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Peter Corkeron

@petercorkeron.bsky.social

2K followers 350 following 510 posts

Marine ecologist & conservationist US government whistleblower, hence underemployed Adjunct at Griffith University Been known to do stuff on dolphins and whales My views are invariably mine My site: aduncus.net

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Nov 19

For those who came in late...*
I did a podcast a while back on some of my experiences.

Includes, in no particular order:
Being bashed
Shutting down a Russian spy op
Lifesaving
NOAA whistleblowing
How Tangalooma really started*

*Enough #straya folks now for these to make sense?
🐳🌍🦑

Marine Mammal Science: MMS 31: The Trials And Tribulations Of A Marine Mammal Science Career With Dr. Peter Corkeron

This week, Chris Parsons’ guest is Dr. Peter Corkeron - the first Australian to get a PhD on the biology of living cetaceans - in a slightly different type of episode in light of the&nb...

marinemammalscience.libsyn.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Another great paper on baleen whales & calving
🐳🌍🦑🧪

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 14d

New! Longer body size means more female calves in baleen whales! By Zoe Rand, Sarah Converse and myself

Paper: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Press:
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Longer body size means more female calves for baleen whale moms

University of Washington researchers found, in historical whaling data, that longer baleen whale mothers were more likely to birth female calves than males. These results run contrary to a leading...

www.washington.edu

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Great paper led by Martin van Aswegen from @lbejder1971.bsky.social's lab - @meps-ir.bsky.social

Age-specific body length, mass, and energetic cost of growth in humpback whales
"... lactating females, who must support one-third of their offspring’s lifetime growth costs in just 1 yr."
🐳🌍🦑🧪

www.int-res.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 7d

For some light relief -
Whale oil is a cure-all better than snake oil!

"Mice treated with whale oil developed thicker, denser hair follicles"
plus
People reported "sharper focus, greater resistance to fatigue, and improved sleep quality"
"even slow the aging process"
#whaling
🐳🌍🦑

Could Whale Oil Improve Hair Growth, Focus, and Strength? | JAPAN Forward

Researchers in Tokyo say whale oil and meat, long seen as cultural staples, may deliver improved focus, strength, and anti-aging benefits.

japan-forward.com

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 8d

Yep

There are so many humpbacks migrating off east Oz now that it's not a conservation problem.
But it's an animal welfare issue - entanglements are horrendously cruel and we wouldn't stand for them happening to terrestrial mammals.
And it's a workplace safety issue for disentanglement teams.

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 8d

"Why the netting program has been so effective is unknown."

When initially established, the netting programme resulted in a massive kill of sharks. Dramatically reduced shark abundance likely led to reduced fatalities.

Ocean pools were created as another safe option

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 8d

Great piece in @australia.theguardian.com by @petrastock.bsky.social on all the entanglements in shark nets off Queensland this year. Sensible commentary from @robharcourt.bsky.social and @jessicabolin.bsky.social

The only way to stop entanglement, really, is to take the nets out: Rob Harcourt
🐳🌍🦑🧪

Twelve whales have been tangled in shark nets off Queensland’s coast so far this year. Here’s why

In the worst case, entanglements could cause drowning, one expert says, but whales can also suffer long-term effects from the nets

www.theguardian.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 19d

Tasking satellites to get imagery of remote oceanic areas isn’t cheap

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 29

Yes it should. Well spotted - my mistake
🥴
I see you noticed my later apology for the mixup. Shame there's no way to edit such things, but by the time I noticed my mistake, so many people had re-posted or liked that I felt I had to leave it as-is.

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

Oops! Eastern Pacific gray whales.

Apologies

I'm used to thinking of the western ones as the conservation problem
😕

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

And an Open Letter of Concern from 3 renowned biologists who work on gray whales

The full letter is clear on the importance of climate on their feeding ecology, e.g.:
"This decline is apparently the result of ecosystem scale
changes brought about by Global Climate Change"
3/3

Concern for the Future of Gray Whales | Gray Whale Research in Mexico

graywhaleresearchmexico.org

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

Based on 2 #NOAA recent reports
NOAA press release linking to the two reports:
"The environment may now be changing at a pace or in ways that is testing the time-honored ability of the population to rapidly rebound while it adjusts to a new ecological regime."

No mention of #climatechange
2/3

Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales Continue Decline After Downturn During Unusual Mortality Event

Continued low calf count indicates that reproduction remains depressed.

www.fisheries.noaa.gov

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

Meanwhile, in conservation reality and #whales -

A good article by Sue Arnold in Independent Australia on the population crash of Western Pacific gray whales.

"The latest estimate of 13,000 animals is less than half of the 27,000 population ten years ago."
🐳🌍🦑🧪
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Gray whale population crashes amid climate-driven starvation

Once considered a conservation success story, the Eastern Pacific gray whale is now vanishing — a stark warning of climate chaos in motion.

independentaustralia.net

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

I led the whale research at @noaa.gov NEFSC 2011-2019. Driven out during the last Trump admin.

Been saying for ages that anyone who claims they care about #rightwhales off the NE US & obsesses about offshore wind but never mention entanglements - is either a fool or a liar.

Junior? Both

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 26

PS
Rumour was that Williams was a bad bugger - to use Don Walker's term

Don Walker - Harry Was A Bad Bugger (Live)

YouTube video by Don Walker

www.youtube.com

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 26

Yes, those of us working on dugongs at JCU back then got that experience early in life.

And the problems with the Port Hinchinbrook development that were foretold by those who fought against it?

Well...

How coastal town's tropical dream became a mud-choked nightmare

A glitzy marina resort promised an idyllic lifestyle with everything tropical Queensland had to offer, but successive natural and corporate disasters have dashed those dreams. Could a solution be on t...

www.abc.net.au

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 26

D'oh
🐳🌍🦑

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 26

Nice piece by 60 Minutes Australia on the status of #humpback #whales in Australian waters. Featuring @drvanessapirotta.bsky.social with the #scicomm and some interesting #citizenscience

Well done all

Whale spotting: Witnessing one of nature’s great migrations | 60 Minutes Australia

YouTube video by 60 Minutes Australia

www.youtube.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 7

Well this seems apropos.

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · Aug 7

"Reducing our dependence on whales as an energy source will send us sliding down the slippery, spermaceti-lubricated slope to socialism. If we give up whaling, what will those lackwits come for next? Will I have to surrender my peg leg for a titanium prosthetic?"

I’m Captain Ahab and I Say We Must Never Transition Away from a Whale-Based Energy Industry

When I heard that the globalist oligarchs and fat cats in the Washington marshland were conspiring to invest in alternative, non-whale-based energy...

buff.ly

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 7

The process to the demise of the US Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Jane Davenport from @awionline.org, pithy and accurate as usual:
“The overall thrust is going to essentially put a stake through the heart of the statute.”
🐳🌍🦑

The Law That Saved the Whales Is Under Attack

Proposed amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act would cut down protections to whales, dolphins, polar bears and other species

www.scientificamerican.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Jul 28

Well said Rosaleen

For at least one of those big NGOs, the “Non” part of NGO seems - interesting?

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Jul 24

Farewell Tony Thulborn

He taught vertebrate biology when I was an undergraduate. He was kind.

eavpalaeo.bsky.social @eavpalaeo.bsky.social · Jul 24

Remembering Dr Tony Thulborn (1944–2025) - a pioneer in Australian palaeontology and a leading figure in the study of dinosaur tracks.
We are saddened to share the news that Dr Richard Anthony ‘Tony’ Thulborn passed away suddenly on 22 July 2025.

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Jul 24

Well this is unfortunate - extend the pause on regulations on #lobster fishing to protect #rightwhales until 2035?

""Lobstermen will have insufficient time to work in a good faith way to plan for new regulations, and may well find themselves unable to comply," Golden said Tuesday"
🐳🌍🦑

Golden, lobstermen call on Congress to extend right whale regulatory moratorium until 2035

A moratorium on new regulations intended to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales is set to expire at the end of 2028. Lobster fishing groups and Rep. Jared Golden are asking Congr...

www.mainepublic.org

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Jul 21

Good to see an NGO making this point
Finally

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Jul 14

And finding good (or any) reviewers is hard enough...
@theguardian.com piece by @joshtaylor.bsky.social

Seems from the final paragraph that someone at @theguardian.com is a @vizcomic.bsky.social fan?
🧪

Scientists reportedly hiding AI text prompts in academic papers to receive positive peer reviews

Research papers found carrying hidden white text giving instructions not to highlight negatives as concern grows over use of large language models for peer review

www.theguardian.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Jul 14

Top one's a bitza. Aftermarket frame, swingarm, bodywork & more.

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