Humpback whale displays thanks after being freed
by Erik on Sep.22, 2011, under Personal, sailing
Many of you know how important sailing is to me. Through the experience and joy of sailing, my respect and bond with the ocean has grown. There are events like the Cooking For Solutions conference in Monterey, which seeks to teach the general public about choices we can make that will support sustainable seafood and protect our environment. And other organizations such as Project Kaisei, Sailors for the Sea and Pegasus Project I support are dedicated to protecting our ocean environment through conservation, education and direct intervention.
Some of you may have may have heard about or seen the show on Animal Planet called “Whale Wars” which is a documentary/reality show about the Sea Shepherd organization and their fight to stop whaling in the southern oceans (among other causes). One of the core beliefs for protecting these mammals is that they are very intelligent. I came across this video today of a group of people who came upon a young humpback whale in the Sea of Cortez in 2010 that was completely tangled in a fisherman’s gillnet. The whale was slowly drowning, but thanks to the brave souls on the boat, they were able to free the whale. She swam close to the boat for an hour, leaping out of the water, waving her tail and just generally showing her thanks.
My point, besides sharing this amazing video, is to simply share some of what’s important to me outside of the office in the hopes that it may inspire some of you to think carefully about how there are choices we make and actions we take in our lives that can have an effect upon the world’s oceans.
Now on to the video…
