Thursday, July 28, 2011

Whale watching

In todays class we met at 9:30am At the Long Warf Hotel. The weather was sunny and it was in the 70’s. At 10:00am we boarded a ship to go whale watching. We traveled by boat for about an hour. We went all the way by Province Town. When we finally reached the province town area we started to spot whales. It was around 11:15 the sun was out and it looked like we were in whale-infested ocean. After about 15 minute of waiting after reaching our destination all we saw was whales. There had to be a total of 20 sightings. Some whales were in groups of three. Others were in pairs and some swam around solo. When the whales did appear they would skim the surface of the ocean and then disappear into the unknown. The type of whale that we saw was called a hump back whale. They were all black with spots of white on certain locations. Some had white of their tails, some on their flippers and there was one that was all black. I learned that whales show their tail right before they go for a deep dive. Another thing I learned is what breaching means. Breaching is when a whale pretty much jumps out of the water and does sort of a back flop kind of thing. The tour guide told us that they where unsure why whales do that but it might be a form of communication. Another thing I noticed is the whale’s blowhole and how it blows water and air threw it. After observing the whales for a good hour or so we then when back to Boston Harbor. It was my first time whale watching and I really enjoyed it.

If the whale population is sustainable should we hunt whales?

I think that we should hunt whales. If a certain species is not endangered then why not do it. As long as the whale Fishermen have a quota that won’t damage the whale population, I don’t see a problem. There are many countries that hunt whale and make a huge profit. An example would be Japan. They say it’s their waters so they can do what they want. I agree with that, as long as there’s still a large population of that species of whale. If America was to start doing this I think that it would be a great export and it would be a way for our country to make a little extra money.

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