Boom to bust in six years. A warning from the past

How the Australian fishing industry destroyed the Orange Roughy fish population in six years. Orange Roughy can grow up to 30 inches in size and weigh up to 15 pounds. They are notable for their extraordinary lifespan, attaining over 200 years. If the fishing industry couldn't sell the fish they dumped them into landfill. By the time they had finished the Southern Ocean sea mounts south of Tasmania were left barren of this once precious animal. A beautiful animal that was toxic to eat was decimated. It makes you think about what Russian and Chinese fishing vessels are doing now?  Many other countries are involved and complacent about the situation. Illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean is an industrial vacuum that is sadly out of control.

Stories From The Orange Roughy Fishery - The Greatest Boom and Bust in Australia's Fishing History. - YouTube

Dumping Surplus Orange Roughy Fish, St. Helens, Tasmania, Australia, 1999 - YouTube

Two meteor airbursts one major. Update: Asteroids flying past Earth 20240619

2024, June 18. North Pacific Ocean. Major Airburst. Time: 13:51. Coordinates: (44.3, 173). Largest Airburst this year so far. e = 49.1, -e = 1.2 or 1,200,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 44.3 km. Velocity: 35.4 km/s. Because of its energy a marine animal disturbance watch should be taken for the next month. This includes birds, especially migratory birds that could show navigational distress (concussion-type symptoms) many thousands of kilometres from the airburst event. Locations include Japan, Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka Peninsula, Rat Islands, Near Islands and Andreanof Islands. 

2024, June 18. North Atlantic Ocean. Airburst. Time: 21:01. Coordinates: (32.2, -31.8). 780 km S.W of Azores. e= 2.2, -e = 0.079 or 79,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 28.7 km. Velocity: 16.2 km/s. Even though this is a small airburst a watch for whale strandings in the Azores should be taken. 

Information obtained from Google Maps and Fireballs (nasa.gov)

Note: Asteroids are flying by Earth. One large group travelling past today. It will be interesting after yesterday's airbursts whether anything else will come in over the next week.

Asteroid alert! Several plane-sized objects hurtling towards Earth this week - Science News (wionews.com)

Two Risso's dolphins ashore in Northern Ireland and injured dolphin in the Philippines

2024, June 17. Northern Ireland, Lough Foyle, near Balls Point, Mcgilligan, County Londonderry. Two Risso's Dolphins, one older individual and a juvenile. Both refloated successfully. Members of the public, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural helped in the rescue.

Image: Dog Leap animal charity

Risso's dolphins stranded on shores of Lough Foyle rescued (bbc.com)

2024, June 17. Philippines, Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte, Barangay Lungsodaan. A injured dolphin was transported to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), a mammal stranding facility in Ormoc in care of the Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

2018 Argentina dolphin stranding

2018, March 25. Argentina, El Doradillo, Golfo Nuevo, Península Valdés, Puerto Madryn. (42° 38’ S, 64° 58’ W). Northern patagonia. Protected Natural Area. 68 short-beaked common dolphins. 47 died and 21 were returned to sea. Of the dead 29 were male and 18 were female.

In the maps below is a bolide detected 8 days before the stranding. It was the only one detected after an airburst to the south over a year before that had an energy of 130,000 kg/TNT. The beaching was blamed on a killer whale attack. This was correct as observations of such behavior has been seen off Tasmania. The reason is that killer whales tend to run down animals in a vulnerable state. It wasn't a panic stranding, caused by atmospheric activity. If it was a split stranding (as seen), they would all be dead. The dolphins were survivors of an airburst event, with a large portion of animals dying before the stranding. The area in the South Atlantic was the most active on earth in the 6 months prior and post-stranding, with four events in the two months before the dolphins came to shore.

Bolide Home (nasa.gov)

Fireballs (nasa.gov)

Dead whale washes ashore in California

2024, June 17. USA, California, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, Cowell Ranch Beach. Dead Humpback whale. The advanced state of decomposition suggests death greater than three weeks. This is the second dead whale to watch ashore in the Bay Area this year.

Dead whale washes ashore in Half Moon Bay – NBC Bay Area

Goa sees another dolphin death

2024, June 16. India, Goa, Benaulim beach. An adult Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin. It comes a week after a large whale carcass (previously buried) was found at Vacatur beach to the north.  

Herald: Conservationists shell shocked as dead dolphin washes ashore on Benaulim beach (heraldgoa.in)

Meteor off Albany watch - updated 20240617

Hopefully, the whales are taking a detour. I'm not overly worried about this just a curious stone. It will give me some scale on electrophonic events if anything does happen. A mass stranding is unlikely (looking at this) however a stranding of something wouldn't surprise me because the field of view is limited and for every object 50 more go undetected??? The time of year is not great. The event is neither good, bad or ugly??? The two objects at the bottom mean the atmosphere is thick further out. I will see what is detected in the next few days, hopefully, the velocity was slow enough to cause any upset.

2024, June 14. Meteor. Coordinates: LB:119.20, LB: -35.07, LE: 120.13, LE: -35.03. Velocity: 23.07 km/s. Duration 3.99 seconds. Height 102.1 to 75.86 km.

Meteor Map – Fireballs Aotearoa

Update: 20240617

This reminds me of New Zealand a month or so ago. You need a major event or a cluster to corner animals. Like New Zealand, it's difficult to read with the data seen. Observations from the public are beneficial, and the lack of supported meteor sightings suggests that it would need a large camera-detected event to warrant a watch for a mass stranding. As in New Zealand, animals will move away from areas that are annoying to their senses, if it's a slow progression of activity. Also, the atmosphere has been free of airbursts in the Southern Ocean so injured animals swimming north are reduced. As stated before NASA doesn't pick up all activity although looking at global data latitude airbursts have been concentrated towards the equatorial regions.

Meteor Map – Fireballs Aotearoa

Dead cachalot (sperm whale) in Hawaii

2024, June 14. Hawaii, Kauai, Sheraton Kauaʻi Coconut Beach Resort in Kapaʻa. Cachalot (sperm whale). In an advanced state of decomposition, it will be permanently left there. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is investigating.

Decomposing whale head washed up on Kapaʻa beach to remain indefinitely : Kauai Now (kauainownews.com)

Stranding, hunting and wind farms

2024, June 14. Bangladesh, Kuakata Beach. A 10-foot long bottlenose dolphin was found washed up in Patuakhali. Members of the Dolphin Conservation Committee and forest department are investigating.

2024, June 14. Iceland. 128 Fin whales approved for slaughter in Iceland. This quota will never be filled, nowhere near it if any at all. The decline in consumption of whale products worldwide is now almost nil.

2024, June 14. Australia, Illawarra. Wind farm gets the green light; however, it is pushed offshore. An extra 10 km further out means increased fuel used by support teams to build and maintain assets. This is not good for the environment. There is no impact on whales by windfarms.

Tribal hunts need to stop! The Gray whales are under threat

The Makah Tribe in Washington has won approval from the US to resume whale hunting for the first time in 25 years. The indigenous communities and the US government are ignorant of the environment. Apparently, both parties have been naive for thousands of years. Governments need more information to guide their decision-making. Selfishness and ignorance are not a good mix. 

Makah Indian whalers atop a dead gray whale in the harbor at Neah Bay, Washington, on 17 May 1999. Photograph: Elaine Thompson/AP

Native American tribe wins right to hunt gray whales off Washington coast | West Coast | The Guardian

This does not make environmental sense when the Gray whale population is under threat.

Study: Oregon gray whales are shrinking in size | The Daily Chronicle (chronline.com)

Return of the whales

Whale party off Martha’s Vineyard and southeast of Nantucket after years of airburst activity. Orcas eating tuna, large pods of endangered Sei whales (93), Humpbacks (36), Minki whales, Sperm whales and 21 fin whales, the list goes on.

Image: (NOAA via AP), shows a pair of sperm whales visiting the waters off New England on May 25, 2024.

Large whale group spotted off New England includes orca eating a tuna, dozens of endangered species (thestar.com)

Killer Whales and Humpbacks Among 161 Whales Spotted Off Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard - Newport Buzz (thenewportbuzz.com)

Airbursts - 2016, January 1 to 2023 January 1.

Airbursts - 2023 January 1 to 2024 January 1.

Beaked whale dead in USA, Gangetic dolphin in India and bottlenose in Bangladesh

2024, June 13. USA, New Jersey, Monmouth County. A 13 foot 2-inch long Beaked whale beached and died. It is the second dead whale found in the area this year.

Photo credit: Spring Lake Police Department

Beaked Whale Found Dead In Spring Lake, Second Discovered On Jersey Shore Beaches In 2024 | Monmouth Daily Voice

2024, June 12. India, Kulsi River, Kamrup District. Gangetic river dolphin. Sixth death in five years of this species.

Gangetic River Dolphin: Carcass of Gangetic river dolphin found in Kulsi river | Guwahati News - Times of India (indiatimes.com)

2024, June 14. Bangladesh, Kuakata Beach. A 10-foot long bottlenose dolphin was found washed up in Patuakhali. Members of the Dolphin Conservation Committee and forest department are investigating.

New Age | Dead dolphin washed up on Kuakata beach (newagebd.net)

2013 South Africa Incident - The airburst and 20 False Killer whales

2013, March 12. South Africa. South Atlantic Ocean. 70 km west of Paternoster South Africa. Coordinates: ( -32.7, 17.1). Time: 10:32. e = 2.9, -e = 0.1 or equivalent to 100,000 kg/TNT. Altitude was 26 km which was at the lower end of the scale. Velocity is unknown.

2013, March 13. South Africa, Cape Town, Noordhoek Beach. 20 False Killer whales were stranded on the beach with only three known to survive.  Interesting note – Between 1880 and 1885 a mass stranding of killer whales took place in South Africa at Muizenberg Beach in False Bay (only 10km away over the headland). There were 7 specimens photographed but there could be more. It is the first known image of a whale stranding.

2013 Airburst incidents from January 1st to April 1st.

Rescue and dead whale in Nova Scotia and Cambodia

2024, June 9. Canada, Nova Scotia, Bay of Fundy, Shubenacadie River. A juvenile whale was rescued on high tide.

2024, June 10. Cambodia, Kampot’s Bokor, Prek Tnaot. Female finless dolphin. The first recorded instance of this species in Cambodian waters after it was caught and killed in a fishing net.

​First finless dolphin recorded in Cambodian waters dies in fishing net | Phnom Penh Post

#TheMoment a group of rafters rescued a beached whale near the Bay of Fundy - YouTube

Dead whale near Channel Islands

2024, June 5. English Channel, 24-32 kilometres southwest of Guernsey, Channel Islands. Whale 15 meters long. Species undetermined at this time, likely a humpback. Guernsey Coastguard is investigating.

Picture supplied by Channel Islands Air Search

CI Air Search deployed to monitor dead whale | Guernsey Press

Fireball off Rhode Island in North Atlantic

2024, June 8. USA, Rhode Island, Nantucket, North Atlantic. Fireball. Time: 07:17UT. I should have additional data on this event within a few days. It could lead to a marine animal disturbance in the following weeks.

American Meteor Society (amsmeteors.org)

Cachalot washes ashore 24 days after airburst

2024, June 7. USA, South Beach in Edgartown. Cachalot (sperm whale). Very decomposed whale, 40 feet long. Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe laboratory stated it died 2 weeks ago. See Newfoundland airburst post on May 16.

Image - Hayley Duffy

Decomposed sperm whale washes ashore in Edgartown - The Martha's Vineyard Times (mvtimes.com)

Another Irrawaddy dolphin dead in Bangladesh

2024, June 6. Bangladesh, Kuakata beach, Mirabari Point, in Patuakhali. A 10-foot-long Irrawaddy dolphin was found two to three days ago. Kuakata Dolphin Protection Committee and EcoFish-2 Bangladesh Project of WorldFish are investigating.

Photo: Dhaka Tribune

Dolphin carcass washes ashore on Kuakata beach (dhakatribune.com)

Chunk found dead

2024, June 5. USA, Maine. A dead 40-foot female humpback whale, (Named Chunk, #9944 in the Gulf of Maine and North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogs), was found entangled in a fishing net off Cape Elizabeth and towed into Portland harbour for removal.

Photo by Portland harbormaster Kevin Battle.

Dead humpback whale pulled from Portland harbor | National Fisherman

Dead sperm whale in West Papua

2024, June 4. Indonesia, Southwest Papua, East Misool, Tomolol Village, Raja Ampat Regency, Ceram Sea. Cachalot (sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)) carcass in an advanced state of decomposition. The length of this marine mammal was 16 meters, diameter of around 6 meters and a tail 2.5 meters. Cachalot migration paths in this area are from Australian waters to East Nusa Tenggara and Papua.

This discovery was first published on the Facebook social media account of a resident named Hans Faam.

The 16 meter long whale carcass in Raja Ampat waters was not the result of hunting - Kompas.id

Airburst in the Timor Sea and migration routes of cachalots (sperm whales). This is more of a curious observation than fact-based science on my behalf. If I found further reports of whales along these routes after the airburst, I would be happier to call this connected. This was a low atmospheric airburst having mid-range energy with a detonation yield of 150,000 kg/TNT.

2024, February 5. Timor Sea. Airburst. Coordinates: (-13.8, 123.7). Time: 00:32. e = 4.6, -e = 0.15. Altitude: 23 km. Velocity: 14.4 km/s.  

2022 and 2023 airbursts in the Amazon

Airbursts are usually preceded and succeeded by material entering the atmosphere and would likely constitute electrophonic events. The vast number of meteors would never be picked up by satellite. 

2022, January 28. Brazil, Airburst. 900,000 kg/TNT.

2022, April 4. Brazil. Airburst. 95,000 kg/TNT.

Not shown of map below: 2023, June. On the east coast of Brazil two large fireballs were observed, both caught on camera, within 4 days of each other. The event in Sao Paulo on the 19th travelled across the sky for 20 seconds.

2023, September. Brazil, Tafe Lake, Amazon. More than 100 dolphins die in a week. Blamed on heat. The temperature would be a catalyst in pushing already stressed animals over the edge. I'm not saying it wasn't involved.

2023, October 16. Brazil. Airburst. 100,000 kg/TNT.

More than 100 Dolphins Found Dead in Brazilian Amazon as Water Temperatures Soar (aawsat.com)

Dead whale in California

2024, June 3. USA, California, east of Tiburon near Angel Island State Park. 30-foot female gray whale washed ashore in Richmond. The whale is being towed to Angel Island for a necropsy.

Image: The Marine Mammal Center.

30-foot gray whale washes ashore in Richmond, cause of death to be determined (ktvu.com)

Another airburst, this time near a fragile area

After a slow start to the year, we have had 7 airbursts in a month. 

2024, June 3. Antarctica, approximately 155 km W.N.W of Petrel Base, Joinville Island Group. Airburst. e = 2.6, -e = 0.092. Altitude = 60km. Lucky for the rich wildlife here the meteor burst was high and on the lower end of energy yield. This area is under attack from avian flu, so this is the last thing they need. This is the type of airburst I fear most, near fragile ecosystems. Imagine if this was larger and a different time of year for whales, over a seal colony or penguin nesting flock. Even though this is a high detonation they can still cause concussion for birds on the wing, eg Albatross or Petrels. If animals are already stressed this could be a tipping point. Due to this a marine animal disturbance watch should be noted for the region.

Airburst in Equatorial South Atlantic - Updated 20240621

2024, June 1. South Atlantic Ocean, Equatorial region. Airburst. Time: 23:24. Coordinates: (-1, -15.9). e = 4.4, -e = 0.15. Altitude: 25.8 km. Velocity: 12.1 km/s. This comes 6 days after the last one to the west that saw a stranding of black dolphins in Brazil. Once they start grouping this way, they become destructive to marine wildlife, with pods of matriarchy cachalots at risk. This airburst is approximately 3x lower than the Portugal airburst and twice as low as the airburst to the N.E of Brazil.

A marine animal disturbance alert for the stranding of whales should be noted for the next three months. The regions include the northern Brazilian coastline (moderate risk). The west coast of Africa (high risk) with the shoreline between Senegal to the north and Ghana in the south estimated as the main stranding location. Ghana has been known for whale strandings with the continental shelf in the Gulf of Guinea a hot spot. This is a popular feeding ground for sperm whales and if injured and in need of easy food will gravitate towards this area.

Fireballs (nasa.gov)

Another dismantling object, this time South Korea

2024, June 1. South Korea, Yellow Sea. Meteor. Dismantled. Velocity: 67.2 km/s. Travelled 437 km in 6.51 seconds. 

Meteor Map – Fireballs Aotearoa

Meteor Map – Fireballs Aotearoa

Dead Gray whale in Canada and dead dolphin in New Jersey

2024, June 2. Canada, Vancouver, Strait of Georgia, Cresent Beach, White Rock. Dead whale. DFO’s Marine Mammal team is investigating.

Image Lee Greenough  

Dead whale near Crescent Beach to be necropsied: DFO (citynews.ca)

2024, June 4. USA, New Jersey, Island Beach State Park. Dead dolphin. Marine Mammal Stranding Center is investigating. Brigantine-based stranding center has recorded 26 dolphins stranded up to May 30.

Dead Humpback in Argentina

2024, May 29. Argentina, resort of Pinamar, La Pérgola. A dead humpback whale. The causes of the death of the young mammal weighing approximately 15 tons are yet to be determined by experts in the Province of Buenos Aires. The Pinamar Ecological Foundation, San Clemente-based Mundo Marino Foundation and the Marine Mammals Department of the University of Mar del Plata are investigating.

See post below on May 26 on electrophonic meteors in South American countries.

Young dead whale found in exclusive Argentine beach resort — MercoPress

The world's worst mass whale stranding that started with a rock concert

Before discussing the events below I would like to recall 2013.

2013, February 15. Russia, Chelyabinsk. Super Bolide. Blast force of 440,000,000 kg/TNT.

2013, April 21 in South America, Argentina. Fireball. The Rock Concert Meteor. It was captured on video at a Los Tekis rock concert. 2,500,000 kg/TNT.

2014

2014, February 18. South America: Argentina. Airburst over land. I've placed this in to show what 92,000 kg/TNT can do over a populated area, and also it was in the region. It is important to note here that this was regarded as a low-energy event, however, it was powerful enough to shake buildings 80km away.

2014 – The South Pacific, west of Chile.

2014, March 3. South Pacific Ocean. Airburst. 290,000 kg/TNT.

2014, May 16. South Pacific Ocean. Airburst. 400,000 kg/TNT.

2014, July 29. South Pacific Ocean. Airburst. 170,000 kg/TNT.

2014, November 27. South Pacific Ocean. Airburst. 180,000 kg/TNT.

2014, December. Whales started to wash ashore on the west coast of Chile.

2015

2015, March 8. South Pacific Ocean. Airburst.  73,000 kg/TNT.

2015, May 11. Chile, South of Puerto Montt and Osorno in the South Pacific Ocean. Large Fireball. Caught on camera, but not picked up by NASA, it was witnessed over 1500km away.

2015, June. Chile Scientists alerted to the situation. Between the Gulf of Penas and Puerto Natales the largest whale stranding in recorded history occurred. Aerial and satellite photography located 337 Sei Whales, with 32 in a skeleton state. Even though 337 whales were found, there is a report of more than 3000 over 6 months, 2014 – 2015, found in pockets of 100's. For every whale washed ashore it is estimated 20 die and sink at sea. Given that 337 whales washed up and the number corresponding to 6740 individuals lost 3000 is probably underestimated. The coast of southern Chile had become a grave for whales. The cause of the disaster was classed as unknown, with human intervention being ruled out. The sei whale is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue and fin whales.

After March 8 2015, there wasn't an airburst recorded by NASA in the region until November 2016, 20 months later. In the 7 years before 2014 there were only 5 airbursts. 

Fireballs (nasa.gov)

The disorientation of whales is why they get hit by ships

Below are North Atlantic airbursts and whale strandings of humpbacks on America's east coast within timeframes.

Ships hit whales, however, not all whales are in good condition or alive when hit.

300 humpbacks in 21 years. Airbursts from 1995 January 1st to 2015 December 31. 

Fireballs (nasa.gov)

200 humpbacks in 7 years. Airbursts from 2016 January 1st to 2022 December 31st.

Fireballs (nasa.gov)

Whales strand in Brazil 5 days after major airburst - Updated 20240601

2024, June 1. Brazil, Rio do Fogo. Northeastern Brazil. 20 Black Dolphins (pilot whales). The cetaceans are located near the shoreline at Pititinga seaside within the state of Rio Grande do Norte, displaying indicators of disorientation. One other whale from the pod was discovered lifeless on Zumbi seaside, roughly seven kilometres away. This is regarded as a split stranding induced by concussion from the airburst.

See the post below regarding the airburst on the 27th of May and the 26th of May post on electrophonic meteor swarm over South American countries. In the post below, this meteor activity adds to the double stranding in two separate oceans on each side of Costa Rica.

At least 20 pilot whales stranded close to a seaside in northeast Brazil - Breaking Latest News