For the past three summers, a Norwegian-American research project has visited Lofoten to measure what minke whales hear. During the preparations for this year’s trial, the test facility was damaged by strong winds in combination with strong tidal currents. When the researchers were to inspect the damage, they discovered that a minke whale had gotten stuck under one of the barrier nets and drowned. – This accident has taken a toll on the entire research team, says Dr. Petter H. Kvadsheim, chief researcher at FFI. – We have put considerable effort into taking care of safety and animal welfare in all aspects of these tests. The fact that we have now lost a minke whale before this year’s trial started, because the test facility was damaged by a storm, is the worst that could happen. – It is not unexpected The research received a lot of attention two years ago, and animal rights activists have advocated that the project should be stopped. Over 62,000 signatures and over 50 researchers worldwide believed that both animal and human lives could be put at risk if the project was allowed to continue. – It is shocking, but it is not unexpected, says whale researcher Heike Vester about the news. She works at Ocean Sounds, which is an independent research organization in Bodø. She was one of those who signed to stop the project. – It is because it is far too dangerous, and the results are not that valuable, that we have to stress and pressure the animals in that way. Whale researcher and biologist Heike Vester says it is not unexpected that a whale drowned as a result of the project. Photo: Johanna Hanno / © Johanna Hanno / Greenpeace She believes it was only a matter of time before something like that would happen. – When you have such a large net in the fjord that is stuck all the time, with bad weather and tides, it is not possible to control the whale all the time. According to Vester, the researchers already know what kind of frequencies the whales make when they communicate, and based on that the researchers can calculate their hearing. She is therefore clear that we do not need more research, but restrictions on noise in the sea. – I don’t understand why you have to run such a large and dangerous experiment and traumatize the animals. We already know everything. Suspended until further notice The project is now suspended until the sequence of events has been mapped, and all routines have been reviewed. The Directorate of Fisheries and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, which grant permits for this research, have been briefed. news has tried to get hold of both, on Wednesday morning, without success. FFI informs news on Wednesday morning that this year’s summer is the third of a total of four in the project. To measure hearing, the researchers will capture whales alive in a test pool. After the tests, the whale is released. Seines have been placed in the fjord to guide whales into the test pool. Photo: Eric Franks / US National Marine Mammal Foundation – We consider this very serious, and we have implemented a number of measures to ensure that this does not happen again, says Kvadsheim. – When a death nevertheless occurs, have you done enough to secure the animal? – We think we have done a lot, but when an accident happens, you may not have done enough. It is a bit difficult to foresee all possible scenarios for what might happen when it is a project that has never been done before. But we think we were as prepared as we could be. To set noise limits at sea In response to the criticism from Vester, he says that this is a project that will benefit the animals in the long term. – We believe that this was very unexpected, and it is due to very special circumstances. Because these nuts were not where they were supposed to be, this nut was also pushed 70 or 80 meters out of position. The research project itself involves obtaining a hearing sensitivity curve for minke whales. Knowledge that will be used to set limits for man-made noise in the sea. To measure the whales’ hearing, the researchers capture whales alive in a test pool. Nets have been set out in the fjord to guide whales into the test pool. FFI’s chief researcher Petter Kvadsheim pictured on a previous occasion. Photo: Erlend Astad Lorentzen / Havforskningsinstituttet The project, which is led by the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF) and FFI on behalf of the US authorities, has now been stopped until the sequence of events has been mapped and all routines have been reviewed.
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Right whale drowned during controversial research project in Lofoten – news Nordland
