The Cruising Association is concerned that the rise in posts of Orca interactions to social media sites, rather than to its database, will result in the loss of critical pieces of information that could be crucial in their research, evaluation and understanding of the Orca behaviour.

Published 4 months ago

Source:  Marine Industry News UK

During a year that has seen Orca sink two boats and memberships to Orca Facebook groups rocket past 50,000, the Cruising Association has seen a massive drop off in incidents being reported to its database (launched in June 2022), even though the number of incidents doubled at the start of 2023.

“At the beginning of the year there were significantly more interactions [with orca compared to 2022] – more than twice as many to the start of July but we’re not sure how many interactions there have been since August,” says John Burbeck orca project team leader at the Cruising Association. That’s “because we’re no longer the getting the reports either to us or to Groupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica [GTOA marine biologists].

“There have been a number of social media groups launched and they are taking reports and sightings of interactions.  The trouble is, the social media sites are transitory. In no time at all the critical bits of information are lost by the wealth of other inputs. The useful knowledge is lost. On our database the useful knowledge is there forever.”

Burbeck is currently focusing research on what’s the best course of action to limit damage when Orca ‘interact’ with a vessel. He believes his organisation could have got an answer by now, but because of the significant increase in sites all demanding yachtsmens’ attention, the knowledge has become ‘distributed’.

That’s worrying the scientists who use the CA’s database – it was the only comprehensive one, says Burbeck. And while the CA and GTOA are trying to scrape data from social media sites and GTOA scientists are trawling harbours, Burbeck points out that none of these routes provide the same level of detail as the CA is after.

“Unless all the information is available to be evaluated properly by scientists and sailors, then we’re unlikely to be able to find the best means of avoiding interactions and, if one starts, reducing the damage and ending it.

“The potential for missed evaluation and understanding is very real.  We’re trying to evaluate whether motoring away, reversing, or just remaining stationary is the best tactic and we’re not getting enough data to be able to come up with some recommendations. So what we’re asking for is any encouragement for people to report next season [via the CA portal] so we can do this essential piece of research.” (Retro reports are welcome.)

The full article can be read at the following link:

• Mystery of Orca Behaviour Continues as Cruising Association Pleads for Data (Marine Industry News UK)

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Related News:

• Orca Interactions Need Reporting Says Cruising Association (Marine Industry News UK – June 2022)
• Straits of Gibraltar:  Yacht Sinks after Orca Interaction (Noonsite November 2023)

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Related Links:

• Noonsite Cruising Resources:  Orcas and Yachts
• Cruising Association Orca Interaction Report Form
• Cruising Association Uneventful Passage Report Form
• Cruising Association Orcas Interaction Page
• Grupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica (GTOA)
• Orca Attack Reports Facebook group

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