Pete Thomas Outdoors

Whalers criticized in Japan for quitting season early

Japanese whalers headed home from the Southern Ocean after quitting early this season because of harassment from activists, might not like their homecoming reception.

ABC News in Australia quotes Masayuki Komatsu, a former delegate to the International Whaling Commission, as calling the whalers' position "cowardly."

The whalers' so-called scientific whaling missions, conducted annually in Antarctic waters, are run by the Institute of Cetacean Research through the Fisheries Agency.

The decision to quite early, after killing only 174 minke whales and two fin whales (the annual quota is 900-plus), was made because of relentless harassment from members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The ABC story also quotes restaurateur Michio Kono, whose specialties are whale steaks, stew and sashimi, as saying, "I think the government is full of cowards. Whale meat is delicious and healthy. It's part of our culture. This decision is pitiful."

Kono's statement is not accurate. Whale meat contains high levels of mercury and fewer people in Japan are buying it, judging from growing stockpiles in freezers around the country.

It's unclear whether Japan will carry out another Southern Ocean whale hunt next season.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Australian Customs Service file photo

Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

Skier's fall down rocky cliff captured on helmet cam (video)

Standing atop a steep ledge or towering cliff on a slippery pair of skis is, for many, an uneasy feeling.

For some, watching someone else in this precarious position also is an uneasy feeling, especially when they know something bad is going to happen.

That's the case with this video. Not sure where it was shot, or how the skier fared, but his painful episode -- captured by his GoPro helmet cam -- was posted Friday on YouTube  and has since been enjoyed, if that's the right word, by nearly 10,000 people. Pay close attention at about the 57-second mark:

 

Somali pirates seize Danish sailboat with children aboard

Pirates have hijacked another sailboat in the Indian Ocean, this time with Danish citizens aboard.

The Danish news agency Ritzau is reporting that a couple and three children, plus two crew members, are on the sailboat. It's apparently being piloted toward Somalia.

The hijacking occurred last Thursday, two days after four American sailors were killed by Pirates after a high-profile hijacking in the Indian Ocean north of the Gulf of Aden. In that incident, U.S. naval forces killed two pirates and took several others captive after hearing gunshots aboard the hijacked boat.

It's not known how far from Somalia the latest hijacking occurred. Adventure sailors, naturally, are urged to steer well clear of the Somalia coast and to avoid routes that include the Gulf of Aden.

-- Pete Thomas

Sea lions a problem for Cabo San Lucas-area tuna anglers

Yellowfin tuna are still actively feeding at the Gordo Banks, north of Cabo San Lucas in the Sea of Cortez. 

But the problem for anglers at the popular fishing spot is two-fold: The tuna are gorging on naturally occurring red crabs and largely ignoring sardinas being cast in their midst, and sea lions have flooded into the area and are stealing hooked baits and game fish.

"After having left for a week or so, groups of sea lions moved back onto the Gordo Banks and played havoc on anglers concentrating on the yellowfin bite," remarked Eric Brictson, owner of Gordo Banks Pangas, in his Sunday catch report. "These sea lions were hungry, aggressively eating all of the sardina baits they could, then rapidly attacking any hooked fish and making anglers' odds that much more difficult."

The pelagic red crabs seem to have bloomed at depth at Gordo Banks, which are just north of San Jose del Cabo. It's possible that the presence of so many crabs is related to increased sea lion activity.

In any case, the phenomenon probably won't last long. With the first hint of spring in the air, and slowly rising water temperatures, conditions are changing and fishing for most species should improve in the coming weeks.

In fact, some Cabo San Lucas fleets are finding tuna much farther offshore, beyond the Chileno Bay area, and they're not quite as line shy. A Washington state group, aboard Rebecca out of Pisces Sportfishing, caught 22 while trolling cedar plugs and brown-back lures.

The tuna have been running from 10 to about 50 pounds.

-- Pete Thomas

Bald eagle soars to freedom three years after being shot

A female bald eagle that had spent three years in a Washington state wildlife shelter after being shot from the sky, was returned to the wilderness Saturday morning and soared freely away amid cheers and applause.

It's an uplifting story, but one with an uncertain outcome. The eagle had been shot in the face and suffered a broken neck when she fell. She spent a difficult period in captivity and had grown accustomed to being cared for.

Also, because of the shooting, she has permanently lost her voice, and it's not known exactly how important communication is in terms of survival.

"Happy that she's going to be free, sad because I'm going to miss her," a volunteer at the West Sound Wildlife Shelter told KOMO News.

The adult bald eagle was released on Bainbridge Island after being fitted with a transmitter. Staff members at the shelter hope she'll return to her former home in nearby Blakely Harbor.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo courtesy of KOMO News

Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

Mascots for Sochi Olympics are leopard, polar bear and hare

Leopard, polar bear and hare on Saturday were selected as mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The selections were made after an all-Russian SMS-voting session, and announced during a  Channel One television program.

According to Ria Novosti, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had made it clear his preference was leopard  (see image).

Leopard received 28% of the votes. Polar bear and hare received 18% and 16%, respectively.

Fire Boy and Snowflake were selected mascots for the Paralympics.

-- Photo courtesy of the © Sochi-2014 press office

Seized fins from protected sharks were bound for New York

California has pending legislation designed to outlaw the importation, sale and possession of shark fins.

Perhaps New York lawmakers should consider launching a similar process to help save sharks from the barbaric and unsustainable practice offinning.

A Fox News story out of Panama today involves the discovery of nearly a half ton of shark fins that had once belonged to protected hammerhead sharks. The packaged fins were found at the Central American nation's international airport and labeled as dried fish.

The container originated in Ecuador. Destination: New York City.

Though finning is illegal in U.S. waters, importation, sale and possession is not. Some states are taking upon themselves to enact bans that might result in the killing of fewer sharks for their fins, which are used to make shark-fin soup.

As many as 70 million sharks are killed annually for their fins,  and a good number are tossed back alive after their capture, to die a slow death. Many experts believe this rate of slaughter is unsustainable and that some species of sharks, which play a vital role in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem, are threatened with extinction.

Most fins end up in China or in Asian communities, where shark-fin soup is considered a delicacy. Hawaii has already passed legislation, so you will not find the soup openly advertised there. California, which is a major hub for fins entering the U.S., probably will be next. It is hoped by environmental groups that other states -- why not New York? -- will follow suit.

-- Pete Thomas

Terrorist activity on Russia's Mt. Elbrus leads to tourism ban

Skiers, snowboarders and mountaineers are being cautioned not to travel to Russia's Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, because of the presence of terrorists who are being blamed for the shooting deaths of three Moscow tourists last Friday at a popular Elbrus ski resort in the North Caucasus region.

The attack reportedly involved masked Islamic separatists who blew up a cable car pylon, causing gondola cars to plummet to the snow. Nobody was hurt in that incident. The slain tourists were shot as they traveled in a small bus.

Since then, deadly clashes between government troops and militants have occurred, and on Wednesday air strikes and mortar bombings were carried out with unknown results, according to the Moscow Times. Also, a large shelter stocked with explosives and firearms was discovered on the slopes of Elbrus.

About 5,000 people visit Elbrus annually. As Europe's highest mountain (18,510 feet), it's popular among climbers during the spring and summer.

A top Russian official reportedly has demanded that tourists be banned from Elbrus until anti-terrorist operations are complete.

All of this has to be unsettling to those planning for the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, which is not terribly far from the troubled area.

-- Pete Thomas

Maine's lobster haul in 2010 was a record 93 million pounds

Maine is known for its lobsters and those who earn a living fishing for the delectable crustaceans are still counting their profits after a record haul of 93 million pounds in 2010.

Figures released by the state's Department of Marine Resources last Friday reveal the total catch, by an estimated 4,260 lobster fishermen, was worth $308.7 million.

That net value accounted for nearly 70% of the total value of all commercial marine species harvested in Maine last year.

While the catch is technically a record, larger hauls were made during robust economic times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before state mandated reporting by lobster dealers.

According to the Bangor Times, this marks only the third time that the value of Maine's lobster landings topped $300 million. In 2005, the year after reporting became mandatory,  the catch was worth almost $318 million. In 2006, the value was $312 million.

The variations have to due with the poundage caught but also the price per pound. In 2010 lobster fishermen got an average of $3.31 per pound.

-- Pete Thomas

Rare (and ugly) ratfish pulled from Cabo San Lucas waters

Cabo San Lucas is known as the striped marlin capital of the world, but for the second time in less than two years a rare and hideous-looking ratfish was pulled from the waters off Baja California's tip by the crew aboard a Pisces Sportfishing vessel.

After the first catch in late spring of 2009, nobody knew what kind of fish it was at first, but it had a rat-like mouth and teeth and ultimately was determined to be a ratfish, or chimaera.

The latest catch was made Saturday aboard La Brisa. An Australian couple had just caught and released a marlin when something brown and shiny was spotted at the surface beyond Punta Gorda in the Sea of Cortez.

The crew gently lifted the dead specimen -- ratfish live in remarkably deep water and bottom-feed on small invertebrates -- into the boat and brought it back to the landing, where it was kept for scientists.

"It appears that this is a new species of ratfish, not known before and they are expected to publish a paper on it soon," said the Pisces blog. "We applaud the crew of La Brisa, as they have been working with the scientists on several projects and all of our crews are showing a keen interest in conservation and want to learn more. They did well to recognize this as something unusual and to get it to us intact to the freezer."

As for marlin fishing off Land's End, it remains unseasonably slow but sporadic catches are being made.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo of Pisces crewman and ratfish courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing