Hi, this is Anne Smrcina again reporting from Plymouth, home of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
My report from Florida/Georgia failed to appear this week, so I can't give you an update on the movements of the mother-calf pairs that were radio-tagged down south. However, I do hear through the grapevine that they're moving (although the directions seem to be a bit puzzling). I'll hopefully have more on this next week along with an answer to last week's challege question about the right whale movements.
However, we do have some interesting news from local waters. It seems that we now have up to 20 whales in Cape Cod Bay -- spotted Thurs., Fri., and Sat. (March 2-4). They have been demonstrating a lot of social behavior, including nuzzling and thrashing, and long-diving (up to 15- 30 minutes per dive). Some of this behavior is often associated with mating.
CHALLENGE QUESTION:
If mating occurs in the Bay of Fundy in the late summer, what's going on here?
Send your answer to: jnorth@informns.k12.mn.us
Four of the whales have been positively identified -- 2 males, Trident and Yawn, and 2 females (that were among the 30 that researchers believed could have been pregnant this year but obviously were not -- since they're here rather than calving down in Florida). The females names are Staccato and Pedidal.
Right whales have traditionally congregated in Cape Cod Bay during March and April -- starting in the southwest corner (as they seem to be doing now), then moving eastward towards the crook of the Cape Cod "arm," on towards Provincetown and the southern part of the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary and the Great South Channel off the eastern side of the Cape. Most of the whales -- males, females, adults and juveniles -- then disappear in May to reappear in the Bay of Fundy later in the summer.
CRITICAL HABITAT The following article appeared in the August 1994 issue of RIGHT WHALE NEWS (the newsletter of the Southeastern U.S. Implementation Team for the Recovery of the Northern Right Whale)
"On June 3, 1994, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published the Final Rule designating Critical Habitat for the Northern Right Whale (Federal Register, Vol. 59, number 106, pages 28793-28808). After consideration of public comment and based on the best available scientific information, the NMFS designated critical habitat described in the proposed rule (Federal Register Vol. 58, p. 29186). The effective date for the Final Rule was July 5, 1994.
The designated habitat includes portions of Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen Bank, the Great South Channel (each off the coast of Massachusetts) and waters adjacent to the coasts of Georgia and the east coast of Florida. In the southeast, the specific area "encompasses waters between 31 degrees 15 minutes N (approximately located at the mouth of the Altamaha River, GA) and 30 degrees 15 minutes N (approximately Jacksonville, FL) from the shoreline out to 15 nautical miles offshore; and the waters between 30 degrees 15 minutes N and 28 degrees 00 minutes N (approximately Sebastian Inlet, FL) from the shoreline out to 5 nautical miles."
The designation provides notice to Federal agencies and the public that the right whale is dependent on these areas and features for its continued existence and that any Federal action that may affect these areas or features is subject to the consultation requirements of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act."
I'll be in touch again next week. Let's hope boaters down south and in Cape Cod Bay are doing the "right" thing and keeping an eye out for whales.
Anne Smrcina Education Coordinator Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Journey North 125 North First Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 jnorth@informns.k12.mn.us Phone: (612)339-6959