Scientists Call for Quieter Ships to Protect Whales

 

BARBARA KLEIN: I’m Barbara Klein.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Our subject today is whales. We discuss a report on the effect of noise from ships on the behavior of whales. And, we visit a whaling museum on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN: Passenger ships, trade ships, and fishing boats are a normal part of life on the open sea. However, all their activity creates a great deal of noise underwater. Scientists from the United States and Canada recently reported their observations that the ocean is getting noisier.

(SOUND)

STEVE EMBER: That is sound recorded with equipment placed underwater near the busy shipping¹ lanes off Vancouver Island in Canada. Scientists at the University of Victoria have studied the recordings². They say engine noise is continuous during the day, and a little less intense at night.

Scientists say it is likely that whales must call out more loudly to be heard over this noise. The noise could make it more difficult for orca whales to find food. The orcas find fish by producing clicking sounds and other noises. Loud engine noise could be interfering³ with their efforts.

The main room of the Whaling Museum in Nantucket contains a whaleboat and a skeleton of a sperm⁴ whale

BARBARA KLEIN: Michael Jasny is a policy expert for the Natural Resources Defense⁵ Council. He says the rise of underwater noise is restricting the ability of whales to communicate.

MICHAEL JASNY: “Shipping noise falls across the same frequencies that these animals use for all their vital behaviors - for feeding, for finding mates, for avoiding predators⁶ and for navigating⁷.”

BARBARA KLEIN: Mr. Jasny says sound travels very effectively underwater. And it is not just whales he is worried about.

MICHAEL JASNY: “The entire web of life in the oceans depends on sound. And as more and more research has been done, it’s been very clear that what we have on our hands is really a major problem. It’s a serious problem. It’s global problem. Fortunately, in shipping we have a problem that has a solution.”

STEVE EMBER: One answer is to design quieter ships. America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁸ Administration, or NOAA, has four new ships that are made to be quieter. Michael Bahtiarian works for Noise Control Engineering, the company which helped design the boats.

MICHAEL BAHTIARIAN: “These NOAA ships show that you can get fairly quiet - I think quiet enough -- because they are able at eleven knots to go up and count a fish and not startle the fish so they can actually count it.”

STEVE EMBER: Mr. Bahtiarian says the main source of noise pollution is the propeller⁹. Better shaped propellers¹⁰ and ship designs can help to reduce noise. NOAA’s ships also have costly¹¹ engines, which produce less noise. Mr. Bahtiarian says the technology to make quieter ships does exist and has been used in the military for some time.

BARBARA KLEIN: The shipping industry in the United States wants to be part of the answer to the noise problem. Kathy Metcalf works for the Chamber¹² of Shipping of America. She says it will be much less costly for the industry if it chooses to build quieter ships instead of being forced to do so.

KATHY METCALF: “What our approach is is that if we’re progressive now and begin the changeover in the design of ships before we are forced to do it, it will be much less costly to the industry.”

BARBARA KLEIN: Ms. Metcalf says the shipping industry expects better ship designs to result in fuel savings¹³. She says this could make the changeover in design more popular.

Ms. Metcalf says the best place to work on new shipping rules is the United Nations’ International Maritime¹⁴ Organization. She estimates the reform process could take five years.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: The island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts is a popular get away place for summer travelers. Today, the main economy of the island has links to the travel industry. But years ago, Nantucket was the world’s leading port for whaling ships. Visitors to the town of Nantucket can learn more about this period of history by visiting the Whaling Museum.

BARBARA KLEIN: Deep-sea whaling in Nantucket began in the early seventeen hundreds. The people there specialized¹⁵ in hunting the sperm whale, which was known for its valuable oil. Nantucket was at the center of the whale trade for a century, starting in the seventeen fifties.

Nearly everyone on the island was involved in some part of the whaling industry. Whaling ships would make long trips to hunt for whales. The ships had all the equipment necessary for catching¹⁶ and killing¹⁷ whales and also cooking and storing their oil.

An example of scrimshaw, an art form that uses whalebone or teeth

STEVE EMBER: The main room of the Whaling Museum gives visitors an idea of how difficult and dangerous it was to hunt a whale. In the center of the room is a whaleboat which could hold six men. The fourteen meter-long skeletal remains¹⁸ of a sperm whale hang directly above it. The whaleboat looks very small next to this big sea creature. When sailors sighted a whale at sea, several whaleboats were lowered into the water from the much larger whaling ship.

A Whaling Museum speaker gives us an exciting description of the hunt.

SPEAKER: “Six men in the boat, mates in the stern, harponeers in the bow. Four men are at the oars¹⁹. You are at one of these oars and you start rowing after the whale with twelve to fourteen foot long oars and off you go after this whale.”

BARBARA KLEIN: The men would quickly push and pull themselves toward the whale. But they also had to work quietly so that the whale would not hear them come closer.

SPEAKER: “This is very hard work. And if you notice, you’re rowing with your back to the whale. You can’t see the whale. The mate can see the whale. He is urging you on in a whisper. But you can’t see the whale, and that’s a good thing. Because if you saw this whale, you would drop dead. He is so scary.”

STEVE EMBER: One sailor would throw a sharp harpoon²⁰ into the whale. The harpoon was on a long rope, which was tied to the boat. The angry and frightened whale would then pull the boat for many kilometers at high speeds, seeking to escape. This was a very dangerous moment for the sailors.

Sometimes the lead sailor would decide to cut the line if the boat risked being pulled underwater. Other times the whale would escape. But often the animal became tired, permitting a sailor to launch another weapon deep into the creature. After the whale was dead, the sailors would then slowly and with great effort take it all the way back to the ship.

BARBARA KLEIN: After the kill, a sailor’s work was far from over. The crew worked day and night to remove fat from the whale and heat it in a fire. Boiling the fat and oil was the only way it would survive the long trip. This was hot, dirty and smelly work. One unlucky man on the ship would have to stand inside the whale’s head to remove the oil inside it.

MUSEUM SPEAKER: “But these men are not complaining. They know as long as they are boiling oil, they are making money.”

STEVE EMBER: Only after the whaling ship was filled with oil would the captain let it return home to Nantucket. This could require three to four years of capturing and killing whales.

The sperm whale skeleton in the museum was not actually part of a whale hunt. It died on a beach of Nantucket in nineteen ninety-eight, several days after washing up on land. Experts who examined the remains decided²¹ the whale died of natural causes. Some members of the local community had strong feelings about the death and worked to make sure the skeleton stayed on the island.

BARBARA KLEIN: Today the United States and many other countries have rules to protect sperm whales. But in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, the whales were extremely valuable for their clear spermaceti oil, which could be used to make candles and oil for lights. They were also prized for ambergris – a material found in the sperm whale’s digestive system. Years ago, ambergris was used to make costly beauty products.

STEVE EMBER: The Whaling Museum’s many objects tell a story about life on whaling ships. There are harpoons²² for attacking whales and tools for cutting their fat. There are records from ships and paintings of famous captains.

Scrimshaw is the art of cutting pieces of whalebone or teeth to make beautiful objects. Sailors would make scrimshaw when they were not busy with their work. The Whaling Museum has a fine collection of detailed²³ scrimshaw. Museum officials say most sailors could not read or write. So they would cut images onto the bone to tell about their trips at sea. They could give these artworks to their loved ones after they returned home.

BARBARA KLEIN: By the eighteen fifties, the whaling economy had come to a close on Nantucket for several reasons. One major reason was the discovery of petroleum²⁴, which provided a much less costly form of oil.

The Whaling Museum teaches visitors about an interesting period in history when a small island was a big player in the world economy.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange, with reporting by Tom Banse. I’m Steve Ember.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I’m Barbara Klein. Our programs are online with transcripts²⁵ and MP3 files at voaspecialenglish.com. And you can find us on Facebook and YouTube at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

4 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

8 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

9 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

10 propellers   

n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
• The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

13 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

14 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

15 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

16 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

17 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

18 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

19 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 harpoon   

n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获

参考例句：

• The harpoon drove deep into the body of the whale.渔叉深深地扎进鲸鱼体内。
• The fisherman transfixed the shark with a harpoon.渔夫用鱼叉刺住鲨鱼。

21 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

22 harpoons   

n.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Greenpeace hopes to position its boats between the harpoons and the whales. 绿色和平希望他们的船能开到港口与鲸鱼群之间的地方。 来自互联网
• NIV Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? 7[和合]你能用倒钩枪扎满它的皮，能用鱼叉叉满它的头吗？ 来自互联网

23 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

24 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

25 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句