from other sources requires a considerable amount of time to verify and correlate. Tagging 

 right whales for two years on a single year's budget has precluded an exhaustive analysis for 

 this report and preparation of peer-reviewed publications. We will request and recommend 

 limited additional funding to correlate existing weather records with this right whale data and 

 prepare these findings for publication. We recommend that adequate time is set aside in 

 future studies to accomplish a thorough evaluation and write up of the analyzed data. 



Additional tagging of right whales would resolve the question of individual variability 

 versus correlated differences between age, sex and reproductive classes. Retagging some of 

 the same individuals would resolve whether they have annual stereotypic patterns. Specific 

 biological questions also remain. It appears from recent genetic studies (M. Brown, pers. 

 comm.) that there are three matrilineal stocks of right whales and one does not visit the 

 BOF. One member of this stock has been seen off Greenland and in Cape Cod Bay (CCB) 

 in the Spring. Because there are small numbers of right whales in CCB in the spring, the 

 chances of tagging an individual that would go to Greenland may be better than in any other 

 location. Other areas which deserve tagging attention include: the winter calving grounds 

 off Georgia and Florida to determine the movements of pregnant females and females with 

 calves; the GSC in the spring to examine dispersion; and areas south and east of Nova 

 Scotia in the fall where we saw considerable right whale activity. The area east of Halifax 

 and south to the tip of Nova Scotia was used more by right whales than expected and it 

 would be worthwhile to conduct aerial surveys of the region in the early fall to determine 

 whether or not this is a major concentration area. It would also be worth examining the 

 records of natural history cruise ships which transit this area in the late summer and early 

 fall to determine if vessel surveys would be worthwhile. 



SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BOWHEAD WHALE TAGGING 



We recommend that the exposed portion of the bowhead tag be as small as possible 

 to avoid problems associated with hydrodynamic drag and abrasion of the tag on ice, the 

 bottom and other animals. In the form used during 1990 on right whales, the new split- 

 board ST-6 will reduce the tag diameter from 2" to 1 7/8". The same transmitter can be 

 fitted into a "T-type" configuration (Figure 93), with half as many batteries housed in the 

 vertical (subdermal) attachment portion of the "T".The transmitter would be housed in the 

 1" diameter horizontal portion of the "T" on the surface of the animal. We recommend 

 trying this new design or the "location only" style in addition to the 1990 right whale-type 

 during the 1991 bowhead whale tagging season. Because of the stronger connective tissue 

 and thicker blubber of bowheads, we believe the new tag shape might be more successful. 

 Less tag is exposed and it provides fewer holes in the animal's skin. We also recommend 

 having an applicator with more power as a "back-up" in the event the crossbow is 

 inadequate. We recommend a gun or air-driven propellent system. 



While it is not yet possible to fully implant a "capsule tag," it may only be eighteen 

 months before such applications are feasible. We recommend keeping abreast of these 

 developments. It may also be feasible (according to some veterinarians) to implant a tag 



141 



