March 15, 2016 — Here’s a bit of good news about the ocean environment: Right whales, once thought to be on the brink of extinction, are returning to Cape Cod Bay in record numbers.

And it’s not a one-time event. Marine scientists say nearly half of the estimated right whale population of 500 has been spotted in the bay over the past few years. It’s a huge leap from years past, when researchers counted themselves fortunate to see more than a couple dozen visiting the bay in search of food.

“It’s rather extraordinary and somewhat mind-blowing,” Charles “Stormy” Mayo, a senior scientist and director of right whale ecology at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown told the Associated Press.

“There has been a huge pulse in numbers in the past few years,” said Amy Knowlton, a scientist with the New England Aquarium’s Right Whale Research Project.

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Daily Times