The first North Atlantic proper whale mom and calf pair of the 12 months has arrived in Cape Cod Bay, in accordance with researchers who noticed the pair over the weekend.
As the critically endangered species returns to the area, scientists are urging all boaters to comply with state and federal pace restrictions to keep away from hanging proper whales.
On Saturday, the Center for Coastal Studies’ Right Whale Ecology Program staff noticed Porcia and her 2023 calf. Porcia, a 21-year-old proper whale, was first seen together with her new calf in late December off the coast of Georgia.
The North Atlantic proper whale is critically endangered with an estimated 340 animals remaining, and the species is protected below the federal Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
“That designation legally prohibits boats and aircraft from approaching within 500 yards of them,” the Center for Coastal Studies mentioned in a press release. “It also restricts vessel speeds in designated areas, including Cape Cod waters. The right whale’s greatest threats to survival are being struck by a vessel or becoming entangled in rope.”
Over the course of their annual migration, the vast majority of the correct whale inhabitants normally visits Cape Cod Bay and its surrounding waters. This season, researchers first noticed proper whales in late December, they usually continued to reach all through January and February.
Mother and calf pairs usually make the lengthy and threatening journey from their calving grounds off the coast of Georgia and Florida, and arrive in Cape Cod Bay in mid-March.
“Our local waters are a sanctuary for new mothers and their offspring,” mentioned Charles “Stormy” Mayo, director of the Center for Coastal Studies’ Right Whale Ecology Program.
So far this 12 months, 12 proper whale calves have been recognized within the Southeast, the place they’re born.
Once right here, mom and calf pairs typically linger in Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bays, the place they feed and relaxation earlier than persevering with on their northern migration. As a part of its analysis, the correct whale staff commonly examines bay zooplankton samples to grasp what proper whales eat and their feeding habits.
With a big inhabitants of proper whales and their calves current, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries locations a seasonal 10-knot pace restriction in Cape Cod Bay for vessels lower than 65 toes in size.
That pace restriction is in place from March 1 to April 30, and could be prolonged if whales stay within the space. Also, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a 10-knot seasonal pace restriction in and round Cape Cod Bay for vessels 65 toes or higher.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”