Spain: Orca Damage Twenty Boats in One Month
Orca encounters with yachts transiting the western Iberian peninsula have been going on for well over two years. As transit season for yachts begins in earnest, the Maritime Salvage of Tarifa report that orcas in the Tarifa area have “interacted” with over 20 sailboats since April this year, disabling the rudders of eight vessels which needed towing.
Published 2 years ago
Orca encounters are now a common risk for yachts making passage in the waters off the western Iberian peninsula. Many yachts don’t come across Orcas and a great number sight killer whales but have an incident-free encounter. However, there are yachts that don’t come off so lightly.
- Orca approaching SV La Dolce Vita in 2021
The Spanish publication EuropaSur reports that last summer (up to September 3, 2021), at least 69 Orca contacts with sailboats were recorded. Of these, 30 yachts required towing to safe haven due to rudder damage. Because of the number of yachts being damaged, an exclusion zone off Barbate was created for sailing vessels less than 15 meters in length.
This year, the Maritime Authorities have not yet made the decision to re-establish the exclusion zone, pending advice from the Atlantic Orca Working Group (AOWG), which brings together specialists and scientists from Gibraltar, Portugal, Galicia and France.
Biologist Ezequiel Andréu of AOWG said he is waiting to see what happens because Orca interactions with sailboats off the Galician coast this past winter have been very few. However, the previous winter they were very frequent.
Record Video if Possible
Ezequiel Andréu is asking skippers of any vessel in contact with Orcas, to try to record video images in order to continue studying the reason for the behavior of these cetaceans, whose young usually bite the rudder until it is useless, while sometimes one or two adults accompany them as if it were a game.
However, the biologist has insisted that yacht crew take these images only if they have the possibility to do so without attracting the attention of the Orca, since the first recommendation they give is “avoid all kinds of stimulation for the animal”.
As recommended last summer, AOWG recommend that vessels approached by Orcas should stop the engine immediately, disengage the autopilot, “take your hands off the rudder”, keep quiet and turn off the sonar. Vessels are also asked to leave the radio channel at low volume and to contact Maritime Traffic to give their situation and in case they need help.
Find out more about what tactics used by yachts to repel Orcas are forbidden by Spanish Law.
Hunting and Fishing
Historically, Orca and men have lived together and have even collaborated in tuna fishing every spring when the schools of tuna reach the Mediterranean. The Orca swims at 50 kilometers per hour and the tuna can swim at 90, so the cetacean, to hunt them down, organizes itself into groups that harass and surround them.
The Iberian killer whale, classified as endangered, currently has five groups in the Straits of Gibraltar with an estimated total of about 50 members.
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) announced in October 2021 that it would launch a study that will analyze the interaction of killer whales with sailboats in Spanish waters, with the aim of minimizing impacts and providing safety to boats.
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Related News:
Iberian Peninsula: Online Reporting Platform Launched to Register Orca Interactions (June 14, 2022)
Las orcas provocan daños en 20 veleros en el Estrecho en solo un mes (Europesur.Es)
Clarification on What Tactics Used by Yachts to Repel Orca are Forbidden by Spanish Law (Noonsite)
For more Noonsite news about Orcas encounters, click here.
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Related to the following Cruising Resources: Atlantic Ocean East, Environment, Orcas and Yachts, Routing
