Orca – Sunday 16th July 2023

Orca – Sunday 16th July 2023

There has been various articles recently regarding behaviour being observed.
Sharks eating sharks. A pod of whales emaciated. Orca damaging boats. These activities seem to point to overfishing.
Orca cant speak or write to us, but we know they’re intelligent. Those creatures on land or sea that will eat us are different to Orca. Why Orca dont attack us, is likely in part they know we’re dangerous and predatory. Of any marine life that would try and get a point across to us, it would be the orca and when our species have slaves it generally starts with one who rebels. And thats what I perceive as the message. They are doing this to boats they know they can damage, not ships, so it isnt some form of madness. Its calculated and the nessage is too many boats, you are taking our food.
They cant use energy chasing a single fish. Sharks will get more daring and desparate. Whales don’t have unlimited energy, over years of learning, they know where food is but likely by the time they reach those spots, we’ve beaten them to it. And then they’re in trouble, much like the traveller in the desert who relies on water at a particular spot by the time they,ve travelled distance and used up the water they carried with them.

Ships go out and catch the fish and they aren’t necessarily thinking about sea life’s needs, they’re thinking about income. New nets equipment etc.
The sea life doesnt produce more fish based on what we take from the ocean and add to that the more fish we take, the less remaining fish there are to reproduce so we are depleting sources of food for the marine life who soley rely on fish because they can’t come on land and take food that we cultivate and rely on.

So, my suggestion is, give the ocean a chance to restock and leave enough for those animals. When you starve an animal, including humans, you force them to behave in a manner contrary to their natural state.
And if we love these creatures, then we need to act soon. I read there was only several thousand great whites left in the ocean, if sharks have enough food they wont be so interested in people is my thought and emaciated whales aren’t something we want either. And if a hungry orca attacks one of us, our response will be to kill it. I’m sure if they could speak, they’d say “less fishing please, less nets and lines left for us to become entangled in” and for us to please care about these things as their lives depend on our doing so.

And my last thought, we have no right to dump contaminated water in their home, just as we wouldnt dump it in ours. Their being non-verbal is no excuse for us to do so.
Fiona MacLeod (C)