Right Whale Migration Update: February 26, 1997

Center for Coastal Studies

Hello from the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

The northern right whales have been showing up in coastal waters here and down south, making life interesting for the scientists and marine organizations.

As mentioned in my last report, pregnant right whales head for coastal waters off the states of Georgia and Florida to have their calves (this is the only known calving ground, but there may be others we haven't yet found). These waters are relatively shallow and calm, making it easier for the mothers to nurse their babies. Whales are mammals and produce milk, but unlike human milk, theirs is a lot thicker. The mother squirts a paste-like stream from nipples normally concealed with skin flaps (for streamlining) into the calf's mouth.

This year scientists from the New England Aquarium's right whale research group have been making aerial surveys of these southern waters (as they have for the past several years). They report that they have seen at least 12 mother-calf pairs, although sighting the past few weeks have been pretty sparse. Other spotters from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are assisting in the survey project. Sighting have occured between St. Catherine's Island, Georgia to Ft. Pierce, Florida (about a 250 nautical mile range).

Lisa Conger and Chris Slay send this report from the Florida field team headquarters:

"We have a few of our moms positively identified, thanks to Amy Knowlton at right whale central (New England Aquarium) in Boston. I thought I would share a bit of their histories:

#1509 -- better known as "Rat." We've seen her quite frequently this season with her calf. She was last seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and has been a regular in Massachusetts Bay. However, we have never seen her in the Bay of Fundy. This is her fourth known calf.
#1701 -- better known as "Knotty Head." She just may be Chris' favorite whale, being the first right whale that he ever saw and therefore the beginning of his work with right whales. She's a regular in the Bay of Fundy, seen every summer there since she was born. This is her first calf.
#1622 -- This mom was first seen in 1986 in Massachusetts Bay and was seen here in the southeast in '89 and '90, but never with a calf. She frequents Massachusetts Bay but has never been seen in the Bay of Fundy.
#1243 -- She was born in 1982 and this is her second known calf. Her first calf was born here in 1991.
#1004 -- known as "Stumpy" due to her missing right fluke tip. Stumpy's 1994 calf got caught up in some very bad luck. After seeing it numerous times in a healthy state, breaching and generally frolicking all around mom, we sighted them one afternoon when it was very obvious that the dalf had been fatally injured. Its flukes were flaccid pieces of flesh, undulating uselessly in the water as it tried to swim. They were later observed closely from a tug by Chris and Marilyn Marx, and appeared to have been cut somehow, very deeply where they join the tail stock. We don't expect that the calf survived. Stumpy is back in baby-making mode, this year's calf being her fourth.

For those of you who are interested in plotting positions, the most recent information I have about right whale mother-calf pair locations are:

Feb. 18 -- 31 13.6N  81 00.7W
Feb. 19 -- 31 04.8N  81 13.2W

Another interesting bit of information from down south is about "Metompkin." Those of you who participated in Journey North last year may remember the case of the 8-year-old female right whale that had become entangled in fishing gear. The scientists named her "Metompkin" after the Coast Guard cutter that was used to take them out to the whale to attach a satellite tag to the gear (on Jan. 24, '96). They were hoping to locate her in northern waters where they could attempt to remove the gear once she settled down to feed. But Metompkin didn't comply with the game plan. She started to head north, and then east. The signals followed a track that curved along with the Gulf Stream and then out east across Atlantic -- almost to the Azores. The satellite tag stopped transmitting on July 4, '96 after circulating for three months in an area of the Atlantic where right whales had been taken during the old days of whaling. According to Chris Slay, "There was no conclusive evidence, according to the oceanographers who have reviewed the data, to suggest the tag was or was not still tethered to the whale. In addition, there were some pretty interesting daily movements by the tag that seemed unlikely to have been drift. Others say it's unlikely such a track is that of a whale." But Chris notes, "I like to think that on July 4th Metompkin's burden fell away. Independence Day. She did make an appearance in the Bay of Fundy this past August and we were ecstatic to see that she'd lost the gear and was swimming free."

And now the right whale groups reports that Metompkin is a mother. She has been seen with her calf off the Florida coast. It seems that this young whale was pregnant during the whole ordeal but has successfully produced her first calf.

In addition to the surveys down south, scientists and environmental organizations are undertaking a similar project up north in Cape Cod Bay and the lower section of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (one of two critical habitats in the northeast). No one knows where the juveniles, males and non-pregnant females go in the winter, although it is known that a good portion of these whales show up in the critical habitat in February (with mothers and calves often appearing later in March or April). By April the whales move out the the Great South Channel between Cape Cod and Georges Bank (the second northeast critical habitat). The whales come to these critical habitats to feed on large aggregations of copepods (small, shrimp-like crustaceans, each of which is smaller than a grain of rice).

The northeast surveys -- by Coast Guard helicopter once a week, daily boat trips weather permitting, and soon-to-come small plane flyovers -- will provide information to alert vessel traffic. Of the known causes of right whale mortalities, ship collisions rank number one.

The last notice to mariners about right whale locations (sent on Feb. 20th) is an area bordered by the following coordinates:

41  58.4N  70 11.4W
42  02.8N  70 11.4W
42  02.8N  70 06.4W
41  58.4N  70 06.4W

That's all for this week. This is Anne Smrcina, education coordinator for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, signing off.

The Next Right Whale Migration Update Will be Posted on March 12, 1997.