So far in 2023, at least nine orcas have died after becoming entangled in commercial fishing gear off the coast of Alaska. This amount is already much greater than the sum of many preceding years, increasing the possibility that the increase in mortality is the result of a “new behavior” within the species.
NOAA Fisheries issued a statement saying that they have received ten separate reports this year of orcas becoming caught in fishing boats near Aleutian Island and the Bering Sea. One of those people managed to escape alive, but the other nine died.
It is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 killer whales worldwide, with approximately 2,500 of them living in the eastern North Pacific Ocean near this section of Alaska.
Such incidents have occurred in the past, although they are uncommon. A recent NOAA assessment indicated that only five orcas died as a result of bycatch in Alaska’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands fisheries between 2016 and 2020.
Anecdotal reports from fishermen confirm these numbers, claiming that encounters with orcas are becoming more common in Alaskan waters.
A number of the vessels involved in the recent contacts were members of the Groundfish Forum, a fishing trade organization based in Seattle. Some of their sailors have stated that orcas are approaching their ships more frequently and taking advantage of the opportunity to hunt fish. They claim that this is part of a new pattern of conduct.
“Our fishermen believe that killer whales are drawn to fishing gear because it aggregates fish, allowing killer whales to feed on the catch.” “Our captains have reported an increase in the number of killer whales present near our vessels in 2023, where they appear to be feeding in front of the nets while fishing,” Groundfish Forum said in a statement to the Anchorage Daily News.
“This new behavior has not been previously documented and marine mammal scientists are not sure why this change has occurred,” it stated.
Others have speculated that the increasing incidence of orca deaths may be the result of a recent endeavor to limit halibut bycatch by sorting nets on deck and releasing halibut to the sea. Groundfish Forum, on the other hand, denied this was a factor, saying, “These assertions are not true because our vessels do not conduct deck sorting when killer whales are present.”
This isn’t the only possible new behavior observed in orcas. On the other side of the planet, orcas have been seen purposely bashing into the bottoms of vessels and forcefully chasing them back to port off the south coast of Spain. At least 18 occurrences like these were reported in May 2023 alone.
Once again, marine mammal scientists are baffled as to where this habit originated, however, some sailors feel industrial fishing may be a part.
“I am not a scientist, but orcas have a migration pattern and there are huge tuna fishing nets at Barbate, I do wonder whether they associate vessels with fishing and taking their tuna,” April Boyes, a sailor, commented on her
