Federal study finds cruise ships distress harbor seals

To Whom It May Concern:

We came across this information in the trades and thought it would be of
interest to this newsgroup as well. If this is somehow a repeat of an
earlier post, sorry we missed it. This can always be ignored or deleted.

Happy sailing,
John Sisker
SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll free at
(800) 724-6644 & (pagoo ID: 714.536.3850)
http://www.shiptoshorecruise.com




ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- When large cruise ships get too close to harbor seals,
the animals become distressed, according to a new federal study.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report Monday
on seal behavior in Disenchantment Bay, a Southeast fjord that cruise ships
frequent for a view of the Hubbard Glacier. The study, which was a
cooperative effort involving NOAA, the cruise industry and the Yakutat
Tlingits, found that when the large ships got closer than 1,600 feet, seals
were more likely to jump off the ice floes they haul out on. The closer the
ships got, the more likely the seals were to dive into the water, according
to the Anchorage Daily News. When a ship was about 300 feet away, a seal was
25 times more likely to jump into the water than when the ship was 1,600
feet way, the study found. The researchers said one concern is that if seals
are routinely disturbed, it will drain their energy reserves, possibly
resulting in lower reproduction or reduced survival. "It really confirms
what has been known for some time: that as ships get closer to seals, the
seals will get off the ice floes," said John Hansen, president of the North
West CruiseShip Association. He said as a result the association has
operating practices in place to minimize disturbance of the animals.
However, that's not always possible because of weather, navigational and
other reasons, including not being able to see the seals, said John Jansen,
the study's lead author. During the study, biologists documented many times
when the ships got within 300 feet of seals, he said. The study also found
that the more time ships spend in Disenchantment Bay, the closer the seals
come to one another. Such huddling behavior is common among animals that
feel threatened, said Jansen. The research, which began in 2002, also
compared harbor seal numbers in Disenchantment Bay with those of Icy Bay, a
nearby glacial fjord with similar natural characteristics. The only major
difference between the two bays is that cruise ships do not visit Icy Bay,
Jansen said. Icy and Disenchantment Bays started out with roughly the same
number of seals in May, between 1,000 and 1,500, Jansen said. The study
found that seal populations in Icy Bay increased from May to August, while
in Disenchantment Bay, they peaked in June and then declined slightly. Icy
Bay ended the summer with 5,400 seals while Disenchantment Bay had only
1,800. Whether the seals are leaving Disenchantment Bay and heading to Icy
Bay is unknown because scientists have yet to track the movements of
individual seals with radio transmitters. Hopefully that will be the next
phase of the research, Jansen said. With the increase in cruise ships in
Disenchantment Bay since the 1970s, the Tlingits have become concerned about
whether ships are disturbing the seals, especially during pupping season in
May and June. "We feel strongly that they do affect the seals during those
months," said tribal member Bert Adams Sr., a charter captain and former
president of Yakutat's tribal council. "The local people are saying that the
seals are moving from Disenchantment Bay to Icy Bay because there is less
disturbance there," Adams said.

Ahh the Canadians are worried about stressed seals ?? I guess clubbing their
young to death at amounts of over 100 000 seals is not stressful ??

"John Sisker" wrote in message
link.net...
To Whom It May Concern:

We came across this information in the trades and thought it would be of
interest to this newsgroup as well. If this is somehow a repeat of an
earlier post, sorry we missed it. This can always be ignored or deleted.

Happy sailing,
John Sisker
SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll free at
(800) 724-6644 & (pagoo ID: 714.536.3850)
http://www.shiptoshorecruise.com




ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- When large cruise ships get too close to harbor
seals, the animals become distressed, according to a new federal study.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report
Monday on seal behavior in Disenchantment Bay, a Southeast fjord that
cruise ships frequent for a view of the Hubbard Glacier. The study, which
was a cooperative effort involving NOAA, the cruise industry and the
Yakutat Tlingits, found that when the large ships got closer than 1,600
feet, seals were more likely to jump off the ice floes they haul out on.
The closer the ships got, the more likely the seals were to dive into the
water, according to the Anchorage Daily News. When a ship was about 300
feet away, a seal was 25 times more likely to jump into the water than
when the ship was 1,600 feet way, the study found. The researchers said
one concern is that if seals are routinely disturbed, it will drain their
energy reserves, possibly resulting in lower reproduction or reduced
survival. "It really confirms what has been known for some time: that as
ships get closer to seals, the seals will get off the ice floes," said
John Hansen, president of the North West CruiseShip Association. He said
as a result the association has operating practices in place to minimize
disturbance of the animals. However, that's not always possible because of
weather, navigational and other reasons, including not being able to see
the seals, said John Jansen, the study's lead author. During the study,
biologists documented many times when the ships got within 300 feet of
seals, he said. The study also found that the more time ships spend in
Disenchantment Bay, the closer the seals come to one another. Such
huddling behavior is common among animals that feel threatened, said
Jansen. The research, which began in 2002, also compared harbor seal
numbers in Disenchantment Bay with those of Icy Bay, a nearby glacial
fjord with similar natural characteristics. The only major difference
between the two bays is that cruise ships do not visit Icy Bay, Jansen
said. Icy and Disenchantment Bays started out with roughly the same number
of seals in May, between 1,000 and 1,500, Jansen said. The study found
that seal populations in Icy Bay increased from May to August, while in
Disenchantment Bay, they peaked in June and then declined slightly. Icy
Bay ended the summer with 5,400 seals while Disenchantment Bay had only
1,800. Whether the seals are leaving Disenchantment Bay and heading to Icy
Bay is unknown because scientists have yet to track the movements of
individual seals with radio transmitters. Hopefully that will be the next
phase of the research, Jansen said. With the increase in cruise ships in
Disenchantment Bay since the 1970s, the Tlingits have become concerned
about whether ships are disturbing the seals, especially during pupping
season in May and June. "We feel strongly that they do affect the seals
during those months," said tribal member Bert Adams Sr., a charter captain
and former president of Yakutat's tribal council. "The local people are
saying that the seals are moving from Disenchantment Bay to Icy Bay
because there is less disturbance there," Adams said.

Finding out about seal anxiety sure seems like a great place to spend MY
tax dollars!

Perhaps some animal therapists can be found to help the seals work
through the stress, or this will be the end of the cruise industry.

Damn Canadians. They've taken over National oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration . Bad enough they annexed Alaska.



"Ray L. Nutz" wrote in message
...
Ahh the Canadians are worried about stressed seals ?? I guess clubbing
their young to death at amounts of over 100 000 seals is not stressful ??

"John Sisker" wrote in message
link.net...
To Whom It May Concern:

We came across this information in the trades and thought it would be of
interest to this newsgroup as well. If this is somehow a repeat of an
earlier post, sorry we missed it. This can always be ignored or deleted.

Happy sailing,
John Sisker
SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll free at
(800) 724-6644 & (pagoo ID: 714.536.3850)
http://www.shiptoshorecruise.com




ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- When large cruise ships get too close to harbor
seals, the animals become distressed, according to a new federal study.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report
Monday on seal behavior in Disenchantment Bay, a Southeast fjord that
cruise ships frequent for a view of the Hubbard Glacier. The study, which
was a cooperative effort involving NOAA, the cruise industry and the
Yakutat Tlingits, found that when the large ships got closer than 1,600
feet, seals were more likely to jump off the ice floes they haul out on.
The closer the ships got, the more likely the seals were to dive into the
water, according to the Anchorage Daily News. When a ship was about 300
feet away, a seal was 25 times more likely to jump into the water than
when the ship was 1,600 feet way, the study found. The researchers said
one concern is that if seals are routinely disturbed, it will drain their
energy reserves, possibly resulting in lower reproduction or reduced
survival. "It really confirms what has been known for some time: that as
ships get closer to seals, the seals will get off the ice floes," said
John Hansen, president of the North West CruiseShip Association. He said
as a result the association has operating practices in place to minimize
disturbance of the animals. However, that's not always possible because
of weather, navigational and other reasons, including not being able to
see the seals, said John Jansen, the study's lead author. During the
study, biologists documented many times when the ships got within 300
feet of seals, he said. The study also found that the more time ships
spend in Disenchantment Bay, the closer the seals come to one another.
Such huddling behavior is common among animals that feel threatened, said
Jansen. The research, which began in 2002, also compared harbor seal
numbers in Disenchantment Bay with those of Icy Bay, a nearby glacial
fjord with similar natural characteristics. The only major difference
between the two bays is that cruise ships do not visit Icy Bay, Jansen
said. Icy and Disenchantment Bays started out with roughly the same
number of seals in May, between 1,000 and 1,500, Jansen said. The study
found that seal populations in Icy Bay increased from May to August,
while in Disenchantment Bay, they peaked in June and then declined
slightly. Icy Bay ended the summer with 5,400 seals while Disenchantment
Bay had only 1,800. Whether the seals are leaving Disenchantment Bay and
heading to Icy Bay is unknown because scientists have yet to track the
movements of individual seals with radio transmitters. Hopefully that
will be the next phase of the research, Jansen said. With the increase in
cruise ships in Disenchantment Bay since the 1970s, the Tlingits have
become concerned about whether ships are disturbing the seals, especially
during pupping season in May and June. "We feel strongly that they do
affect the seals during those months," said tribal member Bert Adams Sr.,
a charter captain and former president of Yakutat's tribal council. "The
local people are saying that the seals are moving from Disenchantment Bay
to Icy Bay because there is less disturbance there," Adams said.

"Ray L. Nutz" wrote in message
...
Ahh the Canadians are worried about stressed seals ?? I guess clubbing
their
young to death at amounts of over 100 000 seals is not stressful ??


Right On!!!!

On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 07:00:42 -0800 in rec.travel.cruises, Ike
wrote:

Perhaps some animal therapists can be found to help the seals work
through the stress, or this will be the end of the cruise industry.

those of us that prefer seals to cruise ships certainly hope so.
too damn many ships, too damn many passengers, too damn many
busses of you sheeple being moved from one fleecing point to
another.

i'd be happy if we never saw another cruise ship here in alaska.

Dennis P. Harris wrote:
On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 07:00:42 -0800 in rec.travel.cruises, Ike
wrote:


Perhaps some animal therapists can be found to help the seals work
through the stress, or this will be the end of the cruise industry.


those of us that prefer seals to cruise ships certainly hope so.
too damn many ships, too damn many passengers, too damn many
busses of you sheeple being moved from one fleecing point to
another.

i'd be happy if we never saw another cruise ship here in alaska.


Scaring them from your clubbing grounds?

And your economy would go into the toilet.

Tobieon an Island in the Pacific


"Dennis P. Harris" wrote in message

those of us that prefer seals to cruise ships certainly hope so.
too damn many ships, too damn many passengers, too damn many
busses of you sheeple being moved from one fleecing point to
another.

i'd be happy if we never saw another cruise ship here in alaska.

Tobie Gerbrandt wrote:
And your economy would go into the toilet.

Tobieon an Island in the Pacific


"Dennis P. Harris" wrote in message

those of us that prefer seals to cruise ships certainly hope so.
too damn many ships, too damn many passengers, too damn many
busses of you sheeple being moved from one fleecing point to
another.

i'd be happy if we never saw another cruise ship here in alaska.





Seal stew, and plenty of oil with which to cook it.

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 11:45:59 GMT in rec.travel.cruises, Badger
wrote:

Scaring them from your clubbing grounds?

you are quite uninformed. it's the canadians that club baby
seals. that practice is not allowed in the united states.

the seals in question, however, are hunted for food by the
villagers of yakutat. only native americans are allowed to hunt
them. they hunt from boats, with rifles, and approach without
motors. it's not an easy way to gather food, but it's what's
available.

cruise ships have not only disturbed the seals, but because they
have intruded into the village's traditional hunting area.
villagers cannot hunt because they cannot fire weapons near or in
the direction of the ships. they are causing harm to a vital
village food supply.