“Cap’n” Seth Wakeman Jr.
Following the sighting of critically endangered right whales last week, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has announced a voluntary speed reduction zone for vessels in a large area surrounding the Vineyard and Nantucket.
Notifying speeding sailors that regulations are in place to protect North Atlantic right whales has been effective in protecting the endangered whales from ship collisions, a new study by NOAA has found.
Announced Monday, the news from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was hailed as a boost to protection efforts for the critically endangered right whales.
Mariners are being urged to proceed with caution through the waters of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket following the probable sighting Sunday of three right whales north of Oak Bluffs.
The whales were spotted two and three miles offshore, said Tim Cole, a fisheries biologist with the National Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.
Less than 450 Atlantic right whales are known to be in existence, making them one of the most endangered marine mammals in this area.
Normally, the Coast Guard is on the lookout for mariners in distress. But on Sunday crew members aboard a 270-foot cutter stationed in Portsmouth, Va. spotted a more welcome sight: two right whales swimming northwest of Menemsha in Vineyard Sound.
The sighting was made at 9 a.m. Sunday.
About 20 North Atlantic right whales were spotted south and southeast of the Vineyard on Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed. This is the second report of right whales seen near the Vineyard in a month.
On Feb. 15 six right whales were seen from the air halfway between the Vineyard and Nantucket. On the same day two more whales were seen swimming south of Nantucket.
