DANA POINT – Dave Anderson, who operates Capt. Dave’s Dolphin Safari and Whale Watch in Dana Point Harbor, this week is launching a weekly video blog.
The blog – including an almost eight-minute video – is meant to heighten awareness of marine mammals and ocean life off Dana Point. Anderson also wants to increase awareness of the dangers these mammals face such as entanglements, ocean pollution and ship strikes.
“I want people to learn more and care more about these animals,” he said.
The kick-off video introduces Anderson, his use of a drone and some behind-the-scenes of the whale watch business. It includes a curious blue whale that comes over to Anderson who is in a 13-foot inflatable boat, and a humpback whale that stays with the two boats for 30 minutes after kids make a Dory whale call from the movie “Finding Nemo.”
For the video, Anderson selected the two whales most commonly sighted off Dana Point during the summer. Blue whales migrate off the coast of Orange County between May and November to feed off krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean.
Recently, a blue whale spotted off Dana Point entangled in crab gear made national news when rescue crews from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations’ West Coast disentanglement team tried to free the animal. Anderson is one of the task force’s first responders.
Efforts to free the whale were unsuccessful and it has not been seen since. Entanglements and ship strikes pose the greatest threat to whales. Two entangled blue whales and several entangled humpbacks have been seen off the California coast in the last year.
The video also introduces viewers to humpbacks – once a rare sight off Southern California. They, too, are off the Orange County coast.
In 2014, sightings increased dramatically and in 2015, they jumped another 31 percent. So far this year, humpback sightings are up more than 55 percent from last year, with 364 encounters, Anderson said.
To see the blog, go to dolphinsafari.com.
Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or Twitter:@lagunaini
