Curious whales give boost to Mexican fishermen

Biologists have unravelled why deep diving mammals such as sperm whales can hold their breath for over an hour when diving for food – they have electrically charged proteins in their blood. The researchers believe the finding may explain why some sea mammals are able to make such long underwater dives while other mammals can only hold their breath for a few minutes.

South Korea said Sunday it will tighten rules on whaling and the processing of whale meat amid international pressure to curb illegal hunting of the endangered giant mammals.The agriculture ministry said the new rules, to take effect on Monday, will require fishermen to report to police immediately discoveries of whales trapped in their nets or washed ashore.Those who claim to have caught dead whales will be required by law to process and sell them only at state-designated facilities, and only those with state permits will be allowed to trade whale meat.

A female fin whale stuck in a crab trap in the St. Lawrence River will die if the fishing gear isn’t removed, rescuers said Wednesday as they tried to attach a line of buoys to the cage in a bid to lift it off the whale’s head.

QUEBEC — A community in Quebec’s Far North wants Ottawa to quickly deploy an icebreaker to free a dozen killer whales cornered under a vast stretch of sea ice. Locals in Inukjuak say the mammals have gathered around one hole in the ice — slightly bigger than a pickup truck — amid their desperate bid to get oxygen. Mayor Peter Inukpuk urged the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on Wednesday to send an icebreaker as soon as possible to make additional holes in the ice to help the animals find open water.

At the Aquarium of the Pacific, Michele Sousa is excited: the annual gray whale migration is in full swing, and it's a bumper year to view the lumbering leviathans off the California coast.The vast mammals -- an endangered species elsewhere, but apparently thriving in the eastern Pacific -- are being seen in healthy numbers as the females head south from Alaska to give birth in the warm waters of Mexico.There had been concerns over the last five years when numbers have been down, but experts are relieved to see them plowing south.

Rescue efforts are underway to save a whale entangled in fishing gear in a Quebec waterway. Capitaine Crochet is a female fin whale well known to tour operators in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, where she became entangled. Parks Canada, Parcs Quebec, a marine mammals research and education group, and a whale rescue team were all working to free her on Tuesday.

MONTREAL — A northern Quebec town cautiously celebrated Thursday after a dozen killer whales appeared to have freed themselves from the shifting floes of Hudson Bay. But while some in the village of Inukjuak expressed relief, others feared the orcas might not have escaped danger. Many locals believe the water currents and ever-moving ice in the massive, frigid bay may eventually box the mammals in somewhere else.

BOSTON — Fossils uncovered during construction of a roadway in Southern California have revealed four new species of ancient whales, according to research presented here at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Sunday (Feb. 17).