March 30, 2022
In the last two weeks the Center for Coastal Studies’ North Atlantic right whale aerial survey team has seen the first mothers and their calves arrive in Cape Cod Bay waters from their birthing ground off the southeastern U.S. coast. On March 25, teams sighted four pairs.
The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered, with only an estimated 336 animals remaining, and protected under 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. 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.
North Atlantic right whales can migrate great distances – often as far as from the coast of the southeastern United States to Canada – and the journey is dangerous. “Our local waters are a sanctuary for new mothers and their offspring,” said Dr. Charles “Stormy” Mayo, Director of the Center for Coastal Studies Right Whale Ecology Program.
“These animals are coming here after a long and perilous journey through areas not as strictly protected as Cape Cod Bay. The bay can be seen as a nursery for right whale mothers who are nursing their calves and they will probably be around for a little while. Mariners should be well aware that the state regulation for all boats is 10 knots or less. They need to be alert and keep watch for these animals, they can be very hard to spot,” Mayo said.
The vessel speed restrictions are “appropriate considering that calves are very small,” Mayo said. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has a seasonal 10 knot speed restriction in Cape Cod Bay for vessels less than 65 feet in length. That speed restriction is in place from March 1 – April 30 and can be extended if whales remain in the area. (https://www.mass.gov/doc/032522-reminder-small-vessel-speed-limit-in-effect-for-cape-cod-bay/download). In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a 10 knot seasonal speed restriction in and around Cape Cod Bay for vessels 65 feet or greater.
So far this year,15 right whale calves have been identified in the Southeast US. Each surviving calf represents another step towards the population’s recovery. Last year, one of the 18 calves born was killed after being struck by a ship, and two calves were killed from vessel strikes the season prior.
“These whale calves in Cape Cod Bay aren’t as powerful swimmers as their adult counterparts. They stay close to their mothers and nurse a lot, which makes them very vulnerable,” Mayo said.
On March 15th the center’s aerial team spotted Tripelago and her calf, the first right whale new mom and calf pair to enter the bay this year. They were first seen off the coast of Georgia in December 2021. This year’s offspring is Tripelago’s fifth calf and the mother is known to have survived two entanglements in rope.
The CCS team counted three additional mother and calf pairs in Cape Cod Bay on March 25; the new mothers were Slalom, Mantis and Silt.
First seen off the coast of South Carolina with her calf late last year, Slalom has now given birth six times. She has survived six entanglements, including one when she was a calf. Mantis was seen with her calf in mid-December 2021 off the coast of Georgia; right whale scientists believe she has given birth seven times, but Mantis is a mysterious whale who can disappear for long periods of time and sometimes leaves those who study her wondering what she’s up to. Silt was first seen off Florida with her calf in December of 2021; this is her fifth calf and she’s also a grandmother three times over. First seen in 1988, Silt has survived four entanglements.
Photo credit: North Atlantic right whale Mantis and her calf photographed in Cape Cod Bay on March 25, 2022. Photo by Center for Coastal Studies, taken under NOAA permit #25740.
*Please do not remove permit information from the CCS image.