An Update from Rich Delaney, CCS President and CEO

During these trying times the Center for Coastal Studies is working hard to limit costs and conserve resources while maintaining the Right Whale Emergency Initiative and other essential research, rescue and education programs.

As you know, scores of right whales are in Cape Cod Bay right now, fueling up on rich patches of zooplankton before heading north to their summer feeding grounds, and we expect the first of this season’s new mom/calf pairs to arrive here any day from the birthing grounds off Florida and Georgia. Our dedicated aerial survey and habitat monitoring teams are still working in this critical time window to gather data and inform the government agencies who manage shipping and fishing activities. Please be assured that the well-being of our staff is our number one priority. We have implemented stringent new safety procedures and policies to protect the health of our researchers, pilots and boat captains and their families as they perform these crucial tasks.

In the midst of all this turmoil there have been some truly uplifting moments: Much to the delight of our aerial surveillance team, right whale #4340, the as yet unnamed, seven-year-old calf of ‘Wart’, has returned to Cape Cod Bay! 4340 was tiny, probably only a couple of weeks old, when she was first spotted with her mom in the Bay in January 2013, almost three months earlier than any other recorded mom/calf pair. She is believed to be one of only a very few calves to be born here in our northern waters.

Old friends of the Center may remember that Wart was disentangled by CCS in 2010. She is one of several right whales freed by the MAER team that have gone on to produce one or more calves in subsequent years.

4340 is a true testament of the value of our work to the survival of the species.

With your enduring passion, optimism and generous support, we can continue to focus our time and effort on the fight for the future of the right whale, and the conservation of our oceans and those who dwell in and alongside them.

If you can give a gift today, please visit https://coastalstudies.org/donate/ or click on the button below.

Many thanks.

Best wishes for your continued health and well-being,
Rich Delaney