One fisherman said, “They cut your rudder away and water and waves are coming into your boat and once the water is inside there is nothing you can do,”
ON THE WATER, THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR — Topographically, the waters that lie in this region where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet exposes nothing more than a bright blue blanket that conceals the immense danger.
One side of it is the barren coast of Spain and at the other extreme is the promontory of Africa, within 15 km. At certain periods of the year schools of small fish leap out of the water in a synchronized manner as if in rhythm.
But with binoculars trained on the horizon, the boat’s captain is on the lookout for something potentially far more unsettling:
killer whales or orcas, who in the past several years have started ramming boats at an increasingly rising frequency.
Thus, over the last five years, about 700 incidents with orca were observed, as per the data, provided by the Atlantic Orca Working Group-GTOA, the organization unifying the Spanish and Portuguese scientists, which tracks the Iberian killer whale population. It ought to be noted that around a half-dozen yachts, fishing vessels, and sailboats have gone to the bottom.
Especially for the Spanish fisherman who goes out in the Strait of Gibraltar at night in search of tuna, marlin, and swordfish, an encounter with orcas has become an additional concern given the inherent dangers of the job they perform.
“Of course, they can sink you,” fisherman Manuel Miranda said earlier this month as he removed stingrays caught in the net after he harvested the night’s catch.
In his latest fishing spree, Merianda was surrounded by a group of those deadly predators known as the orcas and he told me that it was a fascinating experience. No, for it was not the danger that made orcas his enemy, it was everything associated with that danger.
The interactions have however become so regular that Spanish officials have issued a warning to the marines to stay within 12 nautical miles off the shore, this is because the Orcas have been known to avoid the edges of the coast during summer though the increased frequency of the occurrence is a cause of worry.
At other times the animals will charge into the rudders making the vessels ungovernable or may even take separate bites off portions of the boats.
Why these Iberian orcas are attacking ships in one of the most busy water channels in the world; the Strait of Gibraltar, has become one of the unexplained horrors of the sea. They are understood to be friendly, the majority particularly with human beings, and until 2020, there have been no recorded cases with intelligent animals.
Not all such incidents are considered literal ‘attacks’ in the raw sense of the word by all people even though they are physical and dangerous.
“Attacking suggests something hostile towards humans,” pointed Janek Andre, founder of WeWhale which is an organization that aims to protect orcas. “These orcas are just having fun going through the motions which is why in the end we say–and everybody should say–that it was an encounter”
Every day during the summer, it’s said that Andre together with his team take a small boat on the Spanish coast and go into the straits to monitor the movement of the orcas. When they do they broadcast their position over the radio and local sailors are instructed to avoid them.
Marine biologists have a variety of theories as to why the orcas are doing this and they range from the “play” theory that Andre supports to the notion that the orcas are angry and are out to get their revenge for instance, for the damage that the boats have inflicted on the orcas in the past or the pollution they have caused on the waters that the orcas depend on.
Another theory is that it may just be a craze or rather a novelty since it is a learned behavior that has an unknown reason as the novelty of the moment among teenagers among others.
This new research presents a different theory that has been in consideration by experts who analyze the orca environment.
Experts from the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute based on Spain’s northwest coast have noted that after some period of decline, the number of Atlantic bluefin tuna has been gradually increasing and has become the priority meal of the orcas. Atlantic bluefin tuna are tough prey: They swim faster than orcas and can also grow up to about thirteen feet in length.
In a real perspective, these incidents are not perceived to be attacks but just lessons that the young orcas are taught to be in a position to overcome their prey.
Killer whales are known as orcas, and these are some of the largest mammals that can reach up to 27 feet in size and up to six tons in weight. Referred to as the ocean’s top predator, the intelligent being possesses a language of clicks and whistles that vary from one area to another.
The subspecies of beach whales is known as the Iberian orca and the future of this marine mammal is a question mark. The creatures are classified as critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list. This has been further worsened because out of the entire eighty global Jewish mothers believed to have been killed, only approximately 35 are presumed to be alive, and have very low birth rates.
Sailors in the strait have attempted different methods to scare the orcas away when they seem to appear ready to share the waters with these gigantic mammals. Some make noise to chase them away, throw sand into the water, and attempt to use their motors to full throttle and leave the scene. Others suggest that one should stop the engine, refrain from talking, and act like they are dead.
While charting a course through undulating waves heading back towards Spain’s coastline, this WeWhale founder stated that there is no way of telling for sure why there are so many Orca interplays taking place.
“It is like saying we are not orcas, so you can do a lot of science and studies”, said Andre. “However, it is still such an unknown world for all of us what is going on below the water and how these animals behave.