I know what it is. It was a science experiment performed by universities around the country's ocean front states. I think they were studying whale psychology.
There once was a ball tied to the end of that rope...much like a tether ball. They wanted to see if the whales would be smart enough or curious enough to try to bump the floating buoy thing just right so the ball would be thrown up into the basket a the top of the pole. To my knowledge it was a failed experiment.