Striking the right balance in right whale conservation

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Main Authors: Schick, Robert S., Halpin, Patrick N., Read, Andrew J., Slay, Christopher K., Kraus, Scott D., Mate, Bruce R., Baumgartner, Mark F., Roberts, Jason J., Best, Benjamin D., Good, Caroline P., Loarie, Scott R., Clark, James S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2009
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Eubalaena glacialis; North Atlantic; North Atlantic right whale
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f09-115; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/F09-115; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/F09-115

Despite many years of study and protection, the North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis ) remains on the brink of extinction. There is a crucial gap in our understanding of their habitat use in the migratory corridor along the eastern seaboard of the United States. Here, we characterize habitat suitability in migrating right whales in relation to depth, distance to shore, and the recently enacted ship speed regulations near major ports. We find that the range of suitable habitat exceeds previous estimates and that, as compared with the enacted 20 nautical mile buffer, the originally proposed 30 nautical mile buffer would protect more habitat for this critically endangered species.