Orca attack

Is there a source of data on the size distribution of yachts that have been attacked?

Is there any sense that size (within reason) confers protection against attack?

Yes, I realize that larger yachts are less common than smaller yachts, but still, it would be interesting to see a histogram of attacked yachts by length.

I looked on orcas.pt, but didn't find anything
 
I haven't been following the thread so this video may may already been posted as worth viewing. Some interesting theories put forward, I thought.

 
veshengro said:
I haven't been following the thread so this video may may already been posted as worth viewing. Some interesting theories put forward, I thought.

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a lot of guessing.., and really nobody is any closer to understanding this phenomenon than when it started.

in the end, i don't think it's possible for humans to understand why animals do some of the things they do

and, in the end a lot of sailors may not really care that much - they just want it to stop.
 
Cheery said:
Interactions between orcas and boats in the Iberian Peninsula increase since 2020. What's going on?
“We changed our navigation training scheme, we stopped going to deep water - because one of the recommendations to reduce interactions is to walk in waters under 20 meters”, adds the instructor.

https://www.publico.pt/2025/09/27/azul/noticia/interaccoes-orcas-barcos-peninsula-iberica-aumentam-desde-2020-passa-2148727
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Likes the "just bored" theory
Maybe one could offer alternative entertainment of some kind
Perhaps play them K-pop?
Or alternatively, use it as a deterrent
That would work on me.
 
ducked said:
Likes the "just bored" theory
Maybe one could offer alternative entertainment of some kind
Perhaps play them K-pop?
Or alternatively, use it as a deterrent
That would work on me.
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OTOH the suggestion in the above source that fishing is too easy for them conflicts with a more authoritive source I posted earlier that suggests these populations are under pressure and are in direct conflict with Spanish and Moroccan line fishermen for fish
 
ducked said:
OTOH the suggestion in the above source that fishing is too easy for them conflicts with a more authoritive source I posted earlier that suggests these populations are under pressure and are in direct conflict with Spanish and Moroccan line fishermen for fish
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There's more tuna about down here than there's been for years. Just ask local fishermen and the sports fishermen down here. Current suspicion is that the orca don't have to work so hard catching them and are getting bored. Hence they have fun with the boat's rudders to fill their time. If you sail through their fishing area and they are bored, they will come and play.
 
greeny said:
There's more tuna about down here than there's been for years. Just ask local fishermen and the sports fishermen down here. Current suspicion is that the orca don't have to work so hard catching them and are getting bored. Hence they have fun with the boat's rudders to fill their time. If you sail through their fishing area and they are bored, they will come and play.
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It’s the same in Falmouth Bay, more tuna than seen in years so how long… 🥴
 
Fr J Hackett said:
How anyone can determine whether it's an attack or play from an animal that doesn't communicate in the same language is purely a matter of opinion and conjecture.
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No, what we write in forums is often a matter of opinion & conjecture, but if the experts and scientists who spend their time studying these animals in depth say it is probably play, then I would think it is probably play.
We may not like the game but that is neither here nor there.
Of course its not an established fact yet, as that would require proof, rather than understanding or interpretation, but surely if was not play, but really revenge attacks, then something as powerful and intelligent as an orca, especially acting as a pod, could very easily sink every yacht they targeted.

And yes it’s a marine predator, but we are not its prey. There are a great many animals that will readily attack and kill humans in their own environment, but Orcas have never been one of them.
 
steve yates said:
No, what we write in forums is often a matter of opinion & conjecture, but if the experts and scientists who spend their time studying these animals in depth say it is probably play, then I would think it is probably play.
We may not like the game but that is neither here nor there.
Of course its not an established fact yet, as that would require proof, rather than understanding or interpretation, but surely if was not play, but really revenge attacks, then something as powerful and intelligent as an orca, especially acting as a pod, could very easily sink every yacht they targeted.

And yes it’s a marine predator, but we are not its prey. There are a great many animals that will readily attack and kill humans in their own environment, but Orcas have never been one of them.
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It's the basis of an "expert" concluding that the Orcas are playing that is the problem, what are their terms of reference when there is no similarity between a human and an orca, no means of communication or direct observation. It would be and has been just as easy to conclude that it is an act of aggression. when Orcas attack large prey such as whales they repeatedly ram them and leave them or follow them for days.

Man and Orcas don't as individuals occupy the same environment so there is very little chance of interaction but there is a good test don your black wet suit and go and swim with a pod or take your boat and see if it will be attacked if and when it is jump in the water. Then report back.
 
My faith in the ability of "experts" to divine the motivations of Orca is very low.

But, in the end it really doesn't matter if they are playing or attacking.., it needs to be stopped.

And for what it's worth I think it's entirely appropriate to let the target of this behaviour decide which it is. That's mostly what we do with interactions between humans: if a guy has his hands all over a woman, she gets to decide; if she wants it to happen, then it's play.., and if she doesn't.., then it's an attack. We don't ask "experts" to tell us what it is.
 
It’s a no win situation for governments to get involved as only a relatively small group of “yachtsmen” who really never get a good press against Orcas who have a huge following
 
Wansworth said:
It’s a no win situation for governments to get involved as only a relatively small group of “yachtsmen” who really never get a good press against Orcas who have a huge following
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It's worse than that...

I think most people would rather see a few humans killed than an Orca.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
But but we are told they are in decline.
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In early 2010, European officials, led by the French ecology minister, increased pressure to ban the commercial fishing of bluefin internationally. However, a UN proposal to protect the species from international trade was voted down (68 against, 20 for, 30 abstaining). Since then, enforcement of regional fishing quotas has led to some increases in population. As of 4 September 2021 the Atlantic bluefin tuna was moved from the category of Endangered to the category of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, many regional populations are still severely depleted, including western stocks which spawn in the Gulf of Mexico.’
 
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