Our staff Tweets, and more!
| Oct. 21, 2009 |
| Written by office staff | |
| October 22, 2009 00:00 | |
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We headed up to Jeffreys Ledge on our research vessel, the Mysticete, with three of our senior staff. Ten days prior, we had a report of almost a dozen right whales, which is remarkable, given that there are only 400 in the entire ocean. Jeffreys Ledge is to the northeast of Cape Ann, and was virtually unknown as a right whale habitat until we started our surveys seven years ago.
Our right whale work is very special to us. North Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered whales in the world. They were hunted extensively from the 14th century until the early in the 1900's; they now number only 400 animals in the entire ocean. Their recovery is slow, their continued existence in jeopardy, and saving the species is dependant on conserving both these fragile animals and their habitats. The fall and winter movements of right whales were virtually unknown until only a few years ago. Since then, our work on Jeffreys Ledge and that of National Marine Fisheries Service further offshore in the Gulf of Maine is suggesting many of these animals remain off New England year-round, and do not migrate away at all. As a result, each year's data in these little known seasons helps us understand the movements and population dynamics of this critically endangered species. As we got close to the area we had targeted, we saw two humpbacks slowly heading east. Pushing on, we started to see more whale blows. The next thing we knew, there were four right whales around us! It took us almost an hour and a half to get the first three identifications, as the whales were diving for up to 12 minutes. In order to identify a right whale, you photograph a series of hardened patches of skin on their head called callosities. These are natural marks which vary from whale to whale. We can use this data to find out which whales use our study area, how long they stay, and, by cooperating with other researchers, where they come from and where they go when they leave. Our four right whales led us to more, and more, until, by the end of the day, we had almost 25 right whales. That's over 5% of the entire population! We saw a mother-calf pair, several surface active groups, and had whales scattered all about. It certainly was a great start to our surveys!
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| Last Updated on November 11, 2009 23:34 |