| Home | News| Living in China| SMS | About us | Contact us|
   
 Language Tips > 2002
Updated: 2002-07-03 01:00

Are Whale Watchers Loving Whales to Death? (2002/07/03)
和鲸鱼的亲密接触——鲸鱼的灭顶之灾 (2002/07/03)
An estimated 10 million people or more venture into coastal waters every year to get a closer look at whales.

Killer whales may be the top of the food chain underwater, but they stand little chance against the eco-tourists who try to catch a glimpse of the majestic mammals rising above the water line.

"We now have more whale-watch boats than there are whales," said Kelley Balcomb-Bartok of the Orca Conservancy, a nonprofit organization in Washington state that works with scientists to protect Orcas.

All this activity is raising concerns about the whales' health and survival.

Some scientists say noise from all the boat traffic may impair a whale's sonar ability as much as 95 percent. The whales need sonar to find food.

Three new studies released this month suggest the interference is damaging the whales, whose population in the Puget Sound region has fallen from 98 to 80 in less than a decade.

Scientists say all the traffic also forces the Orcas to move around more, wasting energy needed for hunting food.

"I would say that at times when there are a lot of boats and there is a lot of noise, that they are irritated,"said Tom McMillen, captain of the whale-watching boat Stellar Sea, which takes out three groups a day.

Scientists say the noise from the boats leads to added stress on the animals, which are already coping with fewer salmon to eat and increasing pollution.

(Agencies)

据统计每年有大约1000万或者更多的人会不顾危险深入沿海水域去近距离观看鲸鱼。

尽管逆戟鲸(也叫杀人鲸,是一种小型的食肉鲸鱼,性情凶猛)可能是海底世界的霸主,处于食物链的最高一级,然而面对那些想要一睹这种庞大的哺乳动物从海岸线浮出海面的壮观景象的观鲸者,它们显得那么不堪一击。

逆戟鲸保护协会的凯利·鲍尔科姆·巴尔托克说:"现在观鲸船的数量已经超过了那里鲸鱼的数量。"这个设于华盛顿的非营利性组织中的科学家正在设法保护逆戟鲸。

他们正在努力通过一切方法引起人们对鲸鱼的健康和生存问题的关注。

一些科学家认为船只熙攘来往的噪音会干扰破坏鲸鱼95%的声纳定位能力。而鲸鱼就是靠这种能力来寻找食物的。

六月份公布的三项新研究成果表明,这种对于鲸鱼的人为干扰会为鲸鱼带来灭顶之灾。菩及海湾的鲸鱼数量已经在不到十年的时间内由最初的98头下降为如今的80头了。

科学家们说,来来往往的船只还会逼得鲸鱼四处游动,这样就会浪费它们很多能量,以至于最终没有力气再去寻找食物了。

观鲸船"恒星海"号的船长汤姆·麦克米伦说:"我必须承认船只过多就会造成很大的噪音,这就会让鲸鱼变得很烦躁。"麦克米伦的船每天要接待三批游客出海去观看鲸鱼。

科学家认为,如今海里大马哈鱼(鲸鱼的主要食物)的数量减少,环境污染日益严重,这些都对鲸鱼的生存造成了威胁,而船只噪音会对鲸鱼的生存造成更大的压力。

(中国日报网站译)

 
Go to Other Sections
Related Stories
· Olympic spirit dampens among world's advertisers
雅典奥运开幕在即 世界各地广告商热情衰退
· Little Prince author remembered 60 years after disappearance
60年前神秘失踪 《小王子》作者令人怀念
· The hidden pleasures of Athens
雅典——一座隐藏着快乐的城市
more
 
Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved

版权声明:未经中国日报网站许可,任何人不得复制本栏目内容。如需转载请与本网站联系。
None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.