Hello from Plymouth, MA, home office of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
I've got a bit of interesting information (or should I say a few good bytes) on the right whale this week.
First of all -- The Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Mass. (on the outermost part of Cape Cod) reports that 5 right whales have been seen off the shore of Truro (the town just south of Provincetown, approximately 8 miles). The sighting was made on Sunday, Feb. 26 (perhaps these were the same 5 whales that were seen last week). They were spotted in two groups -- one of three and one of two. The approximate coordinates were: 41 degrees 56 minutes Latitude; 70 degrees 15 minutes Longitude. The Center reports that two whales were seen spouting the distinctive V-shaped blow of the right whale, and it was assumed that the other 3 whales were rights too.
The New England Aquarium's Right Whale Program in the Georgia/Florida area reported several interesting sightings:
* Whale 1268 and calf was radio-tagged on 2/1/95 off Cocoa Beach, Florida; resighted on 2/23/95 off Jupiter Inlet (some 80 miles south) and probably continued a bit further south; on 2/24 they were spotted 25 miles north of Jupiter Inlet (the radio-tag has not worked too well with the aircraft, possibly because of the distances involved).
* A second mother-calf pair was sighted off Daytona Beach on 2/16; on 2/24 they were spotted off Jacksonville, Fla. at coordinates 30 degrees 17.9 minutes N Latitude and 81 degrees 20.7 minutes W Longitude. They were again spotted on 2/27 off Amelia Island at 30 degrees 31 minutes N Latitude 81 degrees 15.5 minutes W Longitude where they were radio-tagged. On 2/28 they were tracked to a position at 30 degrees 26.4 minutes N Latitude 81 degrees 7.2 minutes W Longitude.
CHALLENGE QUESTION. Can anyone tell me what's happening with these whales?
Send your answer to: jnorth@informns.k12.mn.us
The research team reports that the total of mother-calf pairs remains at 7, which is a little disappointing. They believed that there were possibly up to 30 female whales that could have given birth this year (based on age and time since previous pregancy). They're hoping that they missed several pairs in their overflights.
Recovery Plan -- 1994 Report In an effort to protect the right whale, the National Marine Fisheries Service (the agency charged with developing a protection and recovery plan for the right whale) put together a team of national, regional and local reps from government, research, and shipping/port operations organizations.
In 1994, the Southeastern U.S. Right Whale Recovery Plan Implementation Team began a coordinated protection program for the right whale. As reported in the recently released "Marine Mammal Commission Annual Report to Congress, 1994":
"As a cornerstone of the program, agencies represented on the team supported daily aerial surveys, weather permitting, to monitor the location of whales. Sighting reports were passed along promptly to port authorities, harbor pilots, dredge spoil disposal barges, naval installations at Mayport, Florida, and Kings Bay, Georgia, the Coast Guard, and directly to large ships seen approaching whales.
In addition to sighting reports from daily survey flights, reports also were received and passed along from weekly right whale research surveys and unscheduled flights flown by the Georgia Department of Environmental Protection to verify public sighting reports. On six occasions, vessels seen approaching a whale were contacted directly by aerial observers, prompting immediate evasive action to avoid a collision....
On 9 November 1994 the team met to prepare for the 1994-1995 whale season [happening now]. It agreed that the early warning system should be continued and strengthened by, among other things, (a) holding a series of training seminars to educate mariners about right whales, (b) having port dispatchers announce whale advisories effective for a 24-hour period aftera whale sighting to alert incoming and outgoing ships to recent sighting locations and the need for caution, and (c) developing a set of standard operating procedures for vessels to follow when in the vicinity of right whales."
An implementation team for the Northeast U.S. is still in the formative stages.
Happy March! See you next week. Anne Smrcina Education Coordinator Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Plymouth, Mass.