Vol. 1, No. 1
Headline
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Right whales migrating through Gulf of Maine Education Coordinator Stellwagen Bank NMS, NOAA PLYMOUTH, Massachusetts -- The annual migration of the world's most endangered great whale northward into the Gulf of Maine is under way. Scientists believe that only 300 northern right whales remain in the North Atlantic. Despite international measures established in 1935 to protect the whales, their population has yet to recover from centuries of intense whaling. But since 1984, at least 60 percent of the right whale population has appeared annually from January through May off the coast of Massachusetts in Cape Cod Bay, around Stellwagen Bank, and in the Great South Channel. Even greater numbers travel farther north in late summer to Canada's Bay of Fundy and Scotian Shelf to feed and breed. Yet, heavy shipping and fishing traffic within the whales' breeding and calving grounds continue to claim their lives. Collisions with ships are thought to be the most frequent cause of death for the 45- to 50-foot [approximately 13-15 meter] giants. Though huge, the whales are difficult to see in the water, and virtually invisible to radar due to their low, broad body profile and lack of a dorsal fin. According to the Center for Coastal Studies [CCS] in Provincetown, Mass-achusetts, entanglement in fishing gear, such as gill nets and lobster buoy lines, causes about a tenth of known right whale deaths. An entangled whale can drown, be struck by a vessel, or die from wounds or starvation. The US, Canada, and the Common-wealth of Massachusetts are collaborating to reduce these threats. Protective measures in place in US and Canada Under the Endangered Species Act, the US has identified special high-use areas -- known as critical habitats -- for the Right Whale. These include Cape Cod Bay, the Great South Channel, and the area off the Florida/Georgia coast where the whales give birth to their calves. Government agencies and environmental groups are developing whale protection plans for these sites. The Canadian Government promotes seasonal Right Whale Conservation Areas in the Bay of Fundy near Grand Manan Island and on the Scotian Shelf, informing boaters of the whales' presence. An early warning system notifies ships of the whales' presence in US waters. This system is operated by CCS, the National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS], the US Coast Guard, the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary [NMS], the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, and other agencies. The agencies modeled the system after a successful program instituted by the New England Aquarium in the whale calving area off the Florida /Georgia coast. From mid-January through April, observers in helicopters, airplanes, and boats scan the waters of Cape Cod Bay and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary for signs of the whales. "Each of our organizations regularly records when and where right whales are sighted," said NMFS regional administrator Dr. Andy Rosenberg. The observers then warn vessels of the whales' presence with marine radio alerts. Similar overflights are planned for later this spring over the Great South Channel. Massachusetts tackles fishing gear dangers In another move to protect the whales, a legal challenge in Massachusetts prompted the Commonwealth to develop a state fisheries plan calling for a ban on use of gill nets from January through May in the portion of the critical habitat that includes most of Cape Cod Bay. The plan also calls for modification of other fishing gear to reduce the likelihood that whales will become caught in lines. Fishing associations, state agencies, and environmental groups are also collaborating on a project using revenues from the sale of special-edition automobile license plates to help test additional fishing gear modifications. Should a whale become entangled in fishing gear despite these precautions, a first-of-its-kind Rapid Response Team of scientists is prepared to travel to the site and free the creature. |
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Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine