Right On, NOAA
North Atlantic Right Whales
I was thrilled to see that this morning’s New York Times had an article with some heartening news about one of the ocean’s most troubled species, the North Atlantic right whale. The right whale, now estimated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at a total population of 325, has long had one of the most precarious grips on continued existence of any marine species. Unfortunately, I’ve been watching them for a while as part of my list of animals with a good likelihood of going extinct well before the end of my lifetime. After a long and depressing struggle, however, this year is looking like a bumper calving season, with 38 calves recorded, and it looks like the right whale may finally be getting some good news.
The right whale has had a hard time all around. The horrifying truth about the source of their name is that they were considered the “right” whale to kill, because they move slowly, stick close to shore, and float when they’re dead, making them the idea whaler’s target. As a result, they were heavily whaled for centuries, to the point of extinction in Europe, with only a tiny population remaining in North America at the turn of the last century. In the recent past, right whales have been killed by ship strikes nearly every year, sad in any context but a tragedy for a slow-reproducing species whose total population has been estimated within the last couple of decades as low as 200 individuals. Because they still stick close to shore, the frequency with which they’re hit by commercial marine traffic is far higher than it is for deep-sea lovers like blue whales. Right whales come into contact with humanity all the time, usually to their sorrow.
Entanglement in fishing gear is also major ongoing problem. Here’s why: a right whale cannot swim backward. So once they are caught in a fishing net, while they’re often plenty strong enough to rip it free from whatever it’s attached to, their ability to disentangle themselves is very limited, especially if it’s gotten into their mouths. Whales of all kinds that spend time close to shore often get tangled in fishing gear and frequently live for months or even years dragging the gear around behind them. Needless to say, living entangled in gear can be a significant drain on a whale’s resources, and if it’s tangled in the whale’s mouth in a way that interferes with feeding, it can be rapidly fatal. NOAA and a collection of scientists and nonprofit groups keep an eye out for entangled whales, and rescue efforts are made when possible, but they can be extremely dangerous and are not always successful.
To try to save the right whale from their clashes with humanity, NOAA has been working on protective measures for decades, and it looks like they’re finally starting to pay off. Modifications in the timing and location of commercial fishing sets, shifts in shipping routes so that the high traffic areas for whales are not also high traffic areas for freighters, and similar measures have let the population Here’s the part that really gets me: in 2008, no right whales were killed by humans, possibly for the first time since the 1600s, as the NYT points out. Folks, that’s AMAZING. Hell, yes.
Oh, the right whale is not out of the woods yet by any means. There are still huge numbers of us, lots of fishing, lots of ship traffic, and right whales still lead lives that are going to bring them into contact with mankind all the time. But these days, with all the bad environmental news coming from every front, it’s nice to hear about something that’s going right — no pun intended.
Oh, this is so sad. The whole concept of whaling is depressing – although I know there are lots of people in Japan who disagree with me – anyway I’m glad to see that NOAA is making some good progress.
Plus whales are cute. If anything that large can be considered cute. I like the playfulness and the intelligence – aren’t whales pretty smart creatures?