Tag Archives: right whales
No lobstering until right whales leave Cape Cod Bay
For the past three years there has been a ban on setting lobster traps and pots in the bay from Feb. 1 through the end of April, a ban intended to protect these whales from entanglement. Last week by some counts close to 200 of the estimated total population of 500 Atlantic Western Right Whales were still in Cape Cod Bay. Citing their endangered status and their surprising willingness to stay in the bay because of an abundance of the plankton they feed on, the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries announced that most of the bay would remain closed to setting recreational and commercial lobster traps and pots through next Sunday, May 7. For environmentalists involved in the protection of this species of whale the extended ban was a reasonable, measured action. For many lobstermen it was salt on an open wound. click here to read the story 07:56
Division of Marine Fisheries Extends Trap Fishing Gear Closure in Cape Cod Bay
As a result of the ongoing presence of endangered right whales feeding in Cape Cod Bay, the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) today announced that most of Cape Cod Bay will remain closed to the setting of recreational and commercial traps and pots for an additional week, through May 7, 2017. Right whales are common in Cape Cod Bay during late winter and early spring, especially during the months of March and April, and usually depart before May 1, when the three month (February – April) trap closure affecting this area was scheduled to be lifted. However, over the past month an unprecedented number of whales have been observed, with mid-April counts demonstrating a presence of more than 200 whales. While the most recent survey suggests some whales may have departed the Bay, an estimated 100 to 200 individuals remain present. This late seasonal presence of whales corresponds with extraordinarily high densities of plankton (Calanus copepods), the preferred food of right whales. Read the press release here with imagery 14:43
Researchers seek fishing ground closures off N.S., N.B., to protect right whales
Canadian researchers say they have a solution to a new U.S. government requirement that its seafood imports be caught in a way that minimizes harm to marine mammals. Sean Brillant, the report’s lead author, has recommended the summertime closure of Roseway Basin off southwestern Nova Scotia and areas around Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy. Those are two areas where North Atlantic right whales usually congregate in summer. Closing them, the paper claims, would reduce the risk of gear entanglements by more than 30 per cent at a cost of 140 tonnes in lost seafood catches. click here to read the story 09:22
Right whales have Cape Breton Whelk fishermen on hold.
One Cape Breton fisherman says concern over changing migration patterns of endangered right whales are already having an impact on his ability to earn a living. Derrick Wadden, a multi-species fisherman, said he invested more than $7,000 this year in ropes and custom-made traps for whelk, a large, undersea snail, in hopes of going fishing this month. Fisheries and Oceans Canada had indicated fishing conditions for whelk licences would be issued at the beginning of September, he said, but the conditions have been delayed due to concern about the potential for right whales to get tangled in gear. Read the rest here 14:56
Right whales might get extra layer of protection off N.C. coast
Off Southeastern North Carolina, the critical habitat would extend about 25 miles offshore. So will the new designation mean additional red tape for commercial fishermen, ships transiting through the new critical habitat areas or other current offshore activities? No, Gouveia stressed. But it would place the whales on the proverbial radar screen for any future developments in the near-shore waters off the coast that could impact those important habitat features. Read the rest here 19:50
More Protected Habitat for Endangered Right Whales?
This article was written by Anne Russell Gregory, the Conservation Law Coordinator at 
. Progress! The highly endangered North Atlantic right whale is one step closer to safer waters, thanks to the settlement agreement we reached just before Thanksgiving with the National Marine Fisheries Service, which the courts made official this week. Under the agreement, the agency must finally expand critical habitat for right whales by February 2016. Read the rest here 14:06
Fewer right whales seen, counted in Gulf of Maine
Only one North Atlantic right whale was spotted in the Gulf of Maine this fall by biologists who are tracking the species. “Right whales have different feeding areas at different times of year,” LaCasse said. Their year-round habitat extends from the Canadian Maritimes to southern New England, but the whales move in search of food. Their whereabouts, regardless of the time of year, are likely tied primarily to food and the conditions of the ecosystem in which they thrive, marine scientists said. “These whales are grazers,” said Mayo. “It’s a moving feast, quite literally, for these animals. Wherever they are, I guarantee that they’re sitting on a pile of food.” more@kennebecjournal 05:53
Absence of right whales in Bay of Fundy puzzles scientists
“Probably because there wasn’t very much food for them,” said Brown. “The plankton, and although we don’t sample that ourselves, our colleagues on Grand Manan did and didn’t find very many plankton in the water at all this year.” more@cbcnews 07:31
Seismic airgun activities place Georgia’s right whales at risk during oil exploration
Highly endangered right whales, which give birth in the waters off Georgia, could be harmed by the use of seismic airguns to explore for oil and gas there, said panelists at a forum Thursday night at Savannah State University. In its draft environmental study, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimates that seismic airgun activities planned for an eight-year span for the Atlantic will injure and possibly kill 138,500 dolphins and whales. more@savannanow 17:56
