November is Right Whale Month

North Atlantic right whale | photo credit: NEFSC

In November, 2018, the City of Fernandina Beach Florida, by order of Proclamation, recognized the month of November as "Right Whale Month."

In November of 2019, Fernandina Beach will be the location of the 11th Annual Right Whale Festival.

The Right Whale Festival celebrates the annual return of endangered North Atlantic right whales to the warm coastal water off northeast Florida and Georgia, where they give birth to and nurse their young.

The annual festival raises awareness of the threats to right whales and how to aid in their recovery. The event highlights local efforts to protect these whales from extinction. The festival also features activities and exhibits that emphasize education and environmentally responsible practices.

The 2018 Right Whale Festival was held on Saturday, November 3 along Jacksonville Beach, FL.



Right Whale Facts

In 2017, NOAA confirmed 17 North Atlantic right whale deaths; about 4 percent of a population estimated at about 450 animals.

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an "Unusual Mortality Event," which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

In 2018, there have been two confirmed right whale mortalities.

There are currently only about 100 females of breeding age in the population and more females seem to be dying than males.

Births have also been declining in recent years, and no new calves were spotted in the calving grounds off Florida in 2018.

Every winter, many right whales travel more than 1,000 miles from their feeding grounds off Canada and New England to the warm coastal waters of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida's east coast.

Entanglement in fixed commercial fishing gear is a major threat to right whales. There are restrictions on where and how commercial traps, pot gear and gillnet gear can be set. These restrictions include seasonal closures and gear modifications such as sinking groundlines, weak links, and gear markings.

To reduce the risk of harassment or collisions between right whales and boats, federal law requires vessels and aircraft to stay at least 500 yards away from right whales.

Vessels 65 feet and longer are also required to slow to speeds of 10 knots or less in Seasonal Management Areas along the East Coast, including the calving and nursery area.

To report right whale sightings, especially dead, injured, or entangled whales, please contact NOAA Fisheries at (877) WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343) or the Coast Guard on marine VHF channel 16.

The public can also identify and help marine mammals in trouble by using their smartphone. Learn more about the Whale 911 app by visiting https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/protected_resources/outreach_and_education/mm_apps/.



Related Information

Whale Smart Phone Apps

NMFS North Pacific Right Whale Recovery Plan

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently announced the adoption and availability of the final Recovery Plan (Plan) for the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica).

The Northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) has been listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since its passage in 1973.

In 2008, NMFS determined that the Northern right whale should be listed as two separate species, the North Pacific right whale and the North Atlantic right whale.

North Pacific right whales historically had a wide distribution in the Pacific Ocean, but the population was dramatically reduced by extensive commercial whaling, now prohibited by the International Whaling Commission. Scientists estimate that less than 1,000 individuals remain.

Of the commercially exploited “great whales,” the North Pacific right whale is one of the least well studied, and the current status of the North Pacific right whale population is poorly understood. Currently, the population structure of North Pacific right whales has not been adequately defined.

Because the current status of North Pacific right whales is unknown, the primary purpose of the Recovery Plan is to provide a research strategy to obtain data necessary to determine distribution and estimate population abundance, trends, and structure and to identify factors that may be limiting North Pacific right whale recovery.

For more information, visit:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/06/07/2013-13527/endangered-and-threatened-species-recovery-plan-for-the-north-pacific-right-whale

source: NOAA Fisheries