Beached Dolphins
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'Clicking' up the wrong tree (estuary)
Ask someone who knows (fish-head) - what happens when you turn on the sonar in a warship. The usual answer is that every dolphin within a 4 million mile (slight exaggeration) radius comes swimming over to have a listen to your 2050. Thats right, swim towards, not run away in a mad panic. They seem to love the sound of it, or are at least very curious. So unless there was a Type 23 stuck halfway up the Fal estuary (with navigators anythings possible) or a Merlin in the dip (ie, airborne) halfway up the river, the theory of sonar being responsible seems to me to be a load of old cod. But what would I know, I'm not a sensationalist journalist or a tree-hugging member of save the cetations, just a filthy warfare officer. Dolphins and whales have been beaching themselves as long as people can remember - indeed many species of dolphin and camera flirty orca intentionally swim into very shallow water in order to catch fish or pinipeds (technical term for Seal). Guess they didn't have a copy of the tide tables.............
Anyone notice a surge of 'Fresh Tuna' on the menu in Falmouth?
Anyone notice a surge of 'Fresh Tuna' on the menu in Falmouth?
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The latest:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/7445786.stm
Tells of how Sonar around the world has caused various strandings and that the Dolphins were stranded in two river estuaries 9 miles apart.
MoD originally stated they had no warships in the area but then admitted they were carrying out a survey when the strandings happened.
Tells of how Sonar around the world has caused various strandings and that the Dolphins were stranded in two river estuaries 9 miles apart.
MoD originally stated they had no warships in the area but then admitted they were carrying out a survey when the strandings happened.
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Simple maths..
So Razor, you are suggesting that because the RN was using the side-scanning sonar to survey Falmouth Bay that all these Striped Dolphins decided to commit seppuku up the Fal Estuary? Do you think this is the first time the Hydrographers have used this bit of kit? How do you think all those charts (maps of the sea for non-fishy types) get made? The RN and other mariners around the world have been surveying the oceans with sonar for decades - in fact its a non-stop job around the UK. I'm pretty sure that someone, somewhere would have noticed hordes of cetations topping themselves on a daily basis...............
Frankly, no-one will ever know what caused these poor creatures to get stuck up the river - its always upsetting to see a beautiful animal die in such circumstances. But don't fall foul of the rumour merchants that will have you believe that it was some response to a droggy carrying out his job. Unless of course it was HMS SCOTT, in which case they would be deep fried
Frankly, no-one will ever know what caused these poor creatures to get stuck up the river - its always upsetting to see a beautiful animal die in such circumstances. But don't fall foul of the rumour merchants that will have you believe that it was some response to a droggy carrying out his job. Unless of course it was HMS SCOTT, in which case they would be deep fried
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It clearly states bbc.co.uk which says it all, read it, you might realise this instead of thinking i said it.
I was posting the updated bbc news link. So i did not suggest anything did i?
I was posting the updated bbc news link. So i did not suggest anything did i?
Last edited by Razor61; 11th Jun 2008 at 15:55.
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Of course, there have been mass strandings of cetaceans (dolphins, whales, etc) for thousands of years... many of larger numbers, and recorded in human writings of the times.
It is a peculiar conceit of modern enviro-compulsives to attribute long-standing naturally-occurring events to "could only have been caused by Human activities".
It is a peculiar conceit of modern enviro-compulsives to attribute long-standing naturally-occurring events to "could only have been caused by Human activities".
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MoD have released their statement into the stranding of the Dolphins.
From the MoD Website:-
Claims dolphin deaths are linked to Royal Navy
Reports continue that the Royal Navy may be to blame for the death of over 20 dolphins near Cornwall. The Royal Navy have investigated the reports associated with this incident and believe that it is extremely unlikely that any Royal Navy activity resulted in the unfortunate stranding of the dolphins.
The last Naval gunnery took place three days before, 60 miles away and the only sonar transmissions were undertaken at least 12 nautical miles off the coastline using low power, short range equipment. No Royal Navy vessel in the South West had been using low frequency sonar. It has also been confirmed that a submarine had been on exercise in the area recently, but its sonar was not transmitting.
A survey vessel had been undertaking low power, high frequency, short range sonar transmissions of existing in-service equipment, at least 12 nautical miles from the South West coast and had been using echo sounders, again operating at high frequencies, as used by many vessels throughout the world to detect the depth of water beneath their hull. It is highly unlikely that these transmissions would have contributed to the stranding of the dolphins.
The last live munitions firings by the Royal Navy in the South West Areas prior to the stranding incident took place to the South of Plymouth on Friday 6 June, 60 nautical miles from Falmouth. These live firings were routine training. We have been conducting this training on a regular basis for many years and there has been no association between this activity and the stranding of mammals. It is considered highly unlikely that this activity could have been responsible for the disorientation of the mammals.
A RN spokesman said: "There has been no evidence of any of our vessels' sonar ever playing a part in beaching incidents like this. The Royal Navy takes take its environmental responsibilities very seriously and always carry out environmental assessments before putting energy in the water."
From the MoD Website:-
Claims dolphin deaths are linked to Royal Navy
Reports continue that the Royal Navy may be to blame for the death of over 20 dolphins near Cornwall. The Royal Navy have investigated the reports associated with this incident and believe that it is extremely unlikely that any Royal Navy activity resulted in the unfortunate stranding of the dolphins.
The last Naval gunnery took place three days before, 60 miles away and the only sonar transmissions were undertaken at least 12 nautical miles off the coastline using low power, short range equipment. No Royal Navy vessel in the South West had been using low frequency sonar. It has also been confirmed that a submarine had been on exercise in the area recently, but its sonar was not transmitting.
A survey vessel had been undertaking low power, high frequency, short range sonar transmissions of existing in-service equipment, at least 12 nautical miles from the South West coast and had been using echo sounders, again operating at high frequencies, as used by many vessels throughout the world to detect the depth of water beneath their hull. It is highly unlikely that these transmissions would have contributed to the stranding of the dolphins.
The last live munitions firings by the Royal Navy in the South West Areas prior to the stranding incident took place to the South of Plymouth on Friday 6 June, 60 nautical miles from Falmouth. These live firings were routine training. We have been conducting this training on a regular basis for many years and there has been no association between this activity and the stranding of mammals. It is considered highly unlikely that this activity could have been responsible for the disorientation of the mammals.
A RN spokesman said: "There has been no evidence of any of our vessels' sonar ever playing a part in beaching incidents like this. The Royal Navy takes take its environmental responsibilities very seriously and always carry out environmental assessments before putting energy in the water."
