Full plate at right whale meeting

First published in the MLA Newsletter, December, 2011

More than 150 people gathered at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in November to hear the latest research findings on North Atlantic right whales. Rubbing elbows with the scientists and non-profit and government representatives were two Maine lobstermen. Bobby Ingalls of Bucks Harbor and Elliott Thomas of Yarmouth attended as part of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) contingent to delve deeper into the issues affecting right whales.

The annual meeting of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, whose mission is to ensure the survival of North Atlantic right whales, provides a forum for researchers to present their latest work on topics ranging from management to science. The group was formed in 1986 by five research institutions to improve collaboration and share data among themselves. It expanded in the mid 1990’s to ensure that research was not duplicative and that findings were shared with all interested parties. Currently more than 100 entities including research, academia, conservation, shipping, commercial fishing, whale watching and government organizations are members of the Consortium.

The meeting opened with a series of presentations on the status of North Atlantic right whales. The New England Aquarium reported that 17 more whales were photographed and catalogued in 2010 versus 2009, bringing the total number of whales to 490 individuals. This continues the steady rise in individual right whales sighted (the total was below 300 in 1990). This positive news was tempered with a sobering update on what happens when whales and people use the same area. A University of North Carolina whale biologist presented detailed photos of the 11 new entanglements, six new ship strike injuries and five whale mortalities which occurred during the last year.

Representatives from the conservation community updated the audience on the lawsuit filed against National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in late October. Sierra Weaver of Defenders of Wildlife explained that the lawsuit seeks to compel NMFS to reassess the effects that fisheries such as the lobster fishery have on right whale survival. The suits claims that new management measures to protect right whales cannot wait until 2014, and seeks to speed up the overall timeline or force interim protections for endangered whales. “It’s very scary to hear that there are groups that firmly believe that a single whale death is too many,” said Elliott Thomas. “They really don’t think that NMFS should be issuing permits for the lobster fishery without significant changes to the whale plan.”

During an open discussion, a member of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) disentanglement team urged the audience not to confuse the issues of whale conservation and animal welfare. Improvements in efforts to find whales and to respond to entanglements, combined with the recovery of more carcasses provide better opportunities to understand how whales are injured and killed. Management decisions must be based on data and research findings, rather than emotional response to the gruesome nature of some whale deaths. “It’s hard to look at those pictures,” admitted Bobby Ingalls.

Scientists from institutions including University of Massachusetts, Dalhousie University, Kean University and PCCS spoke about different methods for learning how right whales feed, use marine habitats and perceive their environment. Developing tools to better predict when and where whales are feeding and how they move among different feeding areas would lead to better management approaches to protect whales from human interactions. Scientists from Kean University explained that they were the lucky recipients of a right whale eyeball. Researchers there are studying the eyeball to gain insight into how and what whales see in their dark, watery environment.

Scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission presented updates on the right whale ship strike plan. To date, the majority of ships are compliant in adhering to the shipping lanes and speed restrictions but there have been significant violations. With only two years of data, researchers can’t determine the effectiveness of the ship strike plan; they also say that it is too soon to call it ineffective.

In another study, a College of the Atlantic student monitored whale activity for one year by listening to whales offshore the southern Maine coast. An acoustic buoy array was placed along the Outer Falls and detected whales every day from November through January. Researchers analyzed whale vocalizations to determine how whales use this area. They determined that this area is a significant wintering habitat for right whales and also may be a mating ground.

Researchers from Penn State University presented an update on an ongoing study examining why mother-calf pairs are so vulnerable to ship strikes along the east coast. The study is observing and listening to these whales in an effort to find ways to detect the animals and thus minimize ship strikes.

A researcher from Woods Hole presented a preliminary run of a computer model that shows the likelihood of right whales becoming entangled in Maine lobster gear. The model uses local lobster fishing data collected by the MLA. Maine Department of Marine Resources staff presented preliminary data on a coast-wide study to quantify fishing gear in the water. The study uses fishing vessels and aerial photography to count lobster buoys. DMR also deployed eight acoustic buoys during the peak of the lobster fishery to determine right whales presence along the coast. Canadian researchers from Dalhousie University are conducting modeling projects to determine the likelihood of whale entanglement from a range of Canadian fishing gear.

Patrice McCarron, MLA’s executive director, commented at the meeting’s close, “This is a great way to get caught up on all that is happening, both positive and negative, on right whales. The research community is here to solve problems, not point fingers.” Bobby Ingalls added, “Being here as been a real eye opener.”