Seasonal Ban on Lobstering Aims to Protect Right Whales

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.

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North Atlantic Right Whales Now Red-Listed

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.

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Court Ruling Seen as Victory in Fight to Save Right Whales

A federal judge has ruled that the government agency charged with protecting the near-extinct marine mammals violated the Endangered Species Act in 2014.

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Right Whale Documentary Brings Crisis, Hope Into Focus

In a new documentary Aquinnah filmmakers Liz Witham and Ken Wentworth are following the journey of right whale calves.

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Two Sea Giants Swim Silently Northward, Their Species Protected and Their Path Free of Bombs
Bruce Brooks

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.

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Right Whales Seen in Waters Off Gay Head
Mark Alan Lovewell

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.

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In Opportunity of a Lifetime, “Conservation” of Right Whales Recorded in Vineyard Waters
Vineyard Gazette

“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.

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First Calves Signal Hope for Right Whales

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.

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Ropeless Science Advances, Aiming to Save Right Whales

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.

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Scientists Track Spate of Right Whale Deaths This Summer

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.

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