April 12, 2017: Earlier today scientists from the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) aerial survey team recorded a previously unseen North Atlantic right whale mother/calf pair off Truro, MA.
“This is incredibly exciting” said Charles “Stormy” Mayo, PhD, Director of the Center’s Right Whale Ecology program. “Our colleagues in the southeast US saw only three new right whale calves this season, so for us to identify a fourth addition to this critically endangered population is great news.”
The identity of the mother will be established shortly.
Scientists estimate that there are only 524 North Atlantic right whales left in the world; 112 of those whales were sighted in Cape Cod Bay on Sunday, April 9.
Members of the public are reminded that it is illegal for watercraft or aircraft of any kind to approach within 500 yards (1500 feet) of a North Atlantic right whale without a Federal Research Permit.
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, CCS aviation contractor New England Specialized Aviation Services, and contributions from CCS members.
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