Seasonal acoustic occurrence of blue, fin, and North Atlantic right whales in the New York Bight

• Published in: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
• Main Authors: Muirhead, Charles A., Warde, Ann M., Biedron, Ingrid S., Nicole Mihnovets, A., Clark, Christopher W., Rice, Aaron N.
• Other Authors: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2018
• Subjects: Nature and Landscape Conservation; Ecology; Aquatic Science; Long Island; Balaenoptera musculus; Balaenoptera physalus; Eubalaena glacialis; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2874; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faqc.2874; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aqc.2874

Abstract The New York Bight is an extremely busy maritime region, with extensive shipping traffic and commercial fishing activity. It is part of the migratory ranges of a number of cetacean species, and includes threats from ship strikes, noise exposure, and line entanglements. Previous cetacean surveys of the Bight offer limited information on cetacean occurrence and distribution in the region, having been restricted to visual sightings with limited temporal coverage. A passive acoustic monitoring survey was conducted over a 258‐day period to broaden understanding of the seasonal occurrences of blue ( Balaenoptera musculus ), fin ( Balaenoptera physalus ), and North Atlantic right ( Eubalaena glacialis ) whales during late summer, autumn, winter, and early spring. Stationary acoustic recorders were positioned near the entrance to New York Harbour and as a linear transect extending from Long Island to the continental shelf edge. Blue, fin, and right whales were detected on 11%, 100%, and 16% of the survey days, respectively. Blue whales were detected offshore during January, February, and March. Fin whales were detected offshore every day, and less often near‐shore. Right whales occurred sporadically during every month, but were most often detected at near‐shore recorders between late February and mid‐May. Based on the acoustic data alone, it is unclear exactly how these species are using this habitat, although it is clear that they occur in the area longer than was previously thought. Thus, management practices should incorporate this extended seasonal presence to mitigate any effects on the whales from shipping and fishing activities.