In the 1600s, there were so many right whales in Cape Cod Bay off the east coast of the U.S. that apparently you could walk across their backs from one end of the bay to the other. Today, they number in the hundreds, and they're endangered. Like them, many species of whales saw their numbers drastically reduced by 200 years of whaling, where they were hunted and killed for their whale meat, oil and whale bone.
1600-tih, u zalivu Kejp Kod bilo je toliko južnih kitova sa istočne obale SAD-a da ste navodno mogli da hodate preko njihovih leđa s jednog na drugi kraj zaliva. Danas je ova brojka u stotinama i oni su ugroženi. Poput njih, mnoge vrste kitova su se drastično smanjile u broju zbog 200 godina lova na kitove gde su ih lovili i ubijali zbog mesa, ulja i kosti.
We only have whales in our waters today because of the Save the Whales movement of the '70s. It was instrumental in stopping commercial whaling, and was built on the idea that if we couldn't save whales, what could we save? It was ultimately a test of our political ability to halt environmental destruction. So in the early '80s, there was a ban on commercial whaling that came into force as a result of this campaign. Whales in our waters are still low in numbers, however, because they do face a range of other human-induced threats.
Danas u svojim vodama imamo kitove samo zbog pokreta "Spasimo kitove" iz 70-tih godina prošlog veka. On je bio krucijalan za zaustavljanje komercijalnog lova na kitove i zasnovan je na ideji da ako ne možemo da spasimo kitove, šta onda možemo da spasimo? To je na kraju bio test naše političke sposobnosti da zaustavimo uništavanje okoline. Početkom 80-ih, stavljena je zabrana na komercijalni lov kitova koja je stupila na snagu kao posledica ove kampanje. Ipak, u našim vodama je još uvek bilo malo kitova, jer se oni susreću sa nizom drugih pretnji koje prouzrokuje čovek.
Unfortunately, many people still think that whale conservationists like myself do what we do only because these creatures are charismatic and beautiful. This is actually a disservice, because whales are ecosystem engineers. They help maintain the stability and health of the oceans, and even provide services to human society.
Nažalost, mnogi još misle da aktivisti za spasavanje kitova poput mene rade ono što mi radimo samo zato što su ova stvorenja harizmatična i prelepa. Ovo je zapravo medveđa usluga jer su kitovi inženjeri ekosistema. Oni pomažu da se održi stabilnost i zdravlje okeana i čak pružaju usluge ljudskom društvu.
So let's talk about why saving whales is critical to the resiliency of the oceans. It boils down to two main things: whale poop and rotting carcasses.
Popričajmo o tome zašto je spasavanje kitova ključno za otpornost okeana. Svodi se na dve glavne stvari: izmet kitova i leševe koji trunu.
As whales dive to the depths to feed and come up to the surface to breathe, they actually release these enormous fecal plumes. This whale pump, as it's called, actually brings essential limiting nutrients from the depths to the surface waters where they stimulate the growth of phytoplankton, which forms the base of all marine food chains. So really, having more whales in the oceans pooping is really beneficial to the entire ecosystem.
Kako kitovi rone u dubine da se hrane i penju se na površinu da dišu, oni zapravo ispuštaju ogromne oblake fekalija. Ova pumpa za kitove, tako se zove, zapravo donosi bitne ograničavajuće hranljive sastojke iz dubina na površinu, gde oni stimulišu rast fitoplanktona, koji stvara osnovu za sve lance ishrane u morskoj vodi. Zapravo, kada imate više kitova koji kake u okeanima, to je veoma korisno za ceo ekosistem.
Whales are also known to undertake some of the longest migrations of all mammals. Gray whales off America migrate 16,000 kilometers between productive feeding areas and less productive calving, or birthing, areas and back every year. As they do so, they transport fertilizer in the form of their feces from places that have it to places that need it. So clearly, whales are really important in nutrient cycling, both horizontally and vertically, through the oceans.
Kitovi su takođe poznati po tome što vrše neke od najdužih migracija od svih sisara. Sivi kitovi iz Amerike se sele 16 000 kilometara između plodnih područja za hranjenje i manje plodnih za porađanje, do tamo i nazad, svake godine. Dok to rade, oni prenose đubrivo u obliku svojih fekalija od mesta koje ga imaju do mesta kojima je potrebno. Jasno je da su kitovi veoma bitni za ciklus hranljivih materija kroz okeane, i horizontalno i vertikalno.
But what's really cool is that they're also really important after they're dead. Whale carcasses are some of the largest form of detritus to fall from the ocean's surface, and they're called whale fall. As these carcasses sink, they provide a feast to some 400-odd species, including the eel-shaped, slime-producing hagfish. So over the 200 years of whaling, when we were busy killing and removing these carcasses from the oceans, we likely altered the rate and geographic distribution of these whale falls that would descend into deep oceans, and as a result, probably led to a number of extinctions of species that were most specialized and dependent on these carcasses for their survival.
Ali zapravo je kul to što su takođe veoma bitni i kada su mrtvi. Leševi kitova su jedan od najvećih oblika otpada koji pada sa površine okeana, i nazivaju se kitovim otpadom. Dok ovi leševi tonu, oni pružaju gozbu za oko 400 vrsta, uključujući slepulju, ribu u obliku jegulje koja proizvodi sluz. Tokom preko 200 godina lova na kitove, dok smo bili zauzeti ubijanjem i uklanjanjem ovih leševa iz okeana, verovatno smo izmenili stepen i geografsku raspodelu kitovog otpada koji bi pao u dubinu okeana i za posledicu smo verovatno doveli do niza izumrlih vrsta koje su bile usavršene i zavisile su od ovih leševa kako bi preživele.
Whale carcasses are also known to transport about 190,000 tons of carbon, which is the equivalent of that produced by 80,000 cars per year from the atmosphere to the deep oceans, and the deep oceans are what we call "carbon sinks," because they trap and hold excess carbon from the atmosphere, and therefore help to delay global warming. Sometimes these carcasses also wash up on beaches and provide a meal to a number of predatory species on land.
Leševi kitova takođe prenose oko 190 000 tona ugljenika iz atmosfere u dubinu okeana, što je jednako količini koju proizvede 80 000 automobila godišnje. Dubine okeana su ono što nazivamo "sudoperama za ugljenik", jer zadržavaju višak ugljenika iz atmosfere i tako pomažu odlaganje globalnog zagrevanja. Ovi leševi takođe ponekad isplivaju na plaže i pružaju obrok jednom broju grabljivica na kopnu.
The 200 years of whaling was clearly detrimental and caused a reduction in the populations of whales between 60 to 90 percent. Clearly, the Save the Whales movement was instrumental in preventing commercial whaling from going on, but we need to revise this. We need to address the more modern, pressing problems that these whales face in our waters today. Amongst other things, we need to stop them from getting plowed down by container ships when they're in their feeding areas, and stop them from getting entangled in fishing nets as they float around in the ocean. We also need to learn to contextualize our conservation messages, so people really understand the true ecosystem value of these creatures.
200 godina lova na kitove očigledno je bilo štetno i izazvalo je smanjenje u populaciji kitova između 60 i 90 procenata. Pokret "Spasimo kitove" je očigledno bio bitan da se spreči nastavak komercijalnog lova na kitove, ali moramo da obnovimo ovo. Moramo da rešimo modernije i hitnije probleme sa kojim se suočavaju ovi kitovi danas u našim vodama. Između ostalog, moramo da sprečimo da ih udaraju brodovi s kontejnerima kada su u područjima za hranjenje i da sprečimo da se upliću u ribarske mreže dok plutaju u okeanima. Takođe moramo da naučimo da svoje poruke o sačuvanju stavimo u kontekst kako bi ljudi zaista razumeli pravu vrednost ovih stvorenja za ekosistem.
So, let's save the whales again, but this time, let's not just do it for their sake. Let's also do it for ours.
Zato hajde da ponovo spasimo kitove, ali ovog puta, ne samo zbog njih samih. Uradimo to i zbog nas.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)