NOAA Setting Whales on ‘Right’ Path to Safety

Jamison Smith
NOAA Fisheries, Protected Resources

June 22, 2009 — For NOAA researchers studying North Atlantic right whales, the 2008–2009 calving season proved to be a record-setter.

The number of new calves observed on the calving grounds hit an all-time record high (39), but so did the number of entangled right whale cases sighted during the season. 

NOAA Fisheries staff work with the fishing industry and other partners to make the only known North Atlantic right whale calving area — the waters off the coast of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — as safe as possible for wintering right whales.

Fisheries staff and their partners survey the coastal waters of the southeastern United States searching for mother and calf right whales during the winter months. These sightings are used to alert mariners to the whales’ locations so vessel collisions and other harmful encounters can be avoided.

“Successful calving coupled with NOAA’s science-based management plans, positions NOAA to make a substantial positive difference in this species’ future,” said Barb Zoodsma, NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Office Right Whale Recovery program coordinator.

Some of NOAA’s right whale conservation measures include:

• Regulating ship speeds and fisheries that may adversely affect right whales in the southeastern United States, particularly mothers and calves.
• Numerous education and outreach materials to inform commercial and recreational mariners about right whales. These include an educational “Prudent Mariner” CD-ROM, seasonal whale alerts on appropriate National Data Buoy Center Web sites, and informational placards and fact sheets for shipping lanes.
• Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultations with federal agencies to help conserve threatened and endangered species and ensure agency actions do not jeopardize listed species or adversely affect critical habitat.
  

 

While searching the area for new mothers and calves, researchers often encounter whales and other animals injured or entangled in fishing line, floating marine debris, and even anchoring systems for moorings.

NOAA Fisheries coordinates the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network to respond to each entangled whale case. NOAA Fisheries staff assist in disentanglement rescues and gear experts investigate the removed gear as part of research efforts to better understand the disturbing phenomenon. Often, the only gear recovered is a single piece of line, which doesn’t generally indicate where the interaction occurred.

This past season, the Network assessed and responded to five new entangled right whale cases. A majority of the gear was successfully removed from the animals; it is hoped that the rescued whales will fully rebound.

“The [large] number of entangled right whale cases [this season] certainly raises flags of concern as to why there were so many new cases, but it also highlighted the skilled and dedicated members of the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network,” said Jamison Smith, NOAA Fisheries’ East Coast disentanglement coordinator. 
 
One case in particular proved to be extremely difficult. Not only was the entanglement severe, but also the whale’s evasive behavior added to the challenge.

Luckily, the whale was eventually freed from the gear after being sedated by a team comprised of experts from NOAA Fisheries, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Coastwise Consulting, the University of Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others. Rescue crews used a tranquilizer dart gun to administer sedatives directly into the whale’s muscle tissue.

“The successful at-sea chemical sedation of a free-swimming entangled right whale was the first of its kind in the world and the implications of this are far reaching,” says NOAA veterinarian Teri Rowles, who coordinates NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

Successful sedation can provide safer working conditions for rescuers, and decrease the amount of time required for crews to pursue and attempt to free the whales.

Disentanglement is a dangerous maneuver for rescuers as well as whales; it’s considered a temporary measure until other solutions are identified. NOAA Fisheries continues to work very closely with the fishing industry, scientists and conservationists to prevent entanglements and to develop innovations in gear that will allow animals to free themselves without serious injury.