Saving Seafood

Another death of critically endangered North Atlantic right whale renews calls for shipping regulations

February 16, 2024 — Another death of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale has renewed calls for regulation of shipping lane speed limits to protect the dwindling species and other marine life.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported a dead right whale floating about 20 miles off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia, on Thursday. NOAA Fisheries was first alerted to the juvenile female whale, an offspring born to a tracked whale named Pilgrim, the previous Tuesday.

Read the full article at ABC News

Rope Found on Dead Right Whale is From Maine

February 14, 2024 — The rope embedded in the tail of a dead young right whale that washed up on the Vineyard last month is consistent with buoy lines used by trap fishermen in Maine, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

An analysis of the rope recovered from the whale found purple markings that are used to identify trap fishing gear from the Pine Tree State, NOAA wrote in a statement Wednesday. The finding is another clue into the whale’s death, though final results from the investigation led by the International Fund for Animal Welfare have yet to be released.

Preliminary results show the whale suffered from chronic entanglement. The whale’s death was a blow to the species, which now has dwindled to fewer than 360 whales.

“Entanglements are a constant threat to right whales, cutting their lives short and painting a disheartening future for this species,” Conservation Law Foundation senior counsel Erica Fuller said in a statement.

Read the full article at the Vineyard Gazette 

Scientists look for clues to right whale death on Martha’s Vineyard. It could take weeks.

February 10, 2024 — For about half her life, the North Atlantic right whale that washed up dead Jan. 28 on a Martha’s Vineyard beach lived with fishing rope wrapped around her tail and flukes, making her existence increasingly difficult and painful as she grew.

A team of more than 20 scientists last week conducted a necropsy on the 3-year-old female whale, looking for clues about her cause of death, which has yet to be determined, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Division. Researchers at the New England Aquarium‘s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life were able to identify her as the 2021 calf of the right whale known as Squilla, the now approximately 17-year-old’s only known calf.

The dead whale is listed in the North Atlantic right whale catalog as #5120 and was last seen alive in Cape Cod Bay in January 2023. Found washed up on Jan. 28 just south of Joseph Sylvia State Beach — a barrier beach along Nantucket Sound between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown — she was moved to Aquinnah for the investigation.

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

NOAA cites ‘chronic entanglement’ in death of juvenile right whale that washed up on Martha’s Vineyard

February 7, 2024 — Rope entanglement appears to be a factor in the death of a juvenile North Atlantic right whale that washed up on Martha’s Vineyard on Jan. 28, federal officials said Monday.

NOAA Fisheries said in a statement that the whale “had a chronic entanglement and was seen in poor health before its death. Experts are examining the rope and other samples collected from the whale.”

The deceased whale washed up near Joseph Sylvia State Beach on the Vineyard, officials said. NOAA Fisheries worked with the International Fund for Animal Welfare and other partners to recover the carcass and conduct a necropsy.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe

‘Great news’: 17 North Atlantic right whale calves spotted so far this season

February 6, 2024 — Marine wildlife officials on Monday shared promising news about the number of North Atlantic right whales born this season, as they continue to monitor the number of whales being injured or killed by entanglement and vessel strikes at sea.

The number of North Atlantic right whales born this season has already surpassed that of last year, with 17 new calves spotted with their mothers along the coast from Florida to South Carolina, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on Cape Cod.

“While this is great news, the North Atlantic right whale population is still dwindling,” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute officials said in a statement.

Read the full article at Boston 25 News

Dead right whale at Martha’s Vineyard was seen entangled off Canada in 2022

February 5, 2024 –A dead North Atlantic right whale that washed up at Martha’s Vineyard was identified as a 3-year-old female that was first seen entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off Canada in 2022, according to scientists at the New England Aquarium.

First observed by researchers as a calf in 2021, the young whale was dubbed #5120 in a catalog maintained by the aquarium and other whale tracking groups. In August 2022 #5120 was sighted again, entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

“Multiple attempts were made to disentangle the whale in January and February of 2023 off Cape Cod,” according to a summary issued by the New England Aquarium. “She was resighted still entangled in June 2023 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with her overall body condition declining as the rope constricted around her tail had become more deeply embedded.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New wind strategy advanced to protect right whales

February 1, 2024 — The federal government announced a new strategy aimed at protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale while the development of offshore wind ramps up.

The 78-page strategy from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and NOAA Fisheries, released Thursday, Jan. 25, lays out ways to continue evaluating and mitigating the potential effects on the whales and their habitat.

North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species, with an estimated 360 individuals remaining, a population that has been reported to be on the decline. That decline has been felt locally, as a juvenile right whale was found dead in Edgartown on Monday.

While NOAA reports that entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes are the leading cause of death for the whales, the agency says that ocean noise is also a threat to the species, and sources can include energy exploration and development.

Read the full article at MV Times

Feds’ plan aims to help whales and offshore wind farms coexist

January 31, 2024 — In the midst of the critical North Atlantic Right Whale calving season along the East Coast, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) unveiled a strategy to navigate the intersection of offshore wind projects and the endangered species’ habitat.

Marine mammal advocates welcomed a final joint federal strategy to save the whales and develop offshore wind where the two might collide. It stresses teamwork, research, strict monitoring and mitigation. That includes also avoiding leasing in areas where major impacts to North Atlantic Right Whales may occur.

“We believe that we can recover North Atlantic Right Whales and support responsibly developed offshore wind,” said Gib Brogan of Oceana. “But it puts a burden on the federal government to make sure that that balance happens.”

Read the full article at NJ Spotlight News

NOAA examining rope embedded in dead right whale on Martha’s Vineyard

January 31, 2024 — A piece of rope removed from a dead female North Atlantic right whale on Jan. 28 is undergoing analysis as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other experts work to determine a cause of death.

The dead whale, presumed to be a juvenile by its size, was reported Sunday afternoon near Joseph Sylvia State Beach on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. NOAA Fisheries and the International Fund for Animal Welfare worked to respond to the stranding with Edgartown Police, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Massachusetts state law enforcement officers collected a piece of rope that was found entangled around and embedded in the whale’s tail, turning it over to NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement, according to a statement from the agency. “Authorized members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Response Network are planning to perform a necropsy (an animal autopsy) to investigate the cause of death as logistics allow,” according to NOAA.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Feds look to release plan to protect right whales while expanding wind power

January 29, 2024 — With whale deaths and offshore wind power now firmly connected in many minds along the Jersey Shore, federal officials released a strategy to protect one of the most endangered species while developing wind power off the coast.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, under the U.S. Department of the Interior, on Thursday released a final joint strategy aimed at helping the North Atlantic right whale recover while also developing offshore wind energy, citing a Biden administration goal of increasing wind energy development.

The North Atlantic right whale, weighing multiple tons and growing to be more than 50 feet long, is considered to be at the brink of extinction.

According to federal studies, only about 360 of the animals are left in the world, and of those, fewer than 70 are reproductively active females.

Read the full article at the Press of Atlantic City