Hi, I'm Anne Smrcina, education coordinator of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. For those of you unfamiliar with the sanctuary program, it is a system of special marine areas around the country (12 areas in all) that have been designated as significant for ecological or historical resources. Other sanctuaries include the Monitor site off North Carolina (the famous Civil War fighting ship), the Florida Keys, the Channel Islands, Monterey Bay in California, and the Olympic Coast of Washington.
STELLWAGEN BANK BACKGROUND Stellwagen Bank is a shallow area at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay which cuts off most of the deep water flow from the greater Gulf of Maine. The shallowest section of the bank (its southwest corner) is only 65 feet deep, but most of the bank averages 100 feet in depth. The bank drops off on each side to about 300 feet in Massachusetts Bay to the west of the bank, and 300 feet on the east (the continental shelf).
Stellwagen Bank was selected as a sanctuary because of the high productivity there. Colder bottom waters from the Gulf rise up along the bank, providing nutrients to the phytoplankton which thrive in the sun-lit waters. This phytoplankton feeds the small animals or zooplankton, which in turn feed small fish, such as sand lance and herring. Humpbacks are attracted to these fish foods -- and therefore have made Stellwagen Bank and other shallow areas around Cape Cod a stopping place on the northward migration. The whales were probably one of the most important reasons for the designation of Stellwagen Bank as a National Marine Sanctuary.
BACKGROUND ON HUMPBACK WHALES Humpback whales have a scientific name of Megaptera novaeangliae ("big-winged New Englander). If you've ever seen one (in person or in a book) you will understand why it got its name. The humpback has the largest flippers of any of the whales (up to 15 feet long), which they often use to slap the water (we're not sure why they do this, it may be play or communication). They have a reputation for curiosity and seem to be interested in the whale watch boats that ply the waters of Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bays. They also demonstrate some awesome moves -- jumping out of the water (breaching), poking their heads out (spyhopping), tail slapping, and their distinctive dives (in which they hump their backs and then show their tails). Humpbacks have a small dorsal fin and have bumps on their heads that hold hair follicles (the last signs of hair on these marine mammals).
It is estimated that about 6,000 humpbacks live in the North Atlantic (there are other populations elsewhere on the globe, but the groups do not mix). The whales we see at Stellwagen Bank spend their winters in the waters around Silver Bank (now a sanctuary of the Dominican Republic) in the Caribbean Sea. Although they are most concentrated at Silver Bank (and Navidad Bank close by), they can also be found from the Bahamas to the Grenadines. It is here that their calves are born and mating occurs. Whales do not eat during their stay in the Caribbean, but live off their reserves of fat (called blubber). In the spring they come to the waters off Cape Cod to feed on small fish, then continue up north to the Bay of Fundy. Other whales travel to the waters off Newfoundland, as well as to Greenland and Iceland.
Humpbacks are black or gray with white markings on their throats and bellies, flippers and tails. The markings on their tails are quite distinctive and are usually used to identify individual humpbacks. They grow to about 50 feet at maturity and can weigh up to 45 tons.
QUESTION: Why do you think northern waters are important feeding areas, while tropical waters are not?
HUMPBACK WHALE REPORTING NETWORK I will be working with a group of whale researchers up and down the coast of the United States and Canada, as well as with individuals in the Caribbean. I will be forwarding sighting reports from the Silver Bank Sanctuary, from the New England Aquarium's right whale research team (they will also report on humpbacks off of Georgia and Florida), the Virginia Marine Science Museum, the Center for Coastal Studies and the International Wildlife Coalition in Massachusetts, several Bay of Fundy whale researchers in Nova Scotia, and Memorial University in Newfoundland. In addition, the National Marine Sanctuaries from American Samoa and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean will report on their humpback populations, as will our west coast sanctuaries in California.
SIGHTINGS REPORTED UP TO FEBRUARY 6
>From Dominican Republic: 18 Dec. 1994 Silver Bank 1 whale, no songs 20 Dec. 1994 Navidad Bank 2 whales, no songs 8 Jan. 1995 Navidad Bank 11 whales, distant songs 19-25 Jan. 1995 Silver Bank 137 whales
QUESTION: (I have not yet received this information but will try to obtain it for next week) Do you think the Silver Bank whales were singing during late January? Why and where do humpback whales sing?
>From Virginia Marine Science Museum (off Virginia Beach, usually within 1 mile of shore): 14-21 Jan. 1995 possibly six whales spotted (To find out what the whales were eating, the researchers put out a trawl net that caught bay anchovies, small flatfish called spot, and hake. The researchers believe the whales were feeding on the anchovies primarily.) The whales were estimated to be about 30 feet long.
QUESTION: Why were these whales here and not down in the Caribbean with the other whales?
>From Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, MA: 30 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1995 one whale spotted on Stellwagen Bank as well as a pod of white-sided dolphins.
>From Memorial University in Newfoundland: Dec. 1994- Jan. 1995 up to ten whales have been seen in various coves around Newfoundland. Report is that this is typical; that the whales are called Christmas Whales (they feed on arctic cod and come in very close to shore -- almost up to the porches and wharves). Blue whales have also been known to come in close to shore from Dec. through March.
-- | Elizabeth Donnelly |Copyright 1994, Elizabeth Donnelly / Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Journey North is a trademark of Elizabeth Donnelly.