The right move for right whales

RELEASE: Jan. 30, 2009 – Volume XLI, No. 5

A recent agreement between wildlife protectors and the U.S. Coast Guard reinforces the need to protect critical habitats – at sea and on land – if we are to have any chance of saving endangered species.

In this case it’s the right whale. Its not-so-happy name was derived from being the “right” whale to hunt, back in the days when lanterns were fueled by whale oil. Right whales are huge and slow moving, with lots of blubber - they can grow to over 50 feet long and tip the scales at up to 70 tons. They spend a lot of time near the ocean surface, and even obligingly float when dead.

Right whales were hunted to the brink of extinction by the early 1900s. They came under international protection in 1935, and have been listed as an endangered species by the United States since the 1970s. Today they are considered the world’s most endangered whale, with a population of somewhere between 300 and 400, probably closer to the former. Despite protections, the right whales are showing no signs of recovery.

Like the whales themselves, their resistance to recovery is a bit mysterious. Their reproductive rates have slowed, possibly due to poor nutrition from reduced food supply. Only one calf was spotted during last year’s birthing season.

Humans continue to significantly impact the whales. The two leading causes of death for right whales are ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear. Photographs of the whales off the coast of Canada in the summer show two-thirds bearing scars from these too-close encounters. And with so few right whales left, the premature deaths of even a handful could impact the likelihood of their survival.

In an attempt to save right whales, new protective measures are being put into place, including a 10-knot speed limit in areas where they feed and breed, and along their migration routes. The measures come as a result of litigation by the Defenders of Wildlife, Humane Society of the United States, Ocean Conservancy, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society to force the Coast Guard to consider the impact of shipping lanes in busy areas with known right whale habitat.

The December settlement of the litigation requires the Coast Guard to abide by the requirements of the Endangered Species Act and ensure that future approved shipping lanes do not jeopardize right whales. In addition, the impacts of existing shipping lanes in three areas of critical habitat – Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay and Cape Fear - will be examined.

The Delaware Bay is believed to historically be a nursery for right whales. In 1995, a right whale even swam up the river right into the middle of Philadelphia! Today most birthing occurs off the coasts of Florida and Georgia. It is hoped that these new protective measures may help right whales re-establish their Delaware Bay nursery.

Even if this dream never comes true, there is no doubt the new rules will give the right whale a better chance of survival and recovery. And they affirm the effectiveness of protecting habitats – whether a coastal nursery or interior forest – to preserve our wondrous diversity of wildlife.

For more information about right whales, visit the New England Aquarium’s website at http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/index.php.

And I hope you will consult New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org, if you would like more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.

Return to SWI Columns