With the North Atlantic right whale population at a dangerously low ebb, the state Division of Marine Fisheries is proposing a statewide seasonal ban on lobstering.
The North Atlantic right whale has officially been red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature — an ominous step for a species that has long teetered on the brink of extinction.
A federal judge has ruled that the government agency charged with protecting the near-extinct marine mammals violated the Endangered Species Act in 2014.
Nuzzling the shoreline with the curiosity and daring that made its ancestors easy prey for whalers, a young right whale is swimming slowly northward along the East Coast toward Martha’s Vineyard. The 20-ton mammal is keeping odd company with a giant sea turtle, and together the silent mammoths have been snooping lazily around Long Island for about two weeks.
One of the rarest creatures on the earth, the endangered right whale, was seen near the Vineyard Tuesday. The sighting off the Gay Head Cliffs is for the record books, a first for the Vineyard in a long time.
The Northeast Right Whale is one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals, with only slightly more than 300 known to be in existence. One was observed from an airplane while it was feeding.
“Cap’n” Seth Wakeman Jr. of Menemsha reports that representatives of the Oceanographic Institution at Woods Hole got “some of the best whale pictures ever taken,” during a recent visit to the Island. In addition to taking still and movie shots, the scientists also had excellent luck in recording the sounds of the whales which have been seen off Menemsha Bight and Gay Head in recent weeks.
Less than a month into the calving season, four baby North Atlantic right whales have already been spotted off the coast of Florida and Georgia, offering a glimmer of hope for the species.
Recent grants were awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to develop and study ropeless or breakable rope fishing technology for lobstermen and other trap fishermen.
One month, six dead whales, four of them females. The North Atlantic right whale population is still fluttering on the point of extinction despite a trans-national conservation effort.