11 new right whale calves born this season, New England Aquarium reports
Apr. 23—At least 11 North Atlantic right whales were born this calving season — fewer than researchers studying the critically endangered species had hoped, the New England Aquarium reported.
There are only about 370 right whales left, and the remaining population is threatened by human activities, including fishing, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Since 2017, right whales have been in what NOAA considers an "unusual mortality event."
Researchers spotted the 11th mother-calf pair in Cape Cod Bay last week, at the tail end of calving season, which spans November to mid-April, the aquarium said.
"With past calf counts ranging from 39 to zero, we never know how any calving season will unfold," Philip Hamilton, senior scientist at the aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center, said in a written statement.
Despite low overall numbers, Hamilton noted that this season's count included births by four new mothers: "Accordion," "Check Mark," "Caterpillar," and an unnamed fourth whale, known by its catalogue number, 4540. Three of them were named for prominent scars caused by obvious vessel strikes, said Amy Warren, the aquarium's scientific program officer.
Over the past 25 years, there have been an average of 17 new whales born each calving season, Warren said.
"Honestly, we have a hard time really saying if it's a good year or a bad year because it's all very relative," she said. "Ideally, we would love to see 20-plus calves every year."
But she noted that there are only about 70 breeding females in the population, and right whales have a calf every four to 10 years.
"If you start crunching numbers on that, you're going to start running out of whales," Warren said.
The whales have been at the center of a conflict over fishing regulations in the Gulf of Maine because they can become entangled in the vertical lines lobstermen use to haul their traps. Officials directly linked the death of a whale to a Maine lobsterman's gear for the first time in October.
For several years, scientists have warned entanglements in fishing gear and boat strikes are the most common causes of premature right whale deaths, but they could not prove any of the problematic gear belonged to Maine fishermen until the fall.
Lobstermen have leaned on the absence of data when calling out how regulations meant to protect the whales come at a great cost to them and threaten to put them out of business.
Though there have been fewer recorded right whale deaths this season than in years past, it can be difficult to track each death since the whales live far from human researchers, Warren said. Only about a third of right whale deaths end up being documented, according to NOAA.
"We start seeing whales just disappear, for lack of a better word," Warren said.
Warren cautioned against getting caught up in specific counts and encouraged people to take a holistic view of the threats facing right whales when considering how best to protect the population.
"It doesn't matter if its 360 or 400 — that's such a low number," Warren said. "And we know that human causes are killing them."
Copy the Story Link
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
What to do if you find a shipwreck
You probably won't find a shipwreck—but it's possible. A fisherman recently found a one-hundred-year-old tugboat near Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and in 2023, an 8 year old with a metal detector found a 19th-century schooner off the coast of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. And there are more like it out there to be found—there could be up to 10,000 shipwrecks scattered among the waters of North America, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). You might be wondering: What should you do if you find a shipwreck? I was also curious, so I did some digging on the legality, safety, and ethics of discovering a historic shipwreck. In short, don't touch anything and report the wreck to your state or local government. Note that this article focuses on the US—the specific regulations will differ in other countries. You might be tempted, after finding a shipwreck, to claim it—or even just grab something from it. Don't. First, it's almost certainly not legal to take items from a shipwreck. In the United States, the Abandoned Shipwreck act of 1987 states that all shipwrecks legally belong to the state in which they're found. The only major exceptions are sunken U.S. military vessels, which belong to the military; wrecks found on federal land, which belong to the federal government; and wrecks found on Native American reservations, which belong to the specific tribe. This is true for wrecks found on land, on beaches, and in the water. Put simply, discovering a shipwreck in the United States doesn't give you any kind of legal right to salvage the wreck. Attempting to disturb a shipwreck could result in stiff penalties, including jail time and fines. But that's not the only reason to stay away. Shipwrecks are also dangerous. Any ship powered by fossil fuels probably had many gallons of fuel on board at the time of its wreck, according to NOAA. Tampering with the wreck could start a leak (if it's not leaking already), which would be dangerous for both you and the body of water it's immersed in, as well as its inhabitants. The natural corrosion of the ship itself releases pollutants into the water that you'd rather not encounter. The ship may also have been stowing dangerous materials, which in some cases could damage scuba gear or otherwise create dangerous conditions for you and your community. Military wrecks have their own obvious dangers, such as ammunition or explosives. Put simply, shipwrecks are best left to the professionals, who have training in dealing with these and other potential dangers. Shipwrecks are also the final resting places of the people who were on board during the wreck. In most cultures on Earth, including the United States, it's considered distasteful to disturb the deceased. This means shipwrecks need to be treated with respect, the same way that a graveyard or a tomb should be. So, if you find a shipwreck that you think hasn't been discovered, don't touch anything. Don't try to take anything. Leave the wreck alone and contact the proper authorities. Having said that, who are the proper authorities to get in touch with? As previously mentioned, state governments are responsible for wrecks within their borders under U.S. law. Your first point of contact should be the historic preservation office in the state where you found the shipwreck. The National Park Service has a list of State Historic Preservation Offices, complete with links to department websites. Some states have dedicated forms for reporting shipwrecks; all have email addresses and phone numbers you can use to get in touch. It's a good idea to record the GPS coordinates where you found the wreck and to provide photos if you can—this should help the agency find the wreck and determine whether it's been previously documented. The state agency will, generally, take it from there, combining historic research with on-site investigations to determine the ship's origins and ultimately work out a plan to preserve the site. The specifics vary, but generally there's a collaboration with local archaeologists, universities, and other appropriate agencies. So, if you happen to find a shipwreck, do not disturb it or attempt to salvage anything from it—it's illegal, unsafe, and potentially disrespectful to the deceased. Instead, you should contact the historic preservation office in your state.
E&E News
4 days ago
- E&E News
Atmospheric CO2 buildup broke another record in May
Climate-warming carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere broke another record last month, breaching 430 parts per million for the first time in recorded history. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, whose researchers track atmospheric CO2, publicly announced the findings Thursday morning. NOAA announced the findings in social media posts on X and Facebook, linking to the public data on its website. The agency also typically reveals the annual CO2 in a news release, like last year's announcement, but hadn't done so as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. Advertisement Kim Doster, NOAA's director of communications, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Associated Press
Flying boats make for a rare sight as Washington clears an island of derelict vessels by helicopter
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — As the owner of a marina, Kate Gervais is used to seeing boats in the water. But for the last couple of days, she's been seeing them in the air. The Washington Department of Natural Resources this week used one of its firefighting helicopters to haul abandoned boats off an uninhabited island in the southernmost reaches of Puget Sound, where the vessels had come to rest after drifting with the currents, and fly them to the mainland to be deconstructed later. With 14 vessels removed, it was the agency's largest operation of its kind, officials said. 'It was a very, very weird sight,' said Gervais, who owns Boston Harbor Marina, just north of Olympia. 'The sail boat with the mast was the weirdest one to see.' A boat removal by helicopter is typically done by a private pilot, but for this operation, which was funded by a federal grant, the DNR opted to use one of its firefighting helicopters. It was cheaper and helped stretch the $1 million NOAA grant, said Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove. The state agency opts to airlift boats when towing them would disrupt the marine bed or surrounding environment too much. The aquatic lands where the boats land often include kelp beds, which are critical for supporting the forage fish that salmon rely on. Vessels for this operation where found in hard-to-reach coves, at the tree line or in mud that rendered an airlift a better option, agency staff said. Since the boat removal program began in 2002, the department has hauled out more than 1,200 derelict vessels. There are at least 300 more out there, with more found all the time, Upthegrove said. 'It's a real challenge impacting the Puget Sound when people essentially dump their old boats into the water because they don't want to deal with disposing of them,' he said. 'That burden then falls on all of us.' The federal grant allowed the state to clean up boats on Squaxin Island, an uninhabited island that is of particular cultural importance to the Squaxin Island Tribe. The tribe's people once shared vast lands in western Washington state, but following the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, the island — 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) long and half a mile (800 meters) wide — was the main area reserved for them, according to the tribe's website. Eventually, the tribe's members moved off the island, but they continue to use it for fishing, hunting, shellfish gathering and camping. 'The Squaxin Island Tribe is very enthusiastic about this opportunity to work with DNR to clean-up derelict vessels on tribal lands,' said Daniel Kuntz, the tribe's policy and program manager. 'Maintaining clean beaches and water are essential to the Squaxin Island culture to ensure gathering access for future generations.'
