Spain warns boats of possible orca run-ins near Strait of Gibraltar this summer
Author of the article:
Article content
BARCELONA, Spain — After another ramming of a boat by an orca in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spanish authorities recommended small vessels stick to the coastline in that region to avoid often-scary interactions with killer whales during the summer.
In the latest incident, two people aboard a 15-meter (50-foot) boat in Moroccan waters requested help from Spain’s maritime rescue service Sunday after reporting that an orca knocked the craft several times, damaging its rudder and causing a leak. The people were picked up by a passing oil tanker summoned by the rescuers, and their boat later sank.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Spain warns boats of possible orca run-ins near Strait of Gibraltar this summer Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Spain’s ministries for transport and the environment, along with its merchant marines, issued notices Tuesday urging both sailing boats and small motorboats to beware of orcas between May and August in the area between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Cadiz.
The Atlantic Orca Working Group, a team of Spanish and Portuguese marine life researchers who study killer whales near the Iberia Peninsula, says were 197 such known interactions in 2021 and another 207 in 2022.
A pod of orcas even disrupted a sailing race last year, when a boat sailing from the Netherlands to Italy had a 15-minute encounter with the animals, prompting the crew to drop their craft’s sails and raise a clatter to fend them off.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
tap here to see other videos from our team.
There have been no reports of attacks against swimmers. The interactions on boats seem to stop once the vessel becomes immobilized.
The researchers say that the killer whales seem to be targeting boats in a wide arc covering the western coast of the Iberia Peninsula, from the waters near the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain’s northwestern Galicia.
The orcas off the Iberian coast average from 5 to 6 1/2 meters (16-21 feet) in length, compared to orcas in Antarctica that reach 9 meters (29 1/2 feet).
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.