ENVIRONMENTAL
15
Edmund Gerstein,
director of the Marine
Mammal Research
at Florida Atlantic
University, conducts
research on right whales.
(NOAA permit No. 19674)
JOEL COHEN
According to NOAA Fisheries, entanglements with commercial
fishing gear and vessel strikes are the leading causes
of deaths among right whales. Between 2017 and 2021, 20 of
the 34 documented deaths were attributed to entanglement
and boat collisions. Experts say that number is higher as they
know only about a third of the total deaths.
PROTECTION NEEDED
Scientists point out that saving right whales begins with
protecting the space where they are born.
“The big thing is, this is their only calving ground,”
explains Edmund Gerstein, director of the Marine Mammal
Research at Florida Atlantic University. “What happens down
here determines in large part whether the whales will survive.
We now have fewer than 350 animals left. If they can’t
successfully give birth and rear their young here, they will
disappear forever.”
“New math is showing we need more than 50 calves per
season for this population to grow,” says Julie Albert, coordinator
of the North Atlantic Right Whale Conservation Program
at the Marine Resources Council. “So when we’re seeing
14 or 15, people say, ‘Oh, that’s good compared to 2018 when
we had zero calves.’ It’s still not enough for the population.”
Like snowbirds, mother right whales journey from New
England or Canada in the fall to the waters of South Carolina,
Georgia and Florida’s east coast. The massive sea creatures
migrate south so they can give birth and rear their young
between November and April. The warmer temperatures
are the perfect environment for their calves who have yet to
develop blubber and need to stay warm.
“They are also trying to stay away from males,” Moir >>
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