This is Part Four of a series of posts about surveys taking place in the Baie de Chaleur in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Click on the links to read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three!


While hauling the R/V Callisto, Alex noticed an adult northern gannet with limited movement at the boat ramp. Upon approach he saw that there was a hook stuck in its wing with line originating from its mouth; the line wrapped the wing in such a way that it could not extend it and who knows how long it had been entangled like this. We knew that we had to do something to help this individual.

The injured gannet at the boat ramp. Photo Credit: Alex Loer

We promptly devised a plan to safely secure the bird and gathered the appropriate tools (gloves, wire cutters, towel and sunglasses as safety goggles) to remove the hook and monofilament line. Alex blocked its access to the harbor and distracted it so Monica and I could carefully capture it.

Monica assessing the hook in the gannet's wing. Photo Credit: Alex Loer

The newly freed northern gannet hastening away from our team. Photo Credit: Alex Loer

Percé Rock off the Quebec coast. Photo Credit: Alex Loer

This is Part Two of a series of posts about surveys taking place in the Baie de Chaleur in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Read Part One here.

Once we arrived in our temporary home of Janeville, New Brunswick we quickly went to work getting things ready for survey.  We unpacked, set up equipment, launched the boat, checked the weather and met about various trackline strategies.  Even though we were in an area completely new to us we had some advantages.   The biggest advantage was that we had colleagues in the general vicinity conducting aerial surveys for right whales. We hit the ground running with one day on land followed immediately by three long boats in a row.  

Monica (left) and Brigid (right) on watch during survey in Baie des Chaleur. Photo: Alex Loer

With such a small team we had no breaks while on the water.  We rotated from two hours of observation to one hour at the helm and back to two hours of observing.  In addition, we had no dedicated data recorder which meant driving and recording was done by the same person.  This was challenging in rougher sea states.

Brigid is logging data while at the helm.  Survey effort was logged electronically. Photo: Alex Loer

Sea State Zero! Photo: Alex Loer

Our first three days on the water were productive.  We didn't see any right whales but we felt good about our efforts.  Logistically speaking things were going great. We logged many miles of trackline data right from the start. We were quickly learning about the local wharfs, boat ramps and weather patterns of the area.  We felt confident and well seasoned, now we just needed to find some right whales.  Each morning brought new anticipation, excitement and a bit of nervousness.  With only eight boat days of survey budgeted each day without whales brought a new sense of urgency to our time.

R/V Callisto is returning to Stonehaven Wharf at sunset. Photo: Alex Loer

-Monica

Keep reading! Click here to read Part Three!.

If you are one of our many avid blog readers you will know that the past few years in the Bay of Fundy have been pretty sparse in right whale numbers. Last year, things looked hopeful when we first arrived in the field. Our first two weeks proved very busy and right whale sightings were common. However, after two weeks things turned desolate and right whale sighting became more rare for our team working in the Bay of Fundy and offshore (of Nova Scotia) on Roseway Basin.

The first right whale spotted during the 2014 field season.

Coming out of the field last year, as with the previous couple of years, we asked the same question: What can we do different next year?

This year we did do something different. Picking up and moving a field team is not easy. Doing something different from the 20+ years is also not easy. There are so many road blocks and logistics that must fall into place (funding, people, equipment, boats, housing and insurance to name a few) to take a small team into the field and into an area you have never studied before. However, that is exactly what we did. It was an exciting time and I'm excited to share it with you (over the course of a few blogs).

The second half of August I lead a small team into the field with the goal to collect boat-based survey effort in an area of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The main focus was a small bay called Chaleur Bay (or Baie des Chaleur in French) which translates into the "bay of warmth."  Historically, there have been a scattered number of sightings in the Gulf of St Lawrence. In the past two to three years there have been an interesting number of whale sightings (mostly single whales) seen in the Baie des Chaleur. Since we had limited time (2 weeks), limited people and a limited boat (day trips only) we decided (sometime in the winter and while Boston was hidden under multiple feet of snow) that the Baie des Chaleur had enough opportunistic sightings to warrant a small expedition in the summer of 2015.

All packed up and ready to head to Baie des Chaleur. Photo Credit: Alex Loer

Our Baie des Chaleur expedition started as most do, in a very non-glamorous manner. From Lubec we drove to Boston to rent a heavy duty truck for towing, pick up the R/V Callisto and headed to northern New Brunswick via Lubec.

The team was small and included myself, Brigid McKenna and Alex Loer.

Brigid,  Monica and Alex in front of the R/V Callisto prior to departing Lubec, ME. Photo Credit: Marilyn Marx

Loading up on provisions at the grocery store while in transit. Photo Credit: Alex Loer

 After three days of driving we finally arrived in the Bay of Warmth!

We rented a little cabin in Janeville, New Brunswick, Canada to serve as our home base for two weeks.  Photo Credit: Monica Zani

Our view from our cabin-the Baie des Chaleur! Photo Credit: Alex Loer

The next step was to hit the water and look for whales! More to come here on the blog, stay tuned.

— Monica

Keep reading! Click here to read Part Two.

This season we've invited new faces to the team to introduce themselves and provide a little background on what led them to our research program. First up is Brigid!
--------------
Hi! My name is Brigid McKenna and I am one of the seasonal research assistants on the NEAq right whale team. This is my first full field season here in the Bay of Fundy, though I'm not completely new to the team. Last year, I helped out on the R/V Nereid for a few weeks shortly after I finished my masters at the University of St Andrews. 

Brigid and Walter (dog pictured at left) have been a wonderful addition to the team.

I started participating in marine mammal research in 2010 through Whale &Dolphin Conservation (WDC), with a focus on Gulf of Maine humpbacks. Since then I have been involved with another humpback research program at the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS), spinner dolphin work in Hawaii through the SAPPHIRE project (Duke & Murdoch Universities), and have recently been collecting data on right whales at CCS on both vessel and aerial platforms. I am really excited to be back in Lubec this year with my dog, Walter, and ever more stoked to be going out on the water to see right whales in this habitat.

-Brigid