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Dinner bells for sperm whales

ANCHORAGE: Years ago, the sound of a boat sometimes spelled death for the heavily hunted sperm whale. Now some of them have figured out it means dinner. Scientists recently realised that sperm whales in the Gulf of Alaska zero in on boat engines to locate miles of fishing lines hung with valuable sablefish.

"That's the whales' cue," said Jan Straley, an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Southeast who since 2002 has helped lead the study. Sperm whales do not tune in to just any engine noise to track what are essentially miles of sablefish shish kebabs. The endangered whales key in on the engines' sporadic bubbling as fishermen turn them on and off while hauling in longlines, the study said.

The work has led researchers to recommend some low-cost ways for fishermen to hoodwink the highly intelligent cetaceans. The researchers estimate there are 90 male sperm whales feeding from longlines in the eastern Gulf of Alaska, part of the world's largest sablefish fishery. The sweet, flaky flesh of the sablefish, long prized in Japan and Hawaii, is gaining popularity in mainland United States, where it is listed on menus as butterfish or black cod. About 5.8 million kg of sablefish were hauled in last year from the eastern gulf, with dock prices that from time to time topped $4 a pound. — AP

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