Killer whales and humans share something big in common: they both like fish. So much so that in Alaska, fishermen are having trouble catching fish and keeping the fish out of the mouths of the killer whales following them.
It’s become an epidemic of sorts, where killer whales—or orcas as they’re more accurately known — wait patiently for fishermen to catch their fish before they pounce.
“It’s gotten completely out of control,” Alaska fisherman Jay Hebert told the Anchorage Daily News.
This is mostly happening in the Bering Sea, the large sea separating Alaska from Russia that is divided by the International Date Line. The fishermen are both busy catching fish, and trying to stop orcas from eating all the fish on their lines.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, fishermen sometimes catch around 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of halibut one day and then nothing the next because the “pod” of orcas following them recognizes their boat and prevents them from reeling anything in. One fisherman even said that sometimes on the lines are only the “lips” of the halibut because the orcas ate the rest.
“It’s kind of like a primordial struggle,” fisherman Buck Laukitis said. “It comes at a real cost.”
It’s gotten to a point where younger whales are joining the party and preventing fishermen from bringing in the same amount of halibut and black cod that they used to.
“The pod tracked me 30 miles north of the edge and 35 miles west (while) I drifted for 18 hours up there with no machinery running and they just sat with me,” fisherman Robert Hanson said.
Another fisherman, Jay Hebert, said of the 39 years he’s been fishing in the Bering Sea, the last five years have been the worst thanks to the battle against the killer whales.
This issue isn’t unique to the Bering Sea either, although that’s where it happens most often. Fishermen are also witnessing this happen in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands. The situation in the Bering Sea has been going on according to some for just over 20 years since 1995.
“You know how to catch fish, you know the fish are there, and you have the gear, you’ve done it many times, but the whales can just completely shut you down,” fisherman Buck Laukitis said. “We’re losing the battle, and that’s why we need to adapt.”
The orcas have adapted to stealing from the fisherman so now the fisherman need to adapt to prevent the orcas from crushing their business.
Also, this gives us an excuse to share the amazing trailer from the 1977 film Orca:
https://youtu.be/zg9vE3pLuso
[Anchorage Daily News; photo from: Audun Rikardsen]
