Humpback Whale Migration Update: March 31, 1999 Today's Report Includes:
The Whales Have Arrived at Stellwagen Bank! ![]() I've heard that these appear to be juveniles, but I should have more detailed information for my next report. One Day They're Here, And the Next... And just as you would assume when whales start appearing up here, word from the Dominican Republic is that the whales have left. According to Kim Beddall in Samana Bay -- one day they're here, and the next they're gone. ![]() The whales arrived a bit late this year in Samana Bay, peaked in numbers at around the end of the first week of March and have left a bit later than in past years. The numbers of mother-calf pairs seems to be about the same as in past years, however. Official Permit Required Kim also reported that the Dominican Republic's Navy has also acted very forcefully this year to protect the whales by prohibiting recreational boats from actively whalewatching. Boaters are only being allowed to transit Samana Bay to get to a destination -- they cannot go out just to get close to whales. Commercial whalewatching vessels had to get an official permit before they could take passengers out to see the whales in the bay. Discussion of Challenge Question #7 ![]() The nautical mile is 1 minute of an arc measured along a meridian of longitude or along the equator. (The reason the equator is the only latitude parallel that can give a correct measurement is that it is the only parallel that goes through the center of the planet. The other parallels produce smaller circles that ring the planet -- for which one minute of arc would be a much smaller distance.) The nautical mile is equal to 1.85 kilometers or 1.15 miles. A knot is a term for "one nautical mile per hour." Twenty knots is twenty nautical miles per hour. Don't ever say "knots per hour" -- you'd just be repeating yourself and sounding like a landlubber. Fifth grade Scott Young P.S.students, Stephen & Ryan, went the distance with this answer and they are no landlubbers: "A knot is an unit of speed used by vessels/boats or aircraft. A knot being 1 nautical mile (about 1.15 mile or 1.85 km.) per hour." Ontario, Canada (Kevin.Adams-SYPS@fc.vcbe.edu.on.ca) That's all for now. This is Anne Smrcina, education coordinator of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, signing off. The Next Humpback Whale Migration Update will Be Posted on April 14, 1999.
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