New England Aquarium Right Whales and Ships: Trying to Prevent Close Encounters

• Main Authors: Patricia Gerrior, Christopher Mantzaris, Bruce A. Russell
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Eubalaena glacialis; North Atlantic; North Atlantic right whale
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.380.8481; http://www.nero.noaa.gov/whaletrp/plan/rwsas/rwhale.pdf

Figure 4. Right whale ship strikes off the northeast U.S. and in the Bay of Fundy since 1991. The western north Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, remains critically endangered with the total population estimated at approximately 300 individuals. Although right whale hunting ended in the 1930's humans inadvertently have continued to cause serious injuries and mortalities that are affecting the species ’ recovery prospects. Of the 29 known right whale deaths between 1970 and 1993, eight (27%) are attributed to ship strikes and two (7%) to entanglement in fishing gear. The National Marine Fisheries Service and other agencies have instituted programs to address both ship strikes and entanglements. This poster focuses on the ship strike education and outreach efforts. A collaborative Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (SAS) began in 1997 with 12 participating agencies and organizations in the northeast US. Aerial Surveys conducted from January through June provide right whale sighting reports to mariners through several media. An educational video on the whale’s susceptibility to ship collisions and a laminated brochure detailing right whale identification characteristics were produced to increase mariners ’ awareness of the problem. In July