MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



North Atlantic right whale population. Its purpose 

 was to formulate recommendations on future research 

 priorities. During 1995 the Service used the results of 

 the review to direct the allocation of $156,000 in 

 Fiscal Year 1994 funding and $200,000 in Fiscal Year 

 1995 funding to needed studies. 



Work supported by the Northeast Fisheries Science 

 Center in 1995 included (a) maintenance of the right 

 whale photo-identification catalogue essential for 

 monitoring the status of the North Atlantic population, 



(b) responding immediately to reports of stranded and 

 entangled right whales and humpback whales, 



(c) assessing and developing means of avoiding vessel- 

 related impacts in high-use right whale habitats, (d) 

 studies of whale foraging patterns and prey resources 

 in Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bays, (e) analyzing a 

 backlog of genetic samples to improve information on 

 reproductive patterns and potential inbreeding effects, 

 and (f) population modeling and data analyses to 

 refine understanding of demographic parameters and 

 habitat use patterns. Some of the funds also are to be 

 used for satellite tracking off New England in 1996 to 

 try to locate other summer nursing and wintering 

 areas used by northern right whales. 



In the southeastern United States, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service has provided funding to the 

 Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the 

 Florida Department of Environmental Protection to 

 survey areas further offshore and to assess the sight- 

 ing efficiency flights in an early-warning survey 

 program. As discussed below, early-warning survey 

 flights were initiated in recent years off Florida and 

 Georgia to provide vessel traffic with up-to-date 

 information on the location of right whales using the 

 winter calving grounds. The assessment of flight 

 sighting efficiency will be done by a second plane 

 following the same track as the early-warning survey 

 flight a few minutes later to evaluate the extent to 

 which whales are not sighted during a single overpass. 

 In addition, to improve information on fine-scale 

 movements of right whales on their calving grounds, 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service contracted with 

 the New England Aquarium, the Florida Department 

 of Environmental Protection, and the Georgia Depart- 

 ment of Natural Resources to satellite-tag and track at 

 least four animals on the winter calving grounds. 



Northern Right Whale Management in 1995 



In October 1994 the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service received a request from an environmental 

 group to establish regulations prohibiting vessels from 

 approaching within 500 yards of any right whale and 

 100 yards of all other whales. In response the Service 

 published an advance notice of rulemaking in the 

 Federal Register on 27 December 1994 asking 

 for comments and information to help identify and 

 evaluate appropriate conservation measures to mini- 

 mize harmful effects of noise and vessel traffic on 

 northern right whales. The Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, wrote to the Service on 27 March 1995 and 

 forwarded several Commission-sponsored reports 

 indicating that noise and vessel traffic are potential 

 concerns that merit management attention, particularly 

 in high-use right whale habitats. 



In its letter the Commission noted that management 

 measures reducing close approaches to right whales 

 would help address both ship collision and disturbance 

 impacts, provided that the measures themselves had 

 no adverse impact. To help assess the usefulness of 

 the petitioned action, the Commission suggested 

 consideration in three areas. 



First, it suggested considering the practicality of 

 the petitioned measure to actually reduce close ap- 

 proaches. To prevent approaches closer than 500 

 yards, vessel operators would need to detect and 

 identify right whales at distances greater than 500 

 yards in all weather and sea conditions and at night. 

 The Commission noted that it may not be reasonable 

 to expect vessel-based observers to do this routinely 

 at distances that may need to be considerably greater 

 than 500 yards for large vessels. The Commission 

 suggested instead that the Service estimate the distanc- 

 es at which observers might be expected to routinely 

 detect and identify right whales under different 

 sighting conditions. It also suggested that it may be 

 more practical to (a) prohibit deliberate approaches, 

 diversions, or stopping to observe right whales; (b) 

 apply the measure to certain types of vessels, areas, 

 and/or times; and/or (c) establish guidelines for whale 

 avoidance maneuvers in cases where it is determined 

 that a vessel is within or likely to come closer than 

 500 yards of a right whale. 



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