Asha de Vos: Why you should care about whale poo

Prevoditelj: Izidora Zganjer Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

In the 1600s, there were so many right whales in Cape Cod Bay

Tijekom 1600-tih bilo je toliko puno glatkih crnih kitova u zaljevu Cape Coda,

off the east coast of the U.S.

na istočnoj obali SAD-a,

that apparently you could walk across their backs

da ste mogli hodajući po njihovim leđima,

from one end of the bay to the other.

prijeći s jedne strane zaljeva na drugu.

Today, they number in the hundreds, and they're endangered.

Danas se oni broje u stotinama i ugrožena su vrsta.

Like them, many species of whales saw their numbers drastically reduced

Ali i drugim vrstama kitova je broj drastično smanjen

by 200 years of whaling,

dvjestogodišnjim kitolovom,

where they were hunted and killed for their whale meat, oil and whale bone.

tijekom kojeg su izlovljavani i ubijani zbog svojega mesa, ulja i usiju.

We only have whales in our waters today

Kitovi su u našim morima danas

because of the Save the Whales movement of the '70s.

samo zbog pokreta "Spasimo kitove" sedamdesetih.

It was instrumental in stopping commercial whaling,

On je imao presudnu važnost u zaustavljanju komercijalnog kitolova,

and was built on the idea that if we couldn't save whales,

a nastao je na ideji da ako ne možemo spasiti kitove,

what could we save?

što možemo?

It was ultimately a test of our political ability

Zapravo je bio test naše političke mogućnosti

to halt environmental destruction.

da zaustavimo uništavanje okoliša.

So in the early '80s, there was a ban on commercial whaling

Tako je ranih osamdesetih na snazi bila zabrana komercijalnog kitolova

that came into force as a result of this campaign.

kao direktan rezultat te kampanje.

Whales in our waters are still low in numbers, however,

Kitovi su u našim morima još uvijek malobrojni,

because they do face a range of other human-induced threats.

jer su suočeni s drugim opasnostima izazvanim čovjekovim djelovanjem.

Unfortunately, many people still think that whale conservationists like myself

Nažalost, mnogi smatraju da ljudi koji se bave očuvanjem kitova, kao ja,

do what we do only because these creatures are charismatic and beautiful.

rade taj posao samo zbog toga jer su ta stvorenja karizmatična i lijepa.

This is actually a disservice,

A to im nije kompliment

because whales are ecosystem engineers.

jer su kitovi inženjeri ekosustava.

They help maintain the stability and health of the oceans,

Oni pomažu održati stabilnost i zdravlje oceana,

and even provide services to human society.

a pomažu i ljudskoj zajednici.

So let's talk about why saving whales is critical

Pa, popričajmo zašto je spašavanje kitova kritično

to the resiliency of the oceans.

za obnavljanje oceana.

It boils down to two main things:

Svodi se na dvije bitne stvari:

whale poop and rotting carcasses.

kitov izmet i lešine.

As whales dive to the depths to feed and come up to the surface to breathe,

Kitovi rone u dubine kako bi se hranili, a na površinu dolaze kako bi disali,

they actually release these enormous fecal plumes.

pri tome ispuštaju ove ogromne fekalne oblake.

This whale pump, as it's called,

Ovi kitovi oblaci, tako se zovu,

actually brings essential limiting nutrients from the depths

zapravo donose esencijalne ograničene hranjive tvari iz dubine

to the surface waters where they stimulate the growth of phytoplankton,

na površinu vode gdje potiču rast fitoplanktona,

which forms the base of all marine food chains.

koji je temelj morskog prehrambenog lanca.

So really, having more whales in the oceans pooping

Tako da što više kitovi kakaju u oceanima

is really beneficial to the entire ecosystem.

to je ekosustav bolji.

Whales are also known to undertake some of the longest migrations of all mammals.

Kitovi su također poznati kao jedni od sisavaca s najvećim migracijama.

Gray whales off America migrate 16,000 kilometers

Sivi kitovi odlaze i do 16.000 kilometara od obala Amerike

between productive feeding areas and less productive calving, or birthing, areas

između produktivnih područja hranjenja i manje produktivnih, teljenja ili rađanja

and back every year.

te natrag svake godine.

As they do so, they transport fertilizer in the form of their feces

Pri tome, oni prenose gnojivo, u obliku svojeg izmeta,

from places that have it to places that need it.

od mjesta gdje je gnojivo nastalo do mjesta gdje je gnojivo potrebno.

So clearly, whales are really important in nutrient cycling,

Očito je da su kitovi zaista važni u cirkulaciji hranjivih tvari,

both horizontally and vertically, through the oceans.

preko oceana horizontalno i vertikalno.

But what's really cool is that they're also really important after they're dead.

Ali ono što je zbilja zanimljivo je da su kitovi važni i kada su mrtvi.

Whale carcasses are some of the largest form of detritus

Lešine kitova spadaju među najveće oblike 'ruševina'

to fall from the ocean's surface, and they're called whale fall.

što padaju s površine oceana, a zove se "kitov pad".

As these carcasses sink,

Kako lešina tone,

they provide a feast to some 400-odd species,

ona postaje gozba za 400-tinjak čudnovatih vrsta,

including the eel-shaped, slime-producing hagfish.

uključujući i sljepulju koja liči na jegulju i proizvodi sluz.

So over the 200 years of whaling,

Tijekom 200 godina kitolova,

when we were busy killing and removing these carcasses from the oceans,

kada smo ubijali i ukljanjali ove lešine iz oceana,

we likely altered the rate and geographic distribution of these whale falls

vjerojatno smo izmijenili razmjer i geografsku distribuciju "kitovih padova"

that would descend into deep oceans,

u dubokim oceanima,

and as a result, probably led to a number of extinctions

što je vjerojatno rezultiralo izumiranjem

of species that were most specialized

brojnih vrsta koje su bile specijalizirane

and dependent on these carcasses for their survival.

i čije preživljavanje je ovisilo o tim lešinama.

Whale carcasses are also known to transport about 190,000 tons of carbon,

Lešina kita transportira otprilike 190.000 tona ugljika,

which is the equivalent of that produced

(toliko proizvede 80.000 automobila u godini)

by 80,000 cars per year

from the atmosphere to the deep oceans,

od atmosfere do dubokog oceana,

and the deep oceans are what we call "carbon sinks,"

a duboke oceane zovemo "ugljični slivnici"

because they trap and hold excess carbon from the atmosphere,

jer zadržavaju višak ugljka iz atmosfere,

and therefore help to delay global warming.

i tako usporavaju globalno zatopljenje.

Sometimes these carcasses also wash up on beaches

Ponekad te lešine izbaci more na plaže

and provide a meal to a number of predatory species on land.

pa one postanu hrana zemaljskim predratorima.

The 200 years of whaling was clearly detrimental

Dvjesto godina kitolova je očito bilo vrlo štetno

and caused a reduction in the populations of whales

i uzrokovalo smanjenje u populaciji kitova

between 60 to 90 percent.

između 60 i 90 posto.

Clearly, the Save the Whales movement

"Spasimo kitove" pokret

was instrumental in preventing commercial whaling from going on,

je imao presudnu važnost u zaustavljanju komercijalnog kitolova,

but we need to revise this.

ali moramo preraditi taj stav.

We need to address the more modern, pressing problems that these whales face

Moramo izreći koji su to moderni problemi koji tište i s kojima se

in our waters today.

kitovi suočavaju u našim vodama danas.

Amongst other things, we need to stop them

Između ostalog, potrebno je spriječiti

from getting plowed down by container ships when they're in their feeding areas,

njihovo nasukavanje na kontejnerske brodove u područjima hranjenja,

and stop them from getting entangled in fishing nets

te spriječiti njihovo zapetljavanje u ribarske mreže

as they float around in the ocean.

dok plutaju oceanima.

We also need to learn to contextualize our conservation messages,

Mi moramo naučiti kontekstualizirati naše poruke očuvanja,

so people really understand the true ecosystem value of these creatures.

tako da ljudi mogu razumjeti pravu vrijednost ovih stvorenja za ekosustav.

So, let's save the whales again,

Zato, spasimo kitove ponovno,

but this time, let's not just do it for their sake.

ali ovoga puta, ne zbog njih.

Let's also do it for ours.

Ovoga puta učinimo to zbog nas.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Pljesak)

(Applause)