are the alewifes, American eels, shad, weakfish, northern puffer, 

 and shortnose sturgeon. '2 Alewifes and American eels migrate from 

 the sea to freshwater streams along the coast. The shortnose sturgeon, 

 listed as an endangered species, spends most of its life cycle in estuarine 

 waters except when spawning in freshwater in the spring. 



Birds 



Numerous birds frequent the New England offshore and coastal areas. 

 The birds which would be most susceptible to oil spills would be the 

 diving ducks, such as eiders, scoters, oldsquaw, goldeneyes, scaups, 

 bufflehead, loons, grebes and cormorants. A major concern is that the 

 Cape Cod and Long Island areas, which are important wintering grounds 

 for eiders and occasionally other species, would be imoacted by a 

 spill. An oil spill trajectory study conducted by MIT in 1974 indicates 

 that, under certain conditions, there is a chance that an oil spill on 

 Georges Bank could affect Cape Cod, Nantucket and Buzzards Bay J 3 



Marine Mammals 



Several species of cetaceans are found in New England waters. 

 Among the cetaceans, six endangered species are found in the Georges 

 Bank area: the finback whale, the humpback whale, the right whale, 

 the blue whale, the sei whale and the sperm whale. 



The only pinnipeds which occur in New England's waters are the 

 harbor seals and gray seals. Of critical concern is the gray seal 

 population near Muskeget Island off Nantucket. This island, the only 

 breeding area for gray seals in the United States, is located along 

 possible tanker and pipeline routes. It is difficult to assess the 



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