Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



Figure 1. Right whale found entangled in lobster fishing gear in Cape Cod Bay on 14 September 1998. 

 (Photograph courtesy of Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, Massachusetts) 



adults to become entangled or to be struck by ships. 

 Preliminary results of a study sponsored by the 

 Commission in 1998 (see Chapter VIII) report evi- 

 dence of at least 50 serious injuries (including 17 

 confirmed deaths) caused by ship collisions or entan- 

 glement between 1970 and 1998. Of these, 27 (54 

 percent) were calves or juveniles, 6 (12 percent) were 

 adults, and 17 (34 percent) were of unknown age. 

 The results suggest that reducing ship collisions and 

 entanglements in areas frequented by juveniles and 

 females with calves merits special attention. 



Collisions between Right Whales and Ships 



Since 1970 nearly 90 percent (15 of 17) of all 

 human-related right whale deaths confirmed by direct 

 observation have been attributed to ship collisions. 

 Massive propeller slashes, severed tail stocks, and 

 crushed skulls indicate that large, rather than small, 

 vessels were responsible. The proportion of ship 

 strikes among total observed mortality (15 of 43 



deaths) is much higher than that observed among 

 other stranded whales, suggesting that right whales 

 may be more vulnerable to ship strikes than other 

 large whales. This may be due to common right 

 whale behavior, such as logging (resting quietly at the 

 surface), skim feeding, nursing, and mating that occur 

 at the surface, and the species' preference for coastal 

 waters where vessel traffic is greatest. When engaged 

 in such behavior, right whales often appear oblivious 

 to approaching ships. In addition, right whale calves 

 have limited diving ability and spend most of their 

 time at or near the surface. 



Actions to reduce the likelihood of ship strikes 

 therefore have received particular attention. For 

 several reasons, this has proven to be a difficult 

 management challenge. First, given vessel traffic 

 through right whale habitat and the small number of 

 right whales, collisions with right whales are rare 

 from a mariner's perspective. Second, such events 

 are unintentional. They appear to involve whales that 



