128-476: Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand , in Fiordland National Park . One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wide at its widest point. To the north of its mouth is the large Resolution Island , whose Five Fingers Peninsula shelters the mouth of the sound from the northwest; along
256-472: A glacier . Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica , the Arctic , and surrounding landmasses of the northern and southern hemispheres. Norway's coastline is estimated to be 29,000 km (18,000 mi) long with its nearly 1,200 fjords, but only 2,500 km (1,600 mi) long excluding the fjords . A true fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by ice segregation and abrasion of
384-588: A Germanic noun for a travel : North Germanic ferd or färd and of the verb to travel , Dutch varen , German fahren ; English to fare . As a loanword from Norwegian, it is one of the few words in the English language to start with the sequence fj . The word was for a long time normally spelled f i ord , a spelling preserved in place names such as Grise Fiord . The fiord spelling mostly remains only in New Zealand English , as in
512-617: A common Germanic origin of the word. The landscape consists mainly of moraine heaps. The Föhrden and some "fjords" on the east side of Jutland, Denmark are also of glacial origin. But while the glaciers digging "real" fjords moved from the mountains to the sea, in Denmark and Germany they were tongues of a huge glacier covering the basin of which is now the Baltic Sea. See Förden and East Jutland Fjorde . Whereas fjord names mostly describe bays (though not always geological fjords), straits in
640-451: A fjord as a kind of sea ( Māori : tai ) that runs by a bluff ( matapari , altogether tai matapari "bluff sea"). The term "fjord" is sometimes applied to steep-sided inlets which were not created by glaciers. Most such inlets are drowned river canyons or rias . Examples include: Some Norwegian freshwater lakes that have formed in long glacially carved valleys with sill thresholds, ice front deltas or terminal moraines blocking
768-451: A glacial river flows in. Velfjorden has little inflow of freshwater. In 2000, some coral reefs were discovered along the bottoms of the Norwegian fjords. These reefs were found in fjords from the north of Norway to the south. The marine life on the reefs is believed to be one of the most important reasons why the Norwegian coastline is such a generous fishing ground. Since this discovery
896-421: A highly productive group of phytoplankton that enable such fjords to be valuable feeding grounds for other species. It is possible that as climate change reduces long-term meltwater output, nutrient dynamics within such fjords will shift to favor less productive species, destabilizing the food web ecology of fjord systems. In addition to nutrient flux, sediment carried by flowing glaciers can become suspended in
1024-534: A large triangular cove which separates the Five Fingers Peninsula from the rest of the island. A number of small coves punctuate this coast, including Goose Cove and Earshell Cove. Immediately to the southeast of Anchor Island lies the smaller Indian Island . To the east of Anchor Island, the sound narrows to about five kilometres and splits into two broad channels, separated by the aptly named Long Island , which stretches for some 15 kilometres in length but
1152-515: A long, narrow inlet. In eastern Norway, the term is also applied to long narrow freshwater lakes ( Randsfjorden and Tyrifjorden ) and sometimes even to rivers (for instance in Flå Municipality in Hallingdal , the Hallingdal river is referred to as fjorden ). In southeast Sweden, the name fjard fjärd is a subdivision of the term 'fjord' used for bays, bights and narrow inlets on
1280-534: A narrower sound is called sund . In the Finnish language , a word vuono is used although there is only one fjord in Finland. In old Norse genitive was fjarðar whereas dative was firði . The dative form has become common place names like Førde (for instance Førde ), Fyrde or Førre (for instance Førre ). The German use of the word Föhrde for long narrow bays on their Baltic Sea coastline, indicates
1408-500: A protected passage almost the entire 1,601 km (995 mi) route from Stavanger to North Cape , Norway. The Blindleia is a skerry-protected waterway that starts near Kristiansand in southern Norway and continues past Lillesand . The Swedish coast along Bohuslän is likewise skerry guarded. The Inside Passage provides a similar route from Seattle , Washington , and Vancouver , British Columbia , to Skagway , Alaska . Yet another such skerry-protected passage extends from
SECTION 10
#17328558055151536-658: A suffix in names of some Scandinavian fjords and has in same cases also been transferred to adjacent settlements or surrounding areas for instance Hardanger , Stavanger , and Geiranger . The differences in usage between the English and the Scandinavian languages have contributed to confusion in the use of the term fjord. Bodies of water that are clearly fjords in Scandinavian languages are not considered fjords in English; similarly bodies of water that would clearly not be fjords in
1664-527: A threshold around 100 to 200 m (330 to 660 ft) deep. Hardangerfjord is made up of several basins separated by thresholds: The deepest basin Samlafjorden between Jonaneset ( Jondal ) and Ålvik with a distinct threshold at Vikingneset in Kvam Municipality . Hanging valleys are common along glaciated fjords and U-shaped valleys . A hanging valley is a tributary valley that is higher than
1792-511: A zone of 60 miles (97 km) around the Pribilof Islands within which the seals were not to be molested at any time, and from 1 May to 31 July each year they were not to be pursued anywhere in the Bering Sea. Only licensed sailing vessels were permitted to engage in fur sealing, and the use of firearms or explosives was prohibited. This marked the first attempt at establishing regulations on
1920-564: Is 2,000 m (6,562 ft) below the surrounding regional topography. Fjord lakes are common on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains and Cascade Range ; notable ones include Lake Chelan , Seton Lake , Chilko Lake , and Atlin Lake . Kootenay Lake , Slocan Lake and others in the basin of the Columbia River are also fjord-like in nature, and created by glaciation in the same way. Along
2048-915: Is a source of food for residents of small coastal communities. Meat is sold in the Asian pet food market; in 2004, only Taiwan and South Korea purchased seal meat from Canada. Seal blubber is used to make seal oil, marketed as a fish oil supplement. In 2001, 2% of Canada's raw seal oil was processed and sold in Canadian health stores. There has been virtually no market for seal organs since 1998. In 2005, three companies exported seal skin: Rieber in Norway, Atlantic Marine in Canada and Great Greenland in Greenland. Their clients were earlier French fashion houses and fur makers in Europe, but today
2176-808: Is about twice the 2009 price and about 64% of the 2007 price. The reduced demand is attributable mainly to the 2009 ban on imports of seal products into the European Union. The 2010 winter was unusually warm, with little ice forming in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in February and March, when harp seals give birth to their pups on ice floes. Around the Gulf, harp seals arrived in late winter to give birth on near-shore ice and even on beaches rather than on their usual whelping grounds: sturdy sea ice. Also, seal pups born elsewhere began floating to shore on small, shrinking pieces of ice. Many others stayed too far north, out of reach of all but
2304-412: Is also often described as a fjord, but is actually a freshwater lake cut off from the sea, so is not a fjord in the English sense of the term. Locally they refer to it as a "landlocked fjord". Such lakes are sometimes called "fjord lakes". Okanagan Lake was the first North American lake to be so described, in 1962. The bedrock there has been eroded up to 650 m (2,133 ft) below sea level, which
2432-430: Is at least 500 m (1,600 ft) deep and water takes an average of 16 years to flow through the lake. Such lakes created by glacial action are also called fjord lakes or moraine-dammed lakes . Some of these lakes were salt after the ice age but later cut off from the ocean during the post-glacial rebound . At the end of the ice age Eastern Norway was about 200 m (660 ft) lower (the marine limit). When
2560-456: Is borrowed from Norwegian , where it is pronounced [ˈfjuːr] , [ˈfjøːr] , [ˈfjuːɽ] or [ˈfjøːɽ] in various dialects and has a more general meaning, referring in many cases to any long, narrow body of water, inlet or channel (for example, see Oslofjord ). The Norwegian word is inherited from Old Norse fjǫrðr , a noun which refers to a 'lake-like' body of water used for passage and ferrying and
2688-615: Is closely related to the noun ferð "travelling, ferrying, journey". Both words go back to Indo-European *pértus "crossing", from the root *per- "cross". The words fare and ferry are of the same origin. The Scandinavian fjord , Proto-Scandinavian * ferþuz , is the origin for similar Germanic words: Icelandic fjörður , Faroese fjørður , Swedish fjärd (for Baltic waterbodies), Scots firth (for marine waterbodies, mainly in Scotland and northern England). The Norse noun fjǫrðr
SECTION 20
#17328558055152816-646: Is fairly new, little research has been done. The reefs are host to thousands of lifeforms such as plankton , coral , anemones , fish, several species of shark, and many more. Most are specially adapted to life under the greater pressure of the water column above it, and the total darkness of the deep sea. New Zealand's fjords are also host to deep-water corals , but a surface layer of dark fresh water allows these corals to grow in much shallower water than usual. An underwater observatory in Milford Sound allows tourists to view them without diving. In some places near
2944-599: Is illegal in Canada to hunt newborn harp seals ( whitecoats ) and young hooded seals (bluebacks). When the seal pups begin to molt their downy white fur at the age of 12–14 days, they are called " ragged-jacket " and can be commercially hunted. After molting, the seals are called "beaters", named for the way they beat the water with their flippers. The hunt remains highly controversial, attracting significant media coverage and protests each year. Images from past hunts have become iconic symbols for conservation , animal welfare , and animal rights advocates. In 2009, Russia banned
3072-438: Is in a relaxed condition." Reportedly, in one study, three out of eight times, the animal was not rendered either dead or unconscious by shooting, and the hunters would then kill the seal using a hakapik or other club of a type that is sanctioned by the governing authority. Seal skins have been used by aboriginal people for millennia to make waterproof jackets and boots, and seal fur to make fur coats. Pelts account for over half
3200-500: Is located on the southern shore of Lake Superior in Michigan . The principal mountainous regions where fjords have formed are in the higher middle latitudes and the high latitudes reaching to 80°N (Svalbard, Greenland), where, during the glacial period, many valley glaciers descended to the then-lower sea level. The fjords develop best in mountain ranges against which the prevailing westerly marine winds are orographically lifted over
3328-452: Is now the Dunedin district. Sealers continued to visit until the late 1820s when the second sealing boom faded. An attempt was made in 1903 to construct a road from Dusky Sound to Lake Manapouri, but it was never completed, terminating abruptly at Bishop Burn, on the western side of Loch Maree. In December 2019, the name of the fiord was officially altered to Tamatea / Dusky Sound. Access to
3456-497: Is often described as the world's strongest tidal current . These characteristics distinguish fjords from rias (such as the Bay of Kotor ), which are drowned valleys flooded by the rising sea. Drammensfjorden is cut almost in two by the Svelvik "ridge", a sandy moraine that was below sea level when it was covered by ice, but after the post-glacial rebound reaches 60 m (200 ft) above
3584-458: Is only around 2000 metres wide at its widest point. The narrower of the two channels, Cook Channel, lies to the south of Long Island; Bowen Channel lies to the north. Bowen Channel links with Acheron Passage, a north–south channel which separates Resolution Island from the mainland and links with Breaksea Sound to the north. Inland from Long Island lies Cooper Island , about eight kilometres long and up to five kilometres wide. Dusky Sound narrows to
3712-465: Is the freshwater fjord Movatnet (Mo lake) that until 1743 was separated from Romarheimsfjorden by an isthmus and connected by a short river. During a flood in November 1743, the river bed eroded and sea water could flow into the lake at high tide. Eventually, Movatnet became a saltwater fjord and renamed Mofjorden ( Mofjorden ). Like fjords, freshwater lakes are often deep. For instance Hornindalsvatnet
3840-409: Is the isthmus with a village between Hornindalsvatnet lake and Nordfjord . Such lakes are also denoted fjord valley lakes by geologists. One of Norway's largest is Tyrifjorden at 63 m (207 ft) above sea level and an average depth at 97 m (318 ft) most of the lake is under sea level. Norway's largest lake, Mjøsa , is also referred to as "the fjord" by locals. Another example
3968-410: Is usually a large inflow of river water in the inner areas. This freshwater gets mixed with saltwater creating a layer of brackish water with a slightly higher surface than the ocean which in turn sets up a current from the river mouths towards the ocean. This current is gradually more salty towards the coast and right under the surface current there is a reverse current of saltier water from the coast. In
Dusky Sound - Misplaced Pages Continue
4096-404: Is with a hakapik : a heavy wooden club with a hammer head and metal hook on the end. The hakapik is used because of its efficiency; the animal can be killed quickly without damage to its pelt. The hammer head is used to crush the seals' thin skulls, while the hook is used to move the carcasses. Canadian sealing regulations describe the dimensions of the clubs and the hakapiks , and caliber of
4224-770: The Venus spent 14 days in Dusky Sound stripping iron from the hulk of Captain Brampton's old ship the Endeavour . The blacksmith converted the iron into axes which they then used in Tahiti to trade for pork before returning to Sydney by November 1802. Following this, in January 1803, George Bass asked Governor King of New South Wales for a fishing monopoly, from a line bisecting New Zealand from Dusky Sound to Otago Harbour extending south to include
4352-516: The Ann . The sealers pursued their trade in a most unsustainable manner, promptly reducing the fur seal population to near extermination. As a result, sealing activities on South Georgia had three marked peaks in 1786–1802, 1814–23, and 1869–1913 respectively, decreasing in between and gradually shifting to elephant seals taken for oil. Following the discovery of the South Shetland Islands in 1819,
4480-610: The British Columbia Coast , a notable fjord-lake is Owikeno Lake , which is a freshwater extension of Rivers Inlet . Quesnel Lake , located in central British Columbia, is claimed to be the deepest fjord formed lake on Earth. A family of freshwater fjords are the embayments of the North American Great Lakes. Baie Fine is located on the northwestern coast of Georgian Bay of Lake Huron in Ontario , and Huron Bay
4608-465: The European Commission 's call in 2006 for a ban on the import, export and sale of all harp and hooded seal products. Ringed seals were once the main staple for food, and have been used for clothing, boots, fuel for lamps, as delicacy, containers, igloo windows, and in harnesses for huskies . Though no longer used to this extent, ringed seals are still an important food and clothing source for
4736-650: The Native Americans and First Nations People in Canada have been hunting seals for at least 4,000 years. Traditionally, when an Inuit boy killed his first seal or caribou , a feast was held. The meat was an important source of fat, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B 12 and iron, and the pelts were prized for their warmth. The Inuit diet is rich in fish, whale, and seal. There were approximately 150,000 circumpolar Inuit in 2005 in Greenland, Alaska, Russia, and Canada. According to Kirt Ejesiak, former secretary and chief of staff to then-Premier of Nunavut, Paul Okalik and
4864-533: The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention severely curtailed the sealing industry. Signed on 7 July 1911, by the United States, Great Britain , Japan and Russia, the treaty was designed to manage the commercial harvest of fur-bearing mammals. It outlawed open-water seal hunting and acknowledged the United States' jurisdiction in managing the on-shore hunting of seals for commercial purposes. It was
4992-566: The Pacific Ocean to become the first ship of any nation to conduct operations in the Southern Ocean . Emilia returned to London on 12 March 1790 with a cargo of 139 tons of sperm oil . By 1784, the British had fifteen ships in the southern fishery, all from London . By 1790 this port alone had sixty vessels employed in the trade. Between 1793 and 1799 there was an average of sixty vessels in
5120-459: The Scandinavian sense of the term, are not universally considered to be fjords by the scientific community, because although glacially formed, most Finnmark fjords lack the steep-sided valleys of the more southerly Norwegian fjords. The glacial pack was deep enough to cover even the high grounds when they were formed. The Oslofjord , on the other hand, is a rift valley , and not glacially formed. The indigenous Māori people of New Zealand see
5248-598: The Straits of Magellan north for 800 km (500 mi). Fjords provide unique environmental conditions for phytoplankton communities. In polar fjords, glacier and ice sheet outflow add cold, fresh meltwater along with transported sediment into the body of water. Nutrients provided by this outflow can significantly enhance phytoplankton growth. For example, in some fjords of the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), nutrient enrichment from meltwater drives diatom blooms,
Dusky Sound - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-535: The Viking settlers—though the inlet at that place in modern terms is an estuary , not a fjord. Similarly the name of Milford (now Milford Haven) in Wales is derived from Melrfjǫrðr ("sandbank fjord/inlet"), though the inlet on which it is located is actually a ria. Before or in the early phase of Old Norse angr was another common noun for fjords and other inlets of the ocean. This word has survived only as
5504-470: The subantarctic Islands . It was not granted, but it indicates the sealers' area of interest and Dusky Sound's place in it. The Matilda under Captain Fowler was on this part of the coast in 1814 when six of his lascar (Indian) seamen absconded in an open boat. It seems it was at Dusky Sound they were set upon by Maori when three were killed and eaten and the others enslaved. One or more of them later lived in what
5632-585: The "Canadian Seal Hunt", when in fact seal hunting also happens throughout the year all over the Canadian Arctic. In 2003, the three-year harp seal quota granted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada was increased to a maximum of 975,000 animals per three years, with a maximum of 350,000 animals in any two consecutive years. As of 2012, the population in Canada of the Northwest Atlantic harp seals is approximately 7.3 million animals, over three times what it
5760-415: The 'landsman seal fishery'. The hunt was mainly for the procurement of seal meat as a form of sustenance for the settlements in the area, rather than for commercial gain. From the early 18th century English hunters began to range further afield – 1723 marked the first time that hunters armed with firearms ventured forth in boats to increase their haul. This soon became a sophisticated commercial operation;
5888-463: The 1830s, and rose to 546,000 annually during the first half of the next decade, which led to a marked decline in the harp seal population that in turn adversely impacted profits in the sealing industry. Four hundred schooners carried 13,000 Newfoundland sealers on the annual hunts of the 1850s. An annual kill of 700,000 was estimated when sealing reached its peak in Newfoundland in the 1860s, with
6016-548: The 2007 quota by 20%, because overflights showed large numbers of seal pups were lost to thin and melting ice. In southern Labrador and off Newfoundland's northeast coast, however, there was extra heavy ice in 2007, and the coast guard estimated as many as 100 vessels were trapped in ice simultaneously. The 2010 hunt was cut short because demand for seal pelts was down. Only one local pelt buyer, NuTan Furs, offered to purchase pelts; and it committed to purchase less than 15,000 pelts. Pelt prices were about C$ 21/pelt in 2010, which
6144-562: The Eastern North Atlantic seal fishery as they replaced the hundreds of smaller sealing vessels owned by merchants in outports around Newfoundland with large and expensive steamships owned by large British and Newfoundland companies based in St. John's. Owned at first by the Scottish firm W. Grieve and Sons, she was acquired in 1880 by R. Steele Junior. Another famous sealing ship of the era
6272-596: The Island of South Georgia and the Magellan Strait area as many as 40,000 seal skins and 2,800 tons of elephant seal oil. More fur seals from the island were taken in 1786 by the English sealing vessel Lord Hawkesbury , and by 1791, 102 vessels, manned by 3,000 sealers, were hunting seals south of the equator. The first commercial visit to the South Sandwich Islands was made in 1816 by another English ship,
6400-786: The Limfjord once was a fjord until the sea broke through from the west. Ringkøbing Fjord on the western coast of Jutland is a lagoon . The long narrow fjords of Denmark's Baltic Sea coast like the German Förden were dug by ice moving from the sea upon land, while fjords in the geological sense were dug by ice moving from the mountains down to the sea. However, some definitions of a fjord is: "A long narrow inlet consisting of only one inlet created by glacial activity". Examples of Danish fjords are: Kolding Fjord , Vejle Fjord and Mariager Fjord . The fjords in Finnmark in Norway, which are fjords in
6528-532: The Scandinavian sense have been named or suggested to be fjords. Examples of this confused usage follow. In the Danish language some inlets are called a fjord, but are, according to the English language definition, technically not a fjord, such as Roskilde Fjord . Limfjord in English terminology is a sound , since it separates the North Jutlandic Island (Vendsyssel-Thy) from the rest of Jutland . However,
SECTION 50
#17328558055156656-468: The Swedish Baltic Sea coast, and in most Swedish lakes. This latter term is also used for bodies of water off the coast of Finland where Finland Swedish is spoken. In Danish, the word may even apply to shallow lagoons . In modern Icelandic, fjörður is still used with the broader meaning of firth or inlet. In Faroese fjørður is used both about inlets and about broader sounds, whereas
6784-585: The Whitneys of New York also became involved. By 1830, most Pacific seal-stocks had been seriously depleted, and Lloyd's Register of Shipping only showed one full-time sealing vessel on its books. In the North Pacific, the later 1800s saw large harvests of fur seals. These harvests decreased along with fur-seal populations. Growing from the international Grand Banks fishery, the Newfoundland hunt initially used small schooners . Kill rates averaged 451,000 in
6912-541: The adjacent islands, including the Pribilof Islands , the principal breeding-grounds of the seals in those waters. By Acts of Congress , the killing of seals was strictly regulated on the Pribiloff islands and in "the waters adjacent thereto". Beginning in about 1886, it became the practice of certain British and Canadian vessels to intercept passing seals in the open ocean (over three miles from any shore) and shoot them in
7040-467: The animal rights movement upon the culture and economy of the Canadian Inuit" was among the first to reveal how animal rights groups, "well-meaning people in the dominant society through misunderstanding and ignorance can inflict destruction" on a vulnerable minority. Inuit seal hunting accounts for the majority of the seal hunt, but just three percent of the hunt in southern Canada; it is excluded from
7168-529: The catch to 400 seals per day, and 2000 per boat total. A 2007 population survey conducted by the DFO estimated the population at 5.5 million. In Greenland, hunting is done with a firearm (rifle or shotgun) and young are fully protected. This has caused some conflicts with other seal-hunting nations, as Greenland also was hit by the boycotts that often were aimed at seals (often young) killed by clubbing or similar methods, which have not been in use in Greenland. It
7296-480: The claim, but was willing to negotiate on the question of international regulation. The issue was taken to arbitration, which concluded in favour of Britain on all points in 1893. Since the decision was in favor of Great Britain, in accordance with the arbitration treaty the tribunal prescribed a series of regulations for preserving the seal herds which were to be binding upon and enforced by both powers. They limited pelagic sealing as to time, place, and manner by fixing
7424-574: The commercial seal hunt dividend contributed about $ 6 million to the Newfoundland GDP, a fraction of the industry's former importance. The end of the 19th century was marked by the Bering Sea Controversy between the United States and Great Britain over the management of fur seal harvests. In 1867 the United States government purchased from Russia all her territorial rights in Alaska and
7552-434: The deeper parts of the fjord the cold water remaining from winter is still and separated from the atmosphere by the brackish top layer. This deep water is ventilated by mixing with the upper layer causing it to warm and freshen over the summer. In fjords with a shallow threshold or low levels of mixing this deep water is not replaced every year and low oxygen concentration makes the deep water unsuitable for fish and animals. In
7680-407: The deepest fjord basins. Near the very coast, the typical West Norwegian glacier spread out (presumably through sounds and low valleys) and lost their concentration and reduced the glaciers' power to erode leaving bedrock thresholds. Bolstadfjorden is 160 m (520 ft) deep with a threshold of only 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), while the 1,300 m (4,300 ft) deep Sognefjorden has
7808-582: The direction of Sognefjord and the fold pattern. This relationship between fractures and direction of fjords is also observed in Lyngen . Preglacial, tertiary rivers presumably eroded the surface and created valleys that later guided the glacial flow and erosion of the bedrock. This may in particular have been the case in Western Norway where the tertiary uplift of the landmass amplified eroding forces of rivers. Confluence of tributary fjords led to excavation of
SECTION 60
#17328558055157936-527: The discovery in 1798-1799 of Bass Strait , between mainland Australia and Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania ) saw the sealers' focus shift there in 1798, when a gang including Daniel Cooper landed from the Nautilus on Cape Barren Island . With Bass Strait over-exploited by 1802, commercial attention returned to southern New Zealand waters, where Stewart Island/Rakiura and Foveaux Strait were explored, exploited and charted from 1803 to 1804. Thereafter,
8064-423: The east coast of the island, Acheron Passage connects Dusky Sound with Breaksea Sound , to the north. Several large islands lie in the sound, notably Anchor Island , Long Island , and Cooper Island . The upper reaches of the sound are steep-sided, and the high precipitation of the region leads to hundreds of waterfalls cascading into the sound during the rainy season. Seals and dolphins are often sighted in
8192-426: The east of Cooper Island, reaching its end in two small coves, Shark Cove and Supper Cove. The Seaforth River flows into the eastern end of Supper Cove. The sound has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it is a breeding site for Fiordland penguins . It is believed that Māori occasionally camped by the sound's waters while hunting moa in pre-European times. The inlet
8320-494: The extinction of the harp seal. In 1971, the Canadian government responded by instituting a quota system. The system was competitive, with each boat catching as many seals as it could before the hunt closed, which the Department of Fisheries and Oceans did when they knew that year's quota had been reached. Because it was thought that the competitive element might cause sealers to cut corners, new regulations were introduced that limited
8448-401: The family Phocidae were sometimes referred to as hair seals, and are much more adept for a fully aquatic lifestyle than the eared seals, though they have a more difficult time getting around on land. The fur seal yields a valuable fur; the hair seal has no fur, but oil can be obtained from its fat and leather from its hide. Seals have been used for their pelts, their flesh, and their fat, which
8576-574: The first Inuk from Nunavut to attend Harvard, for the c. 46,000 Canadian Inuit, the seal was not "just a source of cash through fur sales, but the keystone of their culture." Although Inuit harvest and hunt many species that inhabit the desert tundra and ice platforms, the seal is their mainstay. The Inuktitut vocabulary designates specific objects made from seal bone, sinew, fat and fur used as tools, games, thread, cords, fuel, clothing, boats, and tents. There are also words referring to seasons, topography, place names, legends, and kinship relationships based on
8704-612: The first commercial expedition to the South Atlantic Ocean in 1776, initially with the primary aim of whaling , although sealing began to play a prominent part in the operation as well. More expeditions were sent in 1777 and 1778 before political and economic troubles hampered the trade for some time. On 1 September 1788, the 270-ton ship Emilia , owned by Samuel Enderby & Sons and commanded by Captain James Shields, departed London. The ship went west around Cape Horn into
8832-693: The first international treaty to address wildlife preservation issues. The treaty was dissolved with the onset of hostilities between the signatories in World War II. However, the treaty set precedent for future national and international laws and treaties, including the Fur Seal Act of 1966 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 . Today, commercial sealing is conducted by only five nations: Canada, Greenland, Namibia, Norway, and Russia. The United States, which had been heavily involved in
8960-419: The fjord. In the 19th century, Jens Esmark introduced the theory that fjords are or have been created by glaciers and that large parts of Northern Europe had been covered by thick ice in prehistory. Thresholds at the mouths and overdeepening of fjords compared to the ocean are the strongest evidence of glacial origin, and these thresholds are mostly rocky. Thresholds are related to sounds and low land where
9088-413: The fjord. Bolstadfjorden has a threshold of only 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and strong inflow of freshwater from Vosso river creates a brackish surface that blocks circulation of the deep fjord. The deeper, salt layers of Bolstadfjorden are deprived of oxygen and the seabed is covered with organic material. The shallow threshold also creates a strong tidal current. During the summer season, there
9216-489: The formation of sea ice. The study of phytoplankton communities within fjords is an active area of research, supported by groups such as FjordPhyto, a citizen science initiative to study phytoplankton samples collected by local residents, tourists, and boaters of all backgrounds. An epishelf lake forms when meltwater is trapped behind a floating ice shelf and the freshwater floats on the denser saltwater below. Its surface may freeze forming an isolated ecosystem. The word fjord
9344-522: The fur is mainly exported to Russia and China. In Canada, the season for the commercial hunt of harp seal is from 15 November to 15 May. While Inuit hunt seals commercially year-round, most sealing in southern Canada occurs in late March in the Gulf of St. Lawrence , and during the first or second week of April off Newfoundland, in an area known as the Front. This peak spring period is often mistakenly referred to as
9472-526: The hunting of harp seals less than one year old. The term seal is used to refer to a diverse group of animals. In science, they are grouped together in the Pinnipeds , which also includes the walrus , not popularly thought of as a seal, and not considered here. The two main families of seals are the Otariidae (the eared seals; includes sea lions , and fur seals ), and Phocidae (the earless seals); animals in
9600-468: The ice cap receded and allowed the ocean to fill valleys and lowlands, and lakes like Mjøsa and Tyrifjorden were part of the ocean while Drammen valley was a narrow fjord. At the time of the Vikings Drammensfjord was still four or five m (13 or 16 ft) higher than today and reached the town of Hokksund , while parts of what is now the city of Drammen was under water. After the ice age
9728-458: The ice could spread out and therefore have less erosive force. John Walter Gregory argued that fjords are of tectonic origin and that glaciers had a negligible role in their formation. Gregory's views were rejected by subsequent research and publications. In the case of Hardangerfjord the fractures of the Caledonian fold has guided the erosion by glaciers, while there is no clear relation between
9856-552: The ice load and eroded sediment is removed (also called isostasy or glacial rebound). In some cases, this rebound is faster than sea level rise . Most fjords are deeper than the adjacent sea ; Sognefjord , Norway , reaches as much as 1,300 m (4,265 ft) below sea level . Fjords generally have a sill or shoal (bedrock) at their mouth caused by the previous glacier's reduced erosion rate and terminal moraine . In many cases this sill causes extreme currents and large saltwater rapids (see skookumchuck ). Saltstraumen in Norway
9984-530: The introduction of more powerful and reliable steamships that were capable of much larger range and storing capacity. Annual catches exceeded the 400,000 mark from the 1870s and smaller sealers were steadily pushed out of the market. The first modern sealing ship was the SS Bear , built in Dundee , Scotland in 1874 as a steamer for sealing . The ship was custom-built for sealing out of St. John's, Newfoundland , and
10112-622: The late 19th century, the sealing industry in Newfoundland was second in importance only to cod fishing . The seal hunt provided critical winter wages for fishermen, but was dangerous work marked by sealing disasters that claimed hundreds of lives, such as the 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster involving the SS ; Southern Cross , the SS Newfoundland , and SS Stephano . The rugged hulls and experienced crews of Newfoundland sealing vessels often led sealers such as Bear and Terra Nova to be hired for Arctic exploration and one sealer Algerine
10240-446: The level of the original sea level. In Eidfjord, Eio has dug through the original delta and left a 110 m (360 ft) terrace while lake is only 19 m (62 ft) above sea level. Such deposits are valuable sources of high-quality building materials (sand and gravel) for houses and infrastructure. Eidfjord village sits on the eid or isthmus between Eidfjordvatnet lake and Eidfjorden branch of Hardangerfjord. Nordfjordeid
10368-471: The main fjord. The mouth of Fjærlandsfjord is about 400 m (1,300 ft) deep while the main fjord is 1,200 m (3,900 ft) nearby. The mouth of Ikjefjord is only 50 m (160 ft) deep while the main fjord is around 1,300 m (4,300 ft) at the same point. During the winter season, there is usually little inflow of freshwater. Surface water and deeper water (down to 100 m or 330 ft or more) are mixed during winter because of
10496-439: The main valley and was created by tributary glacier flows into a glacier of larger volume. The shallower valley appears to be 'hanging' above the main valley or a fjord. Often, waterfalls form at or near the outlet of the upper valley. Small waterfalls within these fjords are also used as freshwater resources. Hanging valleys also occur underwater in fjord systems. The branches of Sognefjord are for instance much shallower than
10624-491: The marine limit. Like freshwater fjords, the continuation of fjords on land are in the same way denoted as fjord-valleys . For instance Flåmsdal ( Flåm valley) and Måbødalen . Outside of Norway, the three western arms of New Zealand 's Lake Te Anau are named North Fiord, Middle Fiord and South Fiord. Another freshwater "fjord" in a larger lake is Western Brook Pond , in Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park ; it
10752-457: The markets of Seville . Newfoundland and Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence were the first regions to experience large scale sealing. Migratory fishermen began the hunting from as early as the 1500s. Large-scale commercial seal hunting became an annual event starting in 1723 and expanded rapidly near the turn of the 18th century. Initially, the method used was to ensnare the migrating seals in nets anchored to shore installations , known as
10880-409: The most determined hunters. Environment Canada, the weather forecasting agency, reported the ice was at the lowest level on record. The Fisheries Act established "Seal Protection Regulations" in the mid-1960s. The regulations were combined with other Canadian marine mammals regulations in 1993, to form the " Marine Mammal Regulations ". In addition to describing the use of the rifle and hakapik ,
11008-405: The most extreme cases, there is a constant barrier of freshwater on the surface and the fjord freezes over such that there is no oxygen below the surface. Drammensfjorden is one example. The mixing in fjords predominantly results from the propagation of an internal tide from the entrance sill or internal seiching. The Gaupnefjorden branch of Sognefjorden is strongly affected by freshwater as
11136-565: The mountainous regions, resulting in abundant snowfall to feed the glaciers. Hence coasts having the most pronounced fjords include the west coast of Norway, the west coast of North America from Puget Sound to Alaska, the southwest coast of New Zealand, and the west and to south-western coasts of South America , chiefly in Chile . Other regions have fjords, but many of these are less pronounced due to more limited exposure to westerly winds and less pronounced relief. Areas include: The longest fjords in
11264-494: The north and by South Cape and Fannin Bay in the south. The south Island's westernmost point, West Cape lies less than 10 kilometres south of the sound's mouth. Immediately inside the sound's mouth lies the large Anchor Island and numerous small islets, among them the Seal, Petrel, and Many Island groups. To the north of Anchor Island lies Resolution Island , and here its coast in indented by
11392-448: The ocean was about 150 m (490 ft) at Notodden . The ocean stretched like a fjord through Heddalsvatnet all the way to Hjartdal . Post-glacial rebound eventually separated Heddalsvatnet from the ocean and turned it into a freshwater lake. In neolithic times Heddalsvatnet was still a saltwater fjord connected to the ocean, and was cut off from the ocean around 1500 BC. Some freshwater fjords such as Slidrefjord are above
11520-423: The outlet follow the Norwegian naming convention; they are frequently named fjords. Ice front deltas developed when the ice front was relatively stable for long time during the melting of the ice shield. The resulting landform is an isthmus between the lake and the saltwater fjord, in Norwegian called "eid" as in placename Eidfjord or Nordfjordeid . The post-glacial rebound changed these deltas into terraces up to
11648-439: The outlet of fjords where submerged glacially formed valleys perpendicular to the coast join with other cross valleys in a complex array. The island fringe of Norway is such a group of skerries (called a skjærgård ); many of the cross fjords are so arranged that they parallel the coast and provide a protected channel behind an almost unbroken succession of mountainous islands and skerries. By this channel, one can travel through
11776-518: The people of Nunavut . Called nayiq by the Central Alaskan Yup'ik people , the ringed seal is also hunted and eaten in Alaska . Various seal species were also hunted in northwest Europe and the Baltic Sea at least 8,000 years ago. The first commercial hunting of seals by Europeans, is said to have occurred in 1515, when a cargo of fur seal skins from Uruguay was sent to Spain for sale in
11904-460: The place name Fiordland . The use of the word fjord in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish is more general than in English and in international scientific terminology. In Scandinavia, fjord is used for a narrow inlet of the sea in Norway, Denmark and western Sweden, but this is not its only application. In Norway and Iceland, the usage is closest to the Old Norse, with fjord used for both a firth and for
12032-556: The principal market for seal meat exports. One of Canada's market access priorities for 2002 was to "continue to press Korean authorities to obtain the necessary approvals for the sale of seal meat for human consumption in Korea." Canadian and Korean officials agreed in 2003 on specific Korean import requirements for seal meat. For 2004, only Taiwan and South Korea purchased seal meat from Canada. Canadian seal product exports reached C$ 18 million in 2006. Of this, C$ 5.4 million went to
12160-547: The processed value of a seal, selling at over C$ 100 each as of 2006. According to Paul Christian Rieber , of GC Rieber AS , the difficult ice conditions and low quotas in 2006 resulted in reduced access to seal pelts, which caused the commodity price to be pushed up. One high-end fashion designer, Donatella Versace , has begun to use seal pelts, while others, such as Calvin Klein , Stella McCartney , Tommy Hilfiger , and Ralph Lauren , refrain from using any kind of fur. Seal meat
12288-562: The quotas: 82,800 in 2007; 217,800 in 2008; 72,400 in 2009; and 67,000 in 2010. In 2007, Norway reported that 29,000 harp seals were killed, Russia reported that 5,479 seals were killed and Greenland reported that 90,000 seals were killed in their respective seal hunts. Harp seal populations in the northwest Atlantic declined to approximately 2 million in the late 1960s as a result of Canada's annual kill rates, which averaged to over 291,000 from 1952 to 1970. Conservationists demanded reduced rates of killing and stronger regulations to avert
12416-410: The regulations state every person "who fishes for seals for personal or commercial use shall land the pelt or the carcass of the seal." The commercial hunting of infant harp seals ( whitecoats ) and infant hooded seals (bluebacks) was banned in 1987 under pressure from animal rights groups. Now, seals may only be killed once they have started molting (from 12 to 15 days of age), as this coincides with
12544-407: The rifles and minimum bullet velocity, that can be used. They state: "Every person who strikes a seal with a club or hakapik shall strike the seal on the forehead until its skull has been crushed", and that "No person shall commence to skin or bleed a seal until the seal is dead", which occurs when it "has a glassy-eyed, staring appearance and exhibits no blinking reflex when its eye is touched while it
12672-620: The same regions typically are named Sund , in Scandinavian languages as well as in German. The word is related to "to sunder" in the meaning of "to separate". So the use of Sound to name fjords in North America and New Zealand differs from the European meaning of that word. The name of Wexford in Ireland is originally derived from Veisafjǫrðr ("inlet of the mud flats") in Old Norse, as used by
12800-484: The seal hunt in Canada. It sets quotas (total allowable catch – TAC), monitors the hunt, studies the seal population, works with the Canadian Sealers' Association to train sealers on new regulations, and promotes sealing through its website and spokespeople. The DFO set harvest quotas of over 90,000 seals in 2007; 275,000 in 2008; 280,000 in 2009; and 330,000 in 2010. The actual kills in recent years have been less than
12928-515: The seal. One region of Canada's north is inhabited by the Netsilingmiut , or "people of the seal." The title of Ejesiak's article acknowledged the pivotal 1991 publication entitled Animal Rights, Human Rights by George Wenzel, a McGill University geographer and anthropologist who worked more than two decades with the Clyde Inuit of Baffin Island. Wenzel's "scholarly examination" of "the impact of
13056-841: The sealing grounds were expanded to what is now the Antarctic Treaty area. Commercial sealing in the Australasian region appears to have started with the London-based Massachusetts-born Eber Bunker , master of the William and Ann , who in November 1791 announced his intention to visit and hunt in New Zealand 's Dusky Sound . Captain William Raven of the Britannia stationed a party at Dusky from 1792 to 1793, but
13184-481: The sealing industry for environmental purposes. However, these regulations failed because the mother seals fed outside the protected area and remained vulnerable. A joint commission of scientists from Britain and the United States further considered the problem, and came to the conclusion that pelagic sealing needed to be curtailed. However, further joint tribunals did not enact new legal restrictions and, at this point, Japan also embarked upon pelagic sealing. Finally,
13312-401: The sealing industry that is [published] by international animal rights organizations". Warm winters in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence have led to thinner and more unstable ice there. In 2007, Canada's federal fisheries ministry reported that while the pups are born on the ice as usual, the ice floes have started to break up before the pups learn to swim, causing the pups to drown. Canada reduced
13440-506: The sealing industry, now maintains a complete ban on the commercial hunting of marine mammals, with the exception of indigenous peoples who are allowed to hunt a small number of seals each year. In the Canadian commercial seal hunt, the majority of the hunters initiate the kill using a firearm. Ninety percent of sealers on the ice floes of the Front (east of Newfoundland), where the majority of non-native seal hunting occurs, use firearms. An older and more traditional method of killing seals
13568-539: The sealing-industry focus shifted to the sub-Antarctic Antipodes Islands , 1805–1807, the Auckland Islands from 1806, the southeast coast of New Zealand's South Island , Otago Harbour and Solander Island by 1809, before focusing further to the south at the newly-discovered Campbell Island (discovered in January 1810) and Macquarie Island (discovered in July 1810) from 1810. During this period sealers were active on
13696-511: The seals were transported back to England, where the seal's meat, fur, and oil were sold separately. From 1749, the import of seal oil to England was being recorded annually, and was used as lighting oil, for cooking, in the manufacture of soap and for the treating of leather . It was in the South Seas that sealing became a major enterprise from the late 18th century. Samuel Enderby , along with Alexander Champion and John St Barbe organized
13824-482: The seaward margins of areas with fjords, the ice-scoured channels are so numerous and varied in direction that the rocky coast is divided into thousands of island blocks, some large and mountainous while others are merely rocky points or rock reefs , menacing navigation. These are called skerries . The term skerry is derived from the Old Norse sker , which means a rock in the sea. Skerries most commonly formed at
13952-495: The sound is by sea or air only, with no roads reaching the coast at this point. However, the Dusky Track stretches to the upper reaches of the sound, at Supper Cove, from lakes Manapouri and Hauroko . Fiord In physical geography , a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English ; ( / ˈ f j ɔːr d , f iː ˈ ɔːr d / ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by
14080-409: The sound's waters and occasionally visited by whales where the area especially nearby Preservation Inlet was one of earliest shore-based whaling ground for southern right whales , while humpback whales show sudden increases. The Seaforth River is the largest of many small rivers and creeks which flow into the sound. At its mouth, the sound is wide, and is bordered by the Five Fingers Peninsula to
14208-873: The southern coast of mainland Australia, for example at Kangaroo Island . This whole development has been called the first sealing boom; it sparked the Sealers' War (1810–1821) in southern New Zealand. Australasian sealing measured its output in terms of skins. By about 1815, sealing in the Pacific had faded in importance. A brief revival occurred from 1823, but this proved very short-lived. Although highly profitable at times and affording New South Wales one of its earliest trade staples, sealing's unregulated character saw its self-destruction. Notable traders from Britain and based in Australia included Simeon Lord , Henry Kable , James Underwood and Robert Campbell . Plummers of London and
14336-419: The steady cooling of the surface and wind. In the deep fjords, there is still fresh water from the summer with less density than the saltier water along the coast. Offshore wind, common in the fjord areas during winter, sets up a current on the surface from the inner to the outer parts. This current on the surface in turn pulls dense salt water from the coast across the fjord threshold and into the deepest parts of
14464-420: The surrounding bedrock. According to the standard model, glaciers formed in pre-glacial valleys with a gently sloping valley floor. The work of the glacier then left an overdeepened U-shaped valley that ends abruptly at a valley or trough end. Such valleys are fjords when flooded by the ocean. Thresholds above sea level create freshwater lakes. Glacial melting is accompanied by the rebounding of Earth's crust as
14592-509: The time when they are abandoned by their mothers. Canada's biggest market for seal pelts is Norway. Carino Limited is one of Newfoundland's largest seal pelt producers. Carino (CAnada–RIeber–NOrway) is marketing its seal pelts mainly through its parent company, GC Rieber Skinn , Bergen, Norway . Canada sold pelts to eleven countries in 2004. The next largest were Germany, Greenland, and China/ Hong Kong . Other importers were Finland, Denmark, France, Greece, South Korea, and Russia. Asia remains
14720-653: The trade. The average increased to seventy-two in the years between 1800 and 1809. The sealing industry extended further south to the South Georgia island , first mapped by Captain James Cook in HMS ; Resolution on 17 January 1775. During the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century, South Georgia was inhabited by English and Yankee sealers, who used to live there for considerable periods of time and sometimes overwintered. In 1778, English sealers brought back from
14848-664: The water (pelagic sealing). In the summer of 1886, three British Columbian sealers, the Carolena , the Onward , and Thornton , were captured by an American revenue cutter, the Corwin . The United States claimed exclusive jurisdiction over the sealing industry in the Bering Sea ; it also contended that the protection of the fur seal was an international duty, and should be secured by international arrangement. The British imperial government repudiated
14976-455: The water column, increasing turbidity and reducing light penetration into greater depths of the fjord. This effect can limit the available light for photosynthesis in deeper areas of the water mass, reducing phytoplankton abundance beneath the surface. Overall, phytoplankton abundance and species composition within fjords is highly seasonal, varying as a result of seasonal light availability and water properties that depend on glacial melt and
15104-601: The world are: Deep fjords include: Seal hunting Seal hunting , or sealing , is the personal or commercial hunting of seals . Seal hunting is currently practiced in nine countries: Canada, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Russia, the United States (above the Arctic Circle in Alaska), Namibia, Estonia, Norway, Finland and Sweden. Most of the world's seal hunting takes place in Canada and Greenland. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) regulates
15232-585: Was adopted in German as Förde , used for the narrow long bays of Schleswig-Holstein , and in English as firth "fjord, river mouth". The English word ford (compare German Furt , Low German Ford or Vörde , in Dutch names voorde such as Vilvoorde, Ancient Greek πόρος , poros , and Latin portus ) is assumed to originate from Germanic * ferþu- and Indo-European root * pertu- meaning "crossing point". Fjord/firth/Förde as well as ford/Furt/Vörde/voorde refer to
15360-508: Was consequently used as a harbour by other European navigators and merchant ships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. From 1792 it became a favoured site for seal hunters . Men landed by Captain William Raven from the Britannia in that year built the first European house in New Zealand and the first ship in Australasia , and the first European woman known to have been in New Zealand
15488-589: Was first sighted by Europeans and Captain Cook noted its entrance during his first voyage to New Zealand in 1770. He named it Dusky Bay. On his second expedition he spent two months exploring the sound in March and April of 1773, and used it as a harbour, establishing workshops and an observatory. It is believed his crew brewed the first beer in New Zealand during his stay. He encountered some Māori with whom he had friendly relations. Later they seemed to have disappeared and it
15616-408: Was hired to recover Titanic bodies in 1912. Following World War I aircraft were used to find where the herds of seals had gathered on ice sheets. After World War II , the Newfoundland hunt was dominated by large Norwegian sealing vessels until the late 20th century, when the much diminished hunt shifted to smaller motor fishing vessels, based from outports around Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2007,
15744-437: Was in the 1970s. Although around 70% of Canadian seals killed are taken on the Front, private monitors focus on the St. Lawrence hunt, because of its more convenient location. The 2006 St. Lawrence leg of the hunt was officially closed on 3 April 2006; sealers had already exceeded the quota by 1,000 animals. On 26 March 2007, the Newfoundland and Labrador government launched a seal hunt website to counter "misinformation about
15872-423: Was often used as lamp fuel , lubricants , cooking oil , a constituent of soap, the liquid base for red ochre paint, and for processing materials such as leather and jute . Pinseal was fashioned into handbags , and seal livers were an early source of insulin . Early commercial sealers discarded most of the flesh, but might save seal hearts and flippers for an evening meal. Archeological evidence indicates
16000-461: Was recorded as a visitor in 1793. A group of 244 Europeans was stranded in Dusky Sound in 1795, which included two women, Elizabeth Bason and Ann Carey, the first known to have lived ashore. The last of this group left in 1797. The attention of the sealers moved to Bass Strait from 1798 but returned to New Zealand, at Dusky Sound, from 1802. In that year Captain Charles Bishop and George Bass in
16128-588: Was speculated their countrymen had killed them, perhaps for the presents Cook gave them. A large battle between Ngāti Moi Moi (the lost tribe) and Ngāi Tahu. It is said that Ngāti Moi Moi took their last stand on the beach but were killed. Cook saw the place as a good harbour for ships entering the Pacific from Europe by the shortest route, highlighting its maritime significance and overlooking its land-locked character. This gave it an unusual prominence in earliest European visits which disappeared as Europeans became more familiar with New Zealand's geography. Dusky Sound
16256-569: Was the Terra Nova , originally built in 1884 for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet. She was ideally suited to the polar regions and worked for 10 years in the annual seal fishery in the Labrador Sea . Large and expensive ships required major capital investments from British and Newfoundland firms, and shifted the industry from merchants in small outports to companies based in St. John's, Newfoundland. By
16384-533: Was the most outstanding sealing vessel of her day and the lead ship in a new generation of sealers. Heavy-built with 15-centimetre-thick (6-inch) wooden planks, Bear was rigged as a sailing barquentine but her main power was a steam engine designed to smash deep into ice packs to reach seal herds. At the time of her arrival in St. John's, there were 300 vessels outfitted each season to hunt seals, but most were small schooners or old sailing barques . The new sealing ships represented by Bear radically transformed
#514485