The Winter Whale Fest Fleurieu Peninsula 2023 runs from 26 May – 25 June. A range of activities catering to people of all ages has been lined up to welcome the return of the Southern Right Whales to the waters here to mate and calve. A myriad number of organisations have worked together to invite notable conservationists and local heroes passionate about preserving the coast and marine environment.
Read this to find out more about the events lined up this year.
‘Water People’ Art Exhibition
An Art Exhibition at Coral Street Art Space https://www.coralstreetartspace.com/ featuring the water colour works of Valerie Taylor, Timothy Johnston’s paintings of Kangaroo Island and Hopkins Island; and other Fleurieu artists who work with a variety of mediums. Their love for the marine environment and conservation efforts can be seen in their work. The subjects are natural marine organisms or ocean trash like discarded fishing nets and strings. The art pieces are aesthetically beautiful and functional.
Humpback whale freed after caught in shark nets off the Gold Coast
Rescuers Spend 4 Hours Freeing Humpback Whale From Fishing Net
The Art Exhibition themed ‘Water People’ showcases water colour paintings in the children’s book ‘Melody the Mermaid’ authored by Valerie Taylor. Valerie used to work as an illustrator prior to her involvement in underwater photography and cinematography and followed by shark and lion seal protection advocacies. Ron Taylor, Valerie’s husband, developed his own water-proof camera casings for their underwater footages. The Taylors also experimented with stainless steel chainmail shark suits. The Taylors captivated audiences worldwide with their underwater photography and dare-devil swims with sharks. The couple risked their lives many times over while diving and photographing scenes of sharks feeding frenziedly on a floating whale carcass.
The success of the movie Jaws in 1975, by the then young Steven Spielberg, using live footages from the Taylors caused a world-wide shark phobia that culminated in many sharks being killed, including the Grey Nurse Sharks Carcharias taurus ( https://indopacificimages.com/australia/australian-grey-nurse-sharks/australian-grey-nurse-shark-persecution/) which feed primarily on fish, crustaceans and other small sharks. Read this expose on wikipedia about nurse shark conservation. Sharks are ocean apex predators that maintain marine ecological balance. Ron and Valerie henceforth immersed themselves in marine conservation work by giving local and global talks. She laments the disappearance of many marine species which flourished in her youth. Valerie advocated for protection of marine environments around Australia. These sites are now important economic contributors through cash earnings from responsible and healthy eco-tourism.
Valerie has been recognised for her extraordinary effort in the field of marine conservation through her dive work, underwater photography, shark advocacy and as an artist.
Timothy Johnston, based in Sydney, is an artist and marine conservationist. He is collaborating with Valerie Taylor to garner support for protection of the Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea (https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/australian-sea-lion/) which are now a threatened species.
Find out more about Australian sea lion conservation by the Australian Sea Lion Recovery Foundation.
The other artists featured at the exhibition are Fleurieu artists:
Chris DeRosa, Chris Summer, Lauren Weir, Wes Maselli, Cedric Varcoe, Dominic Guerrera, Gina Allain, Teresa Busuttil and finally Sonya Hender and Ron Langman.
Read this to get a glimpse of the rich marine life in Encounter Bay Marine Conservation Park.
https://besgroup.org/2013/07/20/pacific-gull-picks-up-sea-urchin-and-drops-it-from-the-air/ documented a Victor Harbor pacific gull Larus pacificus dropping a sea urchin from height in order to feed on its soft insides. The shattered test litters the ground.
Read this about the pelicans of Coorong, Goolwa.
The author thanks Chris Summer for giving her directions to this Art Exhibition venue. The staff at The Coral Street Art Space were friendly and helpful.
Meet the Author Dr Mike Bossley: Dolphins, Whales and Me
Dr Mike Bossley is an advocate for protection of dolphins and whales. His book Dolphin, whales and me is now in the 3rd edition and published by Moonglow Publishing.
Dr Bossley studied the wild bottle-nose dolphins which live in the Port Adelaide River. He talked about dolphin brain size and their intelligent intra- and interspecific behaviours. Dolphins and man are similar in many ways: need for tactile contact, family, friendship, acquiring new cultural behaviours and female dolphin babies learning mothering skills from their own mothers. Dr Bossley also shared about his work with orphaned dolphins.
He advocates for dolphins to live freely in their natural habitat and disagrees with capture of wild dolphins for show purposes. Dr Bossley also believes that dolphins and humans can coexist by sharing the same natural living space. His work resulted in the setting up of Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary and for a while the wild dolphin population went on an uptick. However, this elation is now punctured by data that shows the population decreasing from 2013 onwards. Many dolphin calves now do not survive past their third year. The reason for this is still unknown but chemical pollution is suspected. What chemical is responsible for the dwindling dolphin population? View the following video by ABC News (Australia) featuring Dr Bossley explaining the search for the cause of dolphin calves dying in large numbers after 2017. Why are the dolphins in Port Adelaide, SA dying?
Another much-loved dolphin dies from mystery illness in Port River pod at Port Adelaide | 7NEWS
Dr Bossley then held a Q & A session where participants asked specific questions about the well-being of certain dolphins as some in the audience had helped out at the Dolphin Sanctuary. The participants were knowledgeable and into marine conservation in one way or another. Coast care volunteers and Dolphin watch groups were there to give support to the author. Many who were present also bought Dr Bossley’s book and had them autographed by him.
Dolphins and whales are cetaceans which are then subdivided into Mysticeti (baleen whales like Southern Right Whales, Blue Whales and Humpback Whales which filter plankton for food) and Odontoceti (toothed whales like Porpoises, Dolphins, Belugas and Sperm Whales which are carnivores). Killer Whales or orcas are toothed ocean dolphins which hunt in spectacular fashion and are recognised as apex predators. They do not hunt humans but of late some orcas have started attacking boats. Dr Bossley explained the recent orca attacks. View the following videos to understand these occurrences.
View these videos Britons left adrift as Orcas attack their boat near Gibraltar
Researchers debate why orcas are attacking and sinking boats
Video by Wong Kais, using a handheld camera. Basham Beach, Victor Harbor. 8 June 2013 Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis body rolling in the water. These whales calve and mate in the shallow waters here during the months of June and November.
Video by Wong Kais using handheld camera. Granite Island, Victor Harbor. 8 June 2013. The whale was the size of a double decker bus and stayed about 10 m from the edge of the rocky breakwater. Southern Right Whales are baleen whales which feed on zooplanktons by filtering sea water through the baleen plates in their mouths. Dolphins feed on fish. Whales and dolphins often interact with each other. This whale spy-hopped, rolled in the water and emitted sounds when it blew. After a few happy hours this whale swam off in a westerly direction. There were many enchanted visitors that day, including the videographer.
Celebrating Cetaceans in Indigenous cultures by Miki Tillett informs readers of the wisdom of indigenous people in recognising the important roles these mammals play in marine ecological systems. They are treasured resources gifted by nature: meat for food, blubber for protection against cold and for lighting, rib bones for dwelling construction, teeth for use as household utensils, skin and vertebrae bones with their myriad uses.
Here is an example of what happens when ecological imbalance occurs. Commensal relationship transforms to predation. Read the following post from the New York Times: Birds With a Taste for Flesh Threaten Whale Calves
Winter Whale Fest Expo
This event was held on 10 June 2023 at the open space in front of the SA whale museum, also known as the Railway Plaza.
This was a family event with a lot of stalls and tents set up to educate kids and adults alike. There was a carnival feel, as the Artisan Market held nearby added more merriment with offerings of home-made cakes, cookies, burgers, Asian food, coffee and music presented by local musician Nick West. Beautifully designed jewelleries and ceramics were also available. A lady hand-spun her own alpaca yarn to craft her hats and scarves for sale.
Different conservation groups enticed children with dried marine samples, posters, canvas bag design activity, VR experience, beachcombing, whale spotting training sessions, lawn games and face-painting. Children aged 4 to 10 were enthusiastic to have hands-on activities. The whale spotting training session was a very lively and interactive activity. Young participants were very keen to answer and ask questions. Attendees were taken on a journey to differentiate humpback whales from Southern Right Whales, the two most commonly seen whales in Victor Harbor. The participants were also taught about why the mother whales and calves visit Encounter Bay in winter.
Adults who came to the expo also learnt more about the different conservation groups and supported their fund-raising activities by purchasing their merchandise.
EMS (Experiencing Marine Sanctuaries) volunteers were at the expo to reach out to ordinary people and children to achieve their aims (list below is from EMS leaflet at the expo):
- Foster appreciation and conservation of the marine environment
- Promote the establishment, effective monitoring and management of marine sanctuaries
- Inspire people to become citizen scientists and actively participate in marine conservation
- Demonstrate the value of marine sanctuaries
Whale watching location map Fleurieu Peninsula was also made available to visitors. This map briefly recounted the history of whaling in Australia. Below is a summary of the information found on this map.
The whales were first hunted around 1835. The preferred whale or the right whale (not wrong whale) also known as the Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis, were easier to harvest as they come rather close to shore and float when dead due to the enormous amount of blubber stored under their skin. Whales were hunted intensively between 1835 and 1851. The whaling stations in Encounter Bay shuttered as the whale numbers dwindled. The Southern Right Whales became a protected species in South Australia in 1931 and internationally in 1935. The last whaling station in Albany, West Australia closed in 1978.
From 1990, the Southern Right Whales began returning to Encounter Bay. Acts were enacted to protect the waters here and to protect the whales. From 2018, The Encounter Bay Right Whale Study (EBRWS) created a photo-id catalogue for 72 whales.
Citizens here are proactive and excited about whale-watching. Whale sightings are logged with the SA whale centre and the public gathers at the respective locations to document the giant mammals’ activities. The identity of these whales are made known to the public and whale watchers look out for previous season’s calves which would have grown bigger. The author has heard of Buttons and her calf Bobby EBRWS Buttons and Bobby 2022, another whale known as Milky Way (you can guess why) and Chomp (born at the Bight in the 1990s, attacked by a Great White shark when she was only a few weeks old but survived against all odds) and her calf sighted many times at the Bight, Nullarbor Plains, South Australia.
The Southern Right Whale population is rebounding but still at a slow pace. Will they go extinct in our live time?
Summary
The whale festival catered to all ages and interests. Volunteerism is very strong in the community and children living here are very at home with marine conservation. Coast care involves rehabilitation of dune vegetation with native plants, thus attracting native birds as well. The hooded plover Thinornis cucullatus, a vulnerable species, nest amongst the seaside vegetation. The author has not sighted any of them so far but the masked lapwing Vanellus miles novaehollandiae (conservation status least concern) makes its presence heard and seen here. Both genera belong to the same family Charadriidae. All these conservation efforts improve the quality of water around Encounter Bay and increases species diversity.
Although this post is a small contribution towards environmental protection, the author hopes that many more people will be aware of the collective benefits that small changes in our everyday habits can reduce the destruction of the fragile ecosystem. Conscious efforts to reduce, reuse, recycle, upcycle and re-examine plastic usage are some ways ordinary people can mitigate destruction of mother earth. Dietary changes and cultural practices revolving around food can be encouraged to change for the better. The author has seen more people avoid sharks’ fin soup and substitute with other sustainably grown sea food in its place.
The author is glad to have attended some of the activities offered during this festival and imbibed the vibe and excitement centred around the whale, this majestic giant. She has seen for herself that man and nature can coexist, with economic benefits to the local community. Laws enacted sensibly, citizens appreciating the pristine natural environment and the will to protect it and the desire to leave future generations with a rich heritage that existed before man became careless. Education is the way to go. Applaud one and all who engage in nature conservation.
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