Squadrons of Gray whales could be winging their way across the Atlantic within a decade to restock British waters under plans put forward by two conservation scientists. Andrew Ramsey and Owen Nevin of the University of Lancaster's School of Natural Resources in northern England floated the idea at a meeting in Brazil earlier this week.
LONDON — Squadrons of Gray whales could be winging their way across the Atlantic within a decade to restock British waters under plans put forward by two conservation scientists.
Andrew Ramsey and Owen Nevin of the University of Lancaster's School of Natural Resources in northern England floated the idea at a meeting in Brazil earlier this week.
"Some people will say it is impossible but we are deadly serious about this," Nevin said on the university's Web site.
"It's ecologically, logistically and economically feasible and whale watching could regenerate struggling fishing communities around our coasts," he added.
Gray whales, known as the "friendlies of the deep" because of their tranquil nature, were once common in the seas around northern Europe but have been extinct for 400 years.
!ADVERTISEMENT!
But the 50-feet (15-metre) long, 40-tonne leviathans are in plentiful supply off the coast of California.
Ramsey and Nevin propose airlifting 50 surplus Gray whales from the Californian population for release off the coast of northern England, starting in 2015.
Ramsey said cargo aircraft can easily accommodate adult Gray whales and the journey from California to Britain would take less than 12 hours.
"Providing the whales are kept moist at all times they are more than capable of surviving the long haul flight," he said.
But other conservationists said the plan was impractical.
"The notion of taking whales from one place and reintroducing them somewhere else is far more complex than it might appear and very unlikely to be in the best interests of the animals," said Mark Simmonds of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
However, Ramsey and Nevin noted that Gray whales did not compete with fishermen for food because they fed on worms not fish and said whale watching tourism would be a boon for the coastal population.
"The Gray whale is an incredibly charismatic species and it can ignite the imagination of the public in a way few other animals can," Ramsey said.
Source: Reuters
