Aerial observers from the Center for Coastal Studies spotted a North Atlantic right whale mother with her calf just north of Marshfield yesterday. This is the first such sighting of a right whale calf in Massachusetts waters in the 2024 season.
The right whale mother was identified as Legato (EgNo 1802). Legato is 36 years old and the daughter of Staccato (EgNo 1014). Legato gave birth to her calf in December, and the two whales were first sighted together by Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute on New Year’s Eve.
According to Ryan Schosberg, Aerial Observer and right whale researcher from the Center for Coastal Studies, “We were just finishing a survey track line when we saw a right whale feeding less than a mile from the beach off North Marshfield. We flew over to document the animal and all cheered in excitement when a little calf popped up by its side! It’s always a relief to see right whale mothers arriving safely in Cape Cod Bay with their calves.”
North Atlantic right whales calve off the coast of the southeast US in winter before migrating north to New England and Canadian feeding grounds. Each year during the last decade, Cape Cod Bay has been host to one of the largest feeding aggregations of right whales during winter and early spring. This season, researchers from the Center for Coastal Studies have already observed 123 individual right whales in the bay.
The sighting illustrates the importance of Cape Cod Bay as a nursery for North Atlantic right whales. Dr. Charles “Stormy” Mayo, Director of the Center’s Right Whale Ecology Program, notes that right whale mothers and their calves are often sighted in Cape Cod Bay during the months of April and May. Their arrival follows what he characterized as a difficult journey through sometimes horrendous seas, and during that migration the mother nurses the calf but does not feed until arriving in food-rich waters around Cape Cod.
“Cape Cod Bay is a very significant place for right whales to bring their calves. Here they find protected, calmer waters, and an abundance of food. It must be a relief, no wonder they hang out here for days or weeks,” said Mayo.
The arrival of right whale mothers and their calves in Cape Cod Bay is an encouraging event, given that North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered. Their population is estimated to be fewer than 360 individuals.
This is Legato’s fifth documented calf. Previous calves are a male, #3302, born in 2003 and last seen in 2011 and presumed dead; a female, #3602, who was born in 2006 and died in the calving grounds; Portato, #3802, a female who was born in 2008 and last seen in Cape Cod Bay in 2022; and a male, #4102, born in 2011 and seen many times in Cape Cod Bay this winter.
Ship strikes represent one of the greatest threats to North Atlantic right whales. Important efforts are being taken to reduce this danger. During right whale season, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that vessels travel no faster than 10 knots in coastal waters and Cape Cod Bay where the whales aggregate.
Boaters, kayakers, paddle-boarders, swimmers and light aircraft and drone pilots are reminded that it is illegal to approach a North Atlantic right whale within 500 yards without a federal research permit. However, whales often feed very close to shore, offering watchers on the beach unbeatable views of one of the rarest of the marine mammals.
CCS right whale research and response operations are conducted in partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and NOAA under federal permits issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Support also comes from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and contributions from other foundations, businesses and CCS supporters through the Center’s Right Whale Emergency Initiative.
Photo above: Eg No 1802, Legato, and 2024 Calf of 1802, photographed north of Marshfield, MA, April 1, 2024 by the Center for Coastal Studies Aerial Survey Team. NOAA Permit 25740-02.
