Sponsoring a right whale through the New England Aquarium supports the critical research we're doing to protect this endangered species. This holiday season, give a sponsorship! It's a gift that gives back to our blue planet. Today's post introduces one of the whales available for sponsorship: Shackleton

Shackleton the right whale (Catalog #2440) was named after the Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton. There's a good reason why: when Shackleton was just a one year-old, he swam up the Delaware River and made it as far north as Camden, NJ!

Shackleton in the Bay of Fundy. Photo: New England Aquarium

His adventure lasted for days, during which he was hit by a tug boat (it did not result in any serious injury). Fear of another vessel strike remained constant, and concerns for his health grew as he swam further upriver, since the makeup of the water was becoming more fresh (right whales are made for the salty sea!). The news footage below is from a recording (remember VHS?) from this ordeal:



Luckily, Shackleton found his way back to the Atlantic Ocean, where he faces other sorts of threats. He survived a second vessel strike, which was more significant and left a line of propeller marks on his body. He has also been through at least three different entanglements in fishing gear. Since he's overcome quite a few obstacles, we had to celebrate this year's milestone: Shackleton turned 20 years old!

Healed propeller cuts left substantial scars on Shackleton's body. Photo: New England Aquarium

- Marianna

Today, the right whale community breathes a sigh of relief and rejoices in a wonderful gift: the elimination of the "sunset clause" in the ship speed reduction rule. Conservationists, scientists and organizations pulled together this year to rally support to encourage the federal government to remove this expiration date from the rule. The fact that it was accomplished is major reason to celebrate!


What is this ship speed reduction rule and why are we so excited by its continuation? Because right whales spend time at the surface and are slow moving, they are no strangers to vessel collisions, particularly in the southeast U.S. where mothers birth and nurse their newborn calves. The faster a ship travels, the more likely they are to strike and kill a right whale. Implemented in 2008, the crux of this rule requires vessels of 65+ ft in length to slow down to at least 10 knots in designated areas on the East Coast at certain times of the year when right whales are most likely to be present. Models predicted that this rule would reduce the probability of fatal ship strikes of right whales by a whopping 80-90%! And it's proven to have made a difference: "no right whale ship strike deaths have occurred in Seasonal Management Areas since the rule went into place" (from NOAA). However, these measures were only temporary and set to expire in December 2013. It was scary to think that this rule could cease to exist— with a current estimated population of only 510 individuals, removal of these speed restrictions would have been taking several steps backwards. Fortunately, the rule now exists in perpetuity!!


Many people have worked tirelessly to ensure that this rule continues to exist, but we must also remember that (to quote Amy Knowlton) "the shipping industry is to be commended for complying with this rule that has clearly made a difference for the North Atlantic right whale."

The final rule is available here!

A proposed rule put forward by the National Marine Fisheries Service was posted today in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would extend, in perpetuity, speed restrictions implemented in December of 2008, due to expire in December 2013. This is exciting news for right whales! We'll provide more details about this story soon. But the bottom line is that the shipping industry is to be commended for complying with this rule that has clearly made a difference for the North Atlantic right whale. Comments on the proposed rule are due by August 6, 2013. Please take the opportunity to provide your input and show support for this important rule!

Have you ever stood on a shoreline, seen a large ship and wondered where they are departing from and where they are headed?  The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automatic tracking system used by certain classes of ships for identifying and determining the location of vessels electronically. Data is exchanged with nearby ships and AIS base stations. AIS information supplements the mariners radar, which continues to be the primary method of collision avoidance for mariners. The carriage requirements for vessels is set by the International Maritime Organization, and they require AIS to be fitted aboard international voyaging ships of 300 gross tonage or more and all passenger ships regardless of size.

AIS has proven to be very useful in marine mammal studies. In the right whale world, AIS tracks were used to see how ships were moving around the Roseway Basin Area to be Avoided, an area off Nova Scotia where right whales tend to aggregate. AIS data is also used along the eastern seaboard of the U.S., where seasonal speed restrictions are in place  to help reduce the risk of ship strike to the whales in the right whale calving ground in the southeast U.S., along their migratory corridor in the mid Atlantic, and in feeding areas around Cape Cod . The data allows researchers and the federal government to see which vessels are going "over the speed-limit" and the ships can be fined based on this evidence. In January 2012, NOAA penalized three vessels who violated this law.





Follow this link to find your location and see what ships are travelling by you! Click on vessel details to learn more about the ship, wind speed, wind direction and air temperature. On our small research vessel Nereid, we have an AIS receiver integrated with our GPS navigation unit and marine radio. When we steer out across the Grand Manan Channel, we can look at the radio screen and determine if there are any large ships operating in our area.  The information provided includes distance to the transmitting vessel, the vessel's heading and speed, and the distance and time to the closest point of approach. This really enhances our safety especially when navigating the Bay of Fundy in fog!

-Moe

Through reading our blog, it is evident we see a lot up in the sky; interactions between mothers and their calves, entangled whales, whales interacting with each other, and whales traveling alone. We also see all the vessels that utilize our survey area as well. Sometimes everything aligns just right (no pun intended) and we have the opportunity to save a right whale in real time.


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