MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



whales. In recognition of these efforts, the Commis- 

 sion wrote to the Navy on 26 May 1997 commending 

 the Facility's staff members responsible for establish- 

 ing and operating the regional right whale sightings 

 clearinghouse. 



During the winter of 1997-1998, the core survey 

 program completed surveys on 69 percent of the days, 

 about 48 percent of which were conducted in good 

 survey conditions {i.e., Beaufort sea state 3 or less). 

 Fewer whales were sighted compared with previous 

 years. There were 44 sightings of 26 individual 

 whales plus five mother-calf pairs. 



The northeastern early warning system, begun in 

 1996, focuses on right whale feeding areas in Cape 

 Cod Bay in late winter and spring and the Great South 

 Channel in spring. It too is a cooperative multi- 

 agency effort. Funding has been provided by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the Coast Guard, 

 the Massachusetts Department of Wildlife and Envi- 

 ronmental Law Enforcement, and the Massachusetts 

 Environmental Trust. Most of the survey effort in 

 Cape Cod Bay has been made by researchers with the 

 Center for Coastal Studies and the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service; most survey effort in the Great 

 South Channel has been that of Service researchers. 

 Sightings from survey teams as well as other reliable 

 sources {e.g., whale-watching boats and Coast Guard 

 vessels and aircraft) are reported to a central clearing- 

 house maintained by the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service. These reports are then relayed to Coast 

 Guard communications operators, the Army Corps of 

 Engineers Cape Cod Canal vessel traffic control 

 system, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (NOAA) weather radio for broadcast 

 to vessel operators. 



The northeastern program differs from the south- 

 eastern program in several ways. The northeastern 

 survey area is substantially larger (350 track miles in 

 Cape Cod Bay and 4,300 track miles in the Great 

 South Channel), it includes waters much farther 

 offshore, and sighting conditions are often worse. 

 For these and other reasons, surveys are usually flown 

 no more than twice a week. The surveys also pro- 

 duce more sightings. To manage the number of 

 broadcast alerts, to account for whale movements after 

 a sighting is made, and to avoid direct approaches by 



curious vessel operators, the whale advisories broad- 

 cast in the northeast have cited the coordinates of a 

 rectangle whose size varies depending on the number 

 and density of concurrent whale sightings. Late in 

 1998 this was changed to describe a circle around a 

 single point with the radius length varying depending 

 on the number and distribution of concurrent sight- 

 ings. In the first six months of 1998, more than 100 

 sighting reports of one or more right whales were 

 made by the survey teams. Also, because right whale 

 sightings occur year-round in the area, opportunistic 

 sighting reports are tracked and broadcast throughout 

 the year. 



Observer teams in the northeastern early warning 

 system also surveyed other areas to confirm opportu- 

 nistic sighting reports. This effort verified reports of 

 a large concentration of right whales (at least 26 

 animals) in April in the ship channel off Narragansett 

 Bay, Rhode Island. The observations may have been 

 a unique occurrence or, alternatively, they may reflect 

 a spring feeding area whose importance has not 

 previously been recognized. 



Education and Awareness Materials — Initial 

 efforts to inform mariners of right whale protection 

 needs were made by the recovery plan implementation 

 teams discussed above. Among other things, they 

 developed flyers, brochures, and videos, and held 

 meetings with shipping agents and port officials. 

 Over the past two years the International Fund for 

 Animal Welfare, in consultation with the Commission, 

 the Service, regional implementation teams, and 

 representatives of the maritime community, expanded 

 these education and outreach efforts by developing 

 material on right whales to be added to regional 

 navigation charts and United States Coast Pilots 

 published by the National Ocean Service. The charts 

 and Coast Pilots are basic references designed to 

 inform mariners of environmental conditions, naviga- 

 tion features, and general knowledge required to 

 navigate safely within the geographic area covered. 



The additions to nautical charts cite relevant 

 regulations prohibiting approaches to right whales 

 closer than 500 yards and mark the boundaries of 

 designated critical habitats. Additions to the regional 

 Coast Pilots provide information on the stauis of right 

 whales, how to identify them, and where they are 



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