Dear readers,

It had been quiet for a few weeks, and somehow we had hoped that the orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar would finally give up. That they had had enough of attacking sailing yachts. But unfortunately, no, Once again, a sailing boat has run aground in the past few days, after the whales had apparently maltreated the rudder until massive amounts of water entered the ship.

The sea area between Morocco and the south of the Iberian Peninsula is now one of the best monitored in the world. And so, after making an emergency call, the crew was rescued quickly and, above all, unharmed before the yacht sank.

But what if?

If the rescuers do not manage to reach the scene of the accident in time before a boat attacked by orcas sinks. Worse still, if the crew don't even manage to send out a mayday because the ship is sinking far too quickly under their feet. Depending on the size of the leak in the hull, those affected only have a few minutes to get into the life raft - if there is one on board.

And even if they all make it to the island: The air-filled plastic hull of a life raft is unlikely to withstand a spirited orca bite for long. I don't even want to go into the possible consequences here...

Nevertheless, we must begin to ask ourselves what will actually happen when the first human falls victim to the orca attacks.

Of course, animal rights activists would express their regret. Nevertheless, they would point out for the umpteenth time that the animals are not acting out of aggressive intent, but that the attacks should be interpreted as "interactions" that are not based on a desire for revenge. That may be all well and good, but it doesn't help.

At the other end of the escalation scale, the international tabloid media would exploit the issue to exhaustion. We all remember only too well the rampant and often blood-curdling headlines about various "problem bears" or wolves killing sheep and chickens.

Even now, there is immediate talk of "killer whales" whenever an orca attack goes badly. You don't need to be clairvoyant to guess what claims would be publicised to kill the whales should the worst case scenario occur and a water sports enthusiast die.

Between the two poles, the animal rights activists and those who would prefer to see the orcas shot down immediately, would be the scientists. Just as they are already doing now: endeavouring to find explanations, but ultimately more or less at a loss.

A dilemma.

At times, the Spanish government has tried to deal with the problem by imposing no-sailing zones off the affected coastal area. Something similar is probably to be feared again now. And, of course, you can also argue that anyone who sails in the region knows the risk and consciously accepts it. Nobody is forced to sail along the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal. That's true, and from a distance it's easy to follow the argument.

But what if orcas start attacking yachts on a similarly serious scale elsewhere? Off the coast of France and England, for example, or even in the North Sea. The first such encounters have already taken place, and not far from us. Fishermen off Denmark reported two years ago that they had been chased by orcas.

So what to do?

Should we continue to hope that the animals will eventually lose their appetite for boat oars? That's what marine biologists predicted at the very beginning of the incidents. Unfortunately, they have been wrong so far, as the latest example shows. Why should this suddenly change?

Another option would be to rely on technical means to deter orcas. Such whale pingers already exist; They are criticised by animal rights activists because they could damage the hearing of marine mammals. And their effectiveness has not yet been clearly proven.

Do you have to give up sailing in the affected areas altogether? For all Atlantic sailors heading for the Canary Islands in particular, there is hardly any alternative.

Shooting at the orcas with sea ammunition or even real weapons? I initiated this debate here some time ago. Opinions can also be very divided about this alternative.

Better research into animal behaviour? Absolutely! Scientists are already endeavouring to find explanations for the orcas' misguided desire to interact. This endeavour must be intensified. That costs money, of course. But it is certainly better than blindly hunting the animals at some point. Only when we have reliable knowledge of what triggers the behaviour of the whales can we begin to find targeted solutions that do not harm the animals. At best, they will change their behaviour.

Working on this must no longer be the task of a few animal welfare organisations or scientific institutes. Governments, at best under the leadership of the EU, are called upon. They must provide funds and resources so that more experts than before can conduct research into the causes. Only then can findings be obtained more quickly - and, in case of doubt, incorporated into technically sensible orca defence systems.

But I fear that will take some time. Until then, we can only hope and pray that the worst-case scenario does not materialise.

Pascal Schürmann,

YACHT copywriter

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