counted, here's the 9:26pm report

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		62	50.0%
Times Counted		21119/206033	10.3%
Total Votes		20985
KERN, Jacob Seth		25	0.12%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		16	0.08%
AHERN, Lance		141	0.67%
BAUER, Paul		77	0.37%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		8128	38.73%
COFFEY, Dan		2868	13.67%
DARDEN, Dustin		235	1.12%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		4878	23.25%
HALCRO, Andrew		4508	21.48%
HUIT, Timothy		46	0.22%
JAMISON, Christopher		19	0.09%
Write-in Votes		44	0.21%

[UPDATE 9:54 -And another report came out a few minutes later giving Berkowitz 39% and Demboski 22%, Halcro 21%]

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		74	59.7%
Times Counted		25955/206033	12.6%
Total Votes		25781
KERN, Jacob Seth		31	0.12%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		19	0.07%
AHERN, Lance		175	0.68%
BAUER, Paul		96	0.37%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		10056	39.01%
COFFEY, Dan		3553	13.78%
DARDEN, Dustin		287	1.11%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		5919	22.96%
HALCRO, Andrew		5502	21.34%
HUIT, Timothy		58	0.22%
JAMISON, Christopher		22	0.09%
Write-in Votes		63	0.24%

And the 9:32pm report on the ballot measures shows them all passing comfortably except Number 3 which is losing by 11% still. I've listed the items voted on for #3 in the previous post.

Early Election Results - Anchorage [Updated]

[Check for more recent posts in the blog archive to the right - like this one.] 

While I'm waiting for the early results, let me note that the election results page at the Municipality says there are 206,033 voters. A Muni report gives the 2010 population at 291,836 with 74% of the population 18 years of age or over.  The state Department of Labor estimates Anchorage has 300,549 in 2015.  If we use that number, then 228,417 Anchorage residents would be old enough to be registered voters.  That would mean 90% of eligible Anchorage voters are actually eligible to vote.  That's much higher than national averages.  Nationally, registration is about 70%.

This is not new news.  In fact, it's a great improvement over 2014 when 103% of Anchorage's eligible voters were registered.   Some people are no longer Alaska residents - they've died or moved out of state, but haven't been purged from the voter rolls.  Some of those out of state have maintained Alaska residency and still vote - some military and others who can stay eligible for the permanent fund checks.  And there are Alaskans overseas who maintain their residency.


OK, here are the first returns 9:01pm:

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		24	19.4%
Times Counted		6657/206033	3.2%
Total Votes		6606
KERN, Jacob Seth		9	0.14%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		7	0.11%
AHERN, Lance		41	0.62%
BAUER, Paul		26	0.39%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		2594	39.27%
COFFEY, Dan		910	13.78%
DARDEN, Dustin		72	1.09%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		1555	23.54%
HALCRO, Andrew		1358	20.56%
HUIT, Timothy		17	0.26%
JAMISON, Christopher		3	0.05%
Write-in Votes		14	0.21%

[UPDATE 9:27pm

Most of the bond measures are passing at this point - 11,000 votes - except for Prop 3 which is behind by 11%.  All the other are ahead by at least 11%.  Here, from the League of Women's Voters link, are the projects that are in Prop. 3. 

Project	Estimated Cost	Estimated Annual O&M
Anchorage Golf Course – maintenance of chalet	$500,000	$0
Library – automated handling system	$850,000	$0
Chester Creek Sports Complex – expand parking lot and relocate Mulcahy Stadium	$1,500,000	$0
Facility safety and code upgrades	2,500,000	$0

Is it the golf course they don't like?  Chester Creek?  The library?  Or maybe people are suspicious about the zero operation and maintenance estimates.