Saving Seafood

Researchers are on a mission this summer to learn more about right whales in the Gulf of Maine

August 6, 2024 — As the 100-foot long whale watch vessel, “Acadia Explorer,” idles at the dock in Bar Harbor on this day in late July, passenger Sarah Leiter with the Maine Department of Marine Resources opens her laptop.

“This is the game plan for the next two days,” she said, pointing to a map of the Gulf of Maine marked with a series of red dots arranged in a grid-like pattern.

They show the locations of 26 passive acoustic monitors listening for North Atlantic right whales about 30 feet underwater.

On this trip, Leiter’s team will swap out some of the units that need new batteries — and will conduct visual surveillance for whales. They’ll travel at 10 knots along a predetermined path that zigs and zags in and offshore, stopping first at a point just southwest of Swan’s Island.

“Then along the coastline off of MDI, past Mount Desert Rock over to site 6, and then we kind of create the same pattern following a U, until we get to the last visual waypoint, and then we end up back in Bar Harbor,” Leiter said.

Along the way, the crew scans the water almost constantly, looking for signs of marine life.

So far this year they’ve seen humpback, fin and minke whales. But no right whales.

“All data is equally useful data, so those zeros are just as important as finding a pile of right whales,” said Erin Summers, who leads the new marine mammal research division for the Department of Marine Resources.

Read the full article at Maine Public

NEW JERSEY: Whales recorded in large numbers off New Jersey coast

July 30, 2024 — Whales are gathering in large numbers off New Jersey in a portion of the Atlantic Ocean called the New York Bight, according to several sources.

Viking Yacht Company of New Gretna, Burlington County, posted to Facebook that a large group of North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species with only about 360 individuals left, was congregating in the New York Bight between the Hudson Canyon off Sandy Hook and Block Canyon off Montauk, New York.

The New York Bight is a triangular area of ocean that stretches between the Jersey Shore and Long Island.

“NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has used planes to identify the whales — present due to large amounts of food,” Viking Yacht staff wrote on Facebook. “We’re advising boaters to be vigilant. If whale(s) are seen, provide a wide berth.”

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press

CAPE WIND; Fishermen blast feds over turbines

July 29, 2024 — Fishermen are blasting the feds for suggesting they don ’t care about the ocean ecosystem and have no interest in the protection of the endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The claim came during a hearing yesterday in Boston federal appeals court as two fishing groups look to toss Vineyard Wind’s underlying permit, arguing regulators failed to analyze how the project would impact the environment and fishermen.

The alliance, as a trade association representing the fishing industry, does not have any interest in protecting right whales,” said attorney Thekla Hansen-Young, representing the Department of the Interior, the National Marine Fisheries Service, among other federal agencies, in the dispute.

Hansen-Young was referring to the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, one of the groups fighting the feds and Vineyard Wind. Seafreeze Shoreside Inc. is the other.

Annie Hawkins, the coalition’s executive director, shot back at Hansen-Young’s “repugnant” assertions after the hearing in which judges took no action.

“We take extreme offense to the government’s claim that our fishermen members have even less environmental interest in our oceans than recreational hobbyists because fishermen just want to ‘kill’ fish,” Hawkins said. “This statement erases generations of history, tradition, and knowledge.”

“Fishermen are faithful stewards of the ocean because their relationship with the sea forms the very fabric of coastal culture, supports their businesses, jobs, and communities,” she added. “The government’s repugnant position reveals a hostility to our iconic industry that is sadly common in its dealings with us.”

Hawkins’ alliance challenged the $4 billion Vineyard Wind project in January 2022 before the case waded through the courts, and U.S. District Judge Inditra Talwani dismissed the suit last October.

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and Seafreeze Shoreside claimed the 62-turbine, 806-megawatt wind farm would harm fishermen and the North Atlantic right whale.

The National Marine Fisheries Service determined that Vineyard Wind was“not likely to jeopardize the continued existence” of right whales and other endangered species  an opinion they maintained in 2020 and 2021.

Read the full article at the Boston Herald

US lawmakers trying to stop NOAA Fisheries’ new vessel speed rules

July 29, 2024 — U.S. lawmakers in Congress are trying to stop NOAA Fisheries’ expanded vessel speed rules from going into effect, with 54 legislators signing a letter asking the federal government to reopen the rule for further input and review.

“We share the objective of preventing vessel strikes and protecting critically endangered marine mammals like the North Atlantic right whale,” the lawmakers wrote in the joint letter. “However, we believe that there are better strategies to accomplish this goal while safeguarding the multiple uses of our ocean resources.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Environmentalists decry attempt to delay shipping rules meant to save endangered whales

July 3, 2024 — A Georgia congressman has proposed a yearslong delay in changes to federal rules meant to protect vanishing whales, prompting a rebuke from environmental groups who say the animals need protection now.

The delay proposed by Republican Rep. Buddy Carter concerns new vessel speed rules issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service that are being finalized by the federal government. The proposed rules, which are much anticipated by shippers and fishermen, would expand protective slow zones off the East Coast and require more ships to slow down.

The rules are designed to protect the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers fewer than 360 and is vulnerable to collisions with large ships. Carter’s bill states that it would prevent any amendments or updates to the right whale vessel strike reduction rule until Dec. 31, 2030.

The government’s proposed rule changes would “cause grave safety issues for recreational vessels and pilot vessels alike” and economic harm, Carter said in a statement. A hearing on Carter’s bill was held June 27.

Read the full article at Centralmaine.com

Right whale, fisheries, conservation bills on panel agenda

June 25, 2024 — A House Natural Resources subcommittee will hold a hearing on four ocean and fisheries bills Thursday, three of which are bipartisan.

The Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee will discuss legislation that would require the Commerce Department to create a grant program to “foster enhanced coexistence between ocean users and North Atlantic right whales and other large cetacean species,” according to a summary.

H.R. 8704, from Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), comes as some lawmakers fight administration rules to protect the right whale. Text has yet to be released.

Read the full article at E&E News

The Delicious Draw of Hudson Canyon

June 24, 2024 — Opportunistic sightings of endangered North Atlantic right whales in unexpected places or times of year are always interesting. It raises the questions of who, what, when, where and why? We—the Northeast Large Whale Aerial Survey team—received a report of at least five right whales near Hudson Canyon on Memorial Day weekend. We knew we wanted to fly a survey in that area to get some answers.

Hudson Canyon, the largest known ocean canyon off the U.S. East Coast, is nearly 100 miles east of New Jersey. It’s currently under consideration for a national marine sanctuary designation because of its rich biodiversity. However, right whale usage of this canyon and the rest of the mid-Atlantic is poorly understood, making our survey of this area even more important.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

MASSACHUSETTS: Large concentration of sei spotted near the Vineyard

June 18, 2024 — Over 160 whales were spotted just south of the Vineyard and Nantucket and 7 different whale species were identified during a single survey as reported by marine observers last week.

3Of these species spotted was the sei whale, with 93 found, one of the highest concentrations of that particular species that the survey team had ever seen during a single survey flight.

A Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s North Atlantic Right Whale team spotted the whales on May 25.

“It’s not uncommon to see a lot of whales in the area, just because there’s a lot of food this time of year,” said Teri Frady, Chief of Communications at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “But it’s unusual to see this many on one particular day.”

Read the full article at MV Times

Conservative groups cleared to continue legal fight to protect whales from Biden-backed offshore wind farm

June 17, 2024 — A coalition of conservative organizations has standing to continue fighting a Biden administration wind project in Virginia, a federal judge determined.

However, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the District of Columbia, a Biden appointee, denied the plaintiff’s petition for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project from going forward.

On Thursday, the plaintiffs withdrew a petition for an expedited appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court for a narrow decision on the injunction but will continue the case to stop the construction, one attorney said.

The plaintiffs sued the Biden administration and Dominion Energy to protect the North Atlantic right whale under the Endangered Species Act.

Read the full article at Fox News

Every death imperils their species. 2024 already holds triumph and tragedy.

May 28, 2024 — Whale watchers and marine biologists greet news of each North Atlantic right whale born off the Southeast coast with joy. When only 70 of the estimated 356 whales are breeding females, each birth is a big deal.

This winter brought nineteen such occasions, including four to first-time moms, reason to celebrate for sure.

Pregnant right whales migrate through commercial fishing grounds off New England and Canada and along busy shipping lanes on their journey to the calving grounds off Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. To arrive alive and deliver a calf is a crucial win for their species.

But the calving season that ended this spring was a heartbreaking reminder of the perilous future the calves and their moms face. Just four months into the new year, 2024 is already the deadliest year for right whales since 2019. Five whales have died, scientists say, including one of the new calves, and four other calves are missing and presumed dead.

Whale researchers and advocates say the whales are sliding into oblivion without the urgent protections needed to save them, but the additional proposed safety measures remain mired in controversy and delays.

Read the full article at USA TODAY