act also allowed for the waters  to be declared a critical habitat for the blue whale, "thereby giving the oil and gas industry clear no-go zones for their harmful activities".

Deakin University researcher Peter Gill, who is gathering detailed scientific evidence of the blue whale presence, said the area ranked in importance with the Head of the Bight, an important right whale breeding ground.   In a recent aerial survey, Mr Gill sighted three blue whales feeding on krill south of Port Campbell. These add to another 170 sightings, mainly last summer, in waters about 20nautical miles offshore between Port Campbell and the Victoria-South Australia border.

He believes a productive seasonal upwelling of cold water causes the krill to swarm and so attracts the whales. Since announcing the discovery earlier this year, Mr Gill said the site had attracted international scientific interest.  "There are only a handful of places in the world where blue whales are known to feed. Other researchers tell me that there are no other places where you actually get to see blues feeding at the surface," he said.

The enormous size of the blue whale is on show during surface feeding. It can open its mouth to gulp up to 50 tonnes of water and krill, before straining food through baleen plates as it expels the water.

Mr Gill told a Bass Strait Forum in Launceston recently that blue whales were sensitive to frequencies used in air gun seismic testing, which produced a loud percussive sound every eight seconds for extended periods. In its application, Strike Oil cited another study based on US Navy research that showed no obvious responses by blue or fin whales to loud man-made low-frequency noise.

Strike Oil environment officer Don Poynton confirmed that it favored the end of this summer for its work, and said the company wanted to avoid the winter right whale breeding period in the area, when the weather was also bad.

Under a code of practice being developed by the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, and Environment Australia, Mr Poynton said seismic testing could be conducted with a soft start, and switched off if whales were observed within a designated distance.
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POSTED AT 9:56 AM EST Tuesday, January 02, 2001
         Military tests could harm, even kill, whales
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/RTGAMArticleHTMLTemplate/D/20010102/Canadian Press
HALIFAX- A scientist says a new type of sonar being tested by the military could confuse or even kill whales.  Navies from Canada and other NATO countries are testing new low-frequency sonar in an attempt to better detect submarines. But Hal Whitehead, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says the sonar could interfere with how marine mammals find food and keep track of predators.  Signals from the sonar can be twice as loud as those from a jet engine and can travel 200 kilometres under water.

Dr. Whitehead points to an incident last March near the Bahamas in which14 whales beached themselves near ongoing NATO exercises. Researchers discovered the whales' hearing had been badly damaged.

But another scientist says the sonar is not harmful if used more than 20 kilometres from shore. Peter Tyack, a marine biologist hired by the U.S. navy, said the sonar is
no more harmful than noise from whale-watching boats.
============================================================03 January 01
                Tough laws protect whales, dolphins
>                 By Environment Reporter CATHERINE HOCKLEY

http://theadvertiser.com.au/common/story_page/0,4511,1573587%5E2682,00.html

WHALES, dolphins and other marine mammals will be given more protection from intrusive humans.
The new State Government regulations which came into force on Monday are among the toughest in Australia. They will penalise breaches with fines of up to $30,000 and two years' jail.  The laws apply to people in boats, helicopters and other aircraft, jetskis and hovercraft, as well as swimmers.

Environment Minister Iain Evans said yesterday the growth of whale watching at Encounter Bay on Fleurieu Peninsula had prompted the move.  Mr Evans said the Tougher stance was "intended to provide protection to both the animals and people".
Previously people were prosecuted only if they "caused damage" to the animals. Now they can be charged with harassment or molestation.

National Parks and Wildlife SA's acting deputy director Deb Kelly said the regulations were necessary as whale watching was becoming a major tourism drawcard in the State. "You don't have to wait for someone to die before you put traffic lights at the intersection," she said. "While the (whale watching) industry is in a growth phase it's good to get the standards in place. These regulations mean we can tell people to
away from marine mammals."

Under the regulations, Encounter Bay becomes a restricted zone and boats must not travel within 300m of whales. Elsewhere across the state, the restriction for boats is 100m from whales and 300m if the whale is with a calf or is in a distressed state.

Swimmers are restricted to a distance of 30m from adult whales, 100m from calves and 10m from dolphins and porpoises. Jet skis must not approach within 150m of dolphins and porpoises, while a 50m restriction applies to other boats.

Commercial tourism operators who rely on interaction with marine mammals must now apply for permits from National Parks and Wildlife SA. They can also apply for exemptions to retain access to the creatures. On land, people are not permitted within 10m of marine mammals, such as sea lions.

"This is for the safety of people and the mammals, as sea lions can be aggressive, particularly in the breeding season," Mr Evans said.  Feeding marine mammals also becomes an offence under the regulations, which will be policed by Fisheries and National Parks and Wildlife officers.
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December 27, 2001
Fishermen blame ships for right whale deaths
According to an AP report, east coast fisherman have agreed to  new regulations to protect right whales but claim that fail to address the real problem of whale injury and death: collisions with ships.

The new regulations approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service require lobster and gill net fishing tackle to break away under pressure exerted by an entangled whale.


The New England Whale Center in Gloucester MA claims that as many as 60% of right whales bear the scars of encounters with fishing lines, however. 

The government is working with the shipping industry by advising ships of the presence of whales so that they can slow down change course to avoid them.  Only 300 North Atlantic right whales survive.

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