Volume 4 Number 4 November 1997

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE MONITORING TEAM RECEIVES 1997 PARTNERSHIP AWARD FROM COASTAL AMERICA

At an October 23, 1997, ceremony at the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville, Florida, Coastal America presented the Southeastern U. S. Implementation Team for the Recovery of the Northern Right Whale (a.k.a. Northern Right Whale Monitoring Team) with its 1997 Partnership Award. According to Vice President Al Gore, who sent a letter of congratulations and thanks to the Team, "this award recognizes outstanding team efforts demonstrating the collaborative nature of the Coastal America partnership." The Coastal America partnership brings together federal agencies as well as state and local governments and other organizations to develop projects that protect, preserve and restore coastal ecosystems while maintaining a healthy economy.

Specifically, the Team was recognized for its efforts to coordinate recovery efforts for right whales on the winter calving grounds off Florida and Georgia. The Team's principal focus has been on preventing ship strikes, the most important human-related mortality factor for this species.

Receiving Coastal America Partnership in Action Award plaques and copies of the Vice President's letter were the following individuals and organizations: Rudy Nyc (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Commander Mark Thomas (US. Coast Guard), Duncan Powell (US Environmental Protection Agency), Kathy Wang, Wayne McFee and Jim Hain (National Marine Fisheries Service), Sarah Mitchell (Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary), Jerry Wallmeyer and Lt. Terry Bisard (U.S. Navy), Bill Brooks (Florida Department of Environmental Protection), Mike Harris and Barb Zoodsma (Georgia Department of Natural Resources), Lorraine Guise (Canaveral Port Authority), Susan McPherson (Port of Fernandina), Charles Griffen (Georgia Ports Authority), Dave Kaufman (Jacksonville Ports Authority), Hans Neuhauser (Georgia Environmental Policy Institute), Diane Barile (Marine Resources Council), and Lisa Conger, Amy Knowlton, Scott Kraus and Chris Slay (New England Aquarium).

Other stakeholders were also recognized with certificates are: Captain Robert Parlet, Lt. Peter Raup, OSCS Stephen Hahn, QMCS Ron Weyant, CDR S. P. Smolinski, Paul Schoenfeld, Bob Gisiner and Jan Wynn (U.S. Navy), Cyndi Thomas, Jana Lee, Blair Mase and Ann Spellman (Florida Department of Environmental Protection), David Laist (Marine Mammal Commission), Mike Liebrum, LCDR Ed Pino and LCDR Wes Marquardt (U. S. Coast Guard), Robert Murphy, Billy Foster, Hal Latimer, Hugh Rawls, Captain Barry Vaughn and Ron Salmon (airplane pilots), Steve Calver and Mike Dupes (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Captains William Brown, EarlMcMilan, Edwin Fendig, Jr., Bill Kavanaugh and E.C. Bryson (harbor pilots), and Robert and Joanna Gray, Neena Tennant, Bob Awtrey, Martha Veedencamp, Ron Ruth~ Patsy Sang, Jay Glass, Michael Gilligan, Stephanie Hendrix, Becky Level, Crystal Godwin, George Pollack, Sr., Mike and Dottie Collins, Tyler Edwards, Rich Morrison, Dorothy Dornblazer, Morris Maple and Polly Braendle (Marine Resources Council).

Speakers at the awards ceremony included Virginia Tippie, Coastal America Director, Terry Garcia, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, Elsie Munsell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Environment and Safety, and Dr. John Reynolds, Chair of the Marine Mammal Commission.

CONGRESS EXPECTED TO INCREASE RIGHT WHALE APPROPRIATION TO $1 MILLION

Congressional approval of the Department of Commerce's budget for FY 1998 has been stalled by the debate on the census and how people are to be counted. As a result, the Congress is expected to pass a continuing resolution, which maintains funding at last year's levels. When Congress does reconsider Commerce's budget, possibly in March 1998, it is anticipated that they will approve an appropriation of $1,000,000 for right whale work. This represents a significant increase in funds for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The agency had requested an increased appropriation of $1 million to support their additional management responsibilities which were brought about as a result of court orders and increased right whale mortality in the last several years. Two examples illustrate this the implementation of the Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Federal Register July 22, 1997, pp. 39157-39188) and the 500 yards minimum approach distance rule (Federal Register Feb.13, 1997, pp. 6729-6738). So far, the Senate has supported NMFS's request but the House supported a lower figure. The House/Senate Conference Committee is expected to agree to the Senate's figure. Special thanks are due to Senator Olympia Snowe (Maine) and the Massachusetts delegation for leading the effort to gain the additional funds.

MASSACHUSETTS ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST TO FUND FY98 RIGHT WHALE INITIATIVE

The Massachusetts Environmental Trust, an environmental philanthropy, last year established an Endangered Species Fund to respond to a timely and critical need to ensure survival of endangered species within the Commonwealth. The focus was on the northern right whale - most endangered of the large whales and the Commonwealth' s marine mammal and icon on the Trust' s environmental license plate. The results of last year' s program were encouraging, prompting the Trust to budget $150,000 this year (FY98) to further research and initiatives for the right whale.

The FY98 Right Whale Initiative strives to address critical needs in right whale conservation not readily met by other sources. The goals are to support research and management driven initiatives that answer critical questions and leverage definable benefits for the northern right whale in the near future. Although the trust recognizes the value of ongoing data collection and established operational programs, they prefer to fund those proposals that build on prior work and bring it nearer to conclusion, those proposals that create new opportunities, and those proposals that directly implement initiatives to assist the survival of the species. Project work should focus on Massachusetts's waters.

An advisory committee has been formed, consisting of academics, conservationists, managers, and research scientists to guide the FY98 program and evaluate all proposals meeting the program's goals. The trust's research goal is to conduct research that increases understanding of the biology of the northern right whale, its habitat, and political parameters that lead to better management of the species. Topics of objectives under this goals are: biology, movements, habitat, population, law and economics. The Trust's management goal is to support plans and management initiatives that will reduce the mortality and recovery of the northern right whale. Topics include plans, outreach and funding. Proposals were due by November 14. Decisions will be announced in December and contracts awarded in January 1998.

For more information about the FY98 Right Whale Initiative, contact the Massachusetts Environmental Trust at 33 Union Street, Fourth Floor, Boston, MA 02108. Tel. 617-727-0249. Fax 617-367-1616.

NMFS ASSEMBLES LARGE WHALE RESEARCEI AND MANAGEMENT TEAM

The Final Recovery Plan for the Northern Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis NMFS; 1991: included a recommendation (page 43) that recovery efforts for the right whale and other large whales would best be accomplished by designating an implementation coordinator who would have the responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the right whale plan and other recovery plans. The recommendation is now a reality with the appointment of Dr. Gregory K. Silber as Coordinator for Large Whale Recovery Activities. Operating out of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Office of Protected Resources, Dr. Silber will be coordinating research and management activities affecting endangered large whale species both within and, to the extent possible, outside the NMFS. He will be coordinating activities between NMFS's regional offices, between the headquarters office in Silver Spring, MD, and the regional offices and between the NMFS and other agencies involved in large whale protection activities. Much of his initial work will be devoted to preparing and implementing recovery plans for endangered large whale species. Both the right whale and humpback whale plans will need to be updated and new plans developed for the fin, sei, blue and sperm whales.

Dr. Silber comes to his new position with extensive marine mammal experience including a Masters degree from San Jose State University (thesis topic: Hawaiian humpback whale social vocalizations and behavior) and a Ph.D. from University of California at Santa Cruz (dissertation research topic: ecological relationships of Cetaceans in the Northern Gulf of California with special emphasis on the Gulf of California harbor porpoise). From 1990 to 1992, Dr. Silber was Scientific and Executive Director of the non-profit organization, Friends of the Sea Otter. He then became Assistant Scientific Program Director at the Marine Mammal Commission. He joined the NMFS in July 1997.

Dr. Silber can be reached at the Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel. 301-713-2322. Fax 301-713-0376. E-mail: greg.silber@noaa.gov

The NMFS has also added a large whale biologist to each of its East Coast Fisheries Science Centers. Dr. Steven Swartz has been named Chief of Protected Species and Biodiversity for the Southeast Fisheries Science Center of the National Marine Fisheries Service. He is also the Large Whale Biologist for the Center. He can be reached at the Center at 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149; tel. 305-361-4478; e-mail: Steven.Swartz@NOAA.GOV

Dr. Phil Clapham will leave the Smithsonianís U.S. National Museum of Natural History at the end of November to join the NMFSí s Northeast Fisheries Science Center as the Large Whale Coordinator. He can be reached at the Center at 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543; tel. 508-495-2000.

Right Whale Recovery Plan To Be Updated

One of Dr. Silber's first tasks as Coordinator of Large Whale Recovery Activities will be to update the Final Recovery Plan for the Northern Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis which was published by the National Marine Fisheries Service in December, 1991. The process for developing the update will begin with the creation of a small drafting team made up of representatives from NMFS regional offices, scientists, mangers and conservationists. They will draft revisions and circulate them for preliminary review, hopefully by the end of the year. A revised version will then be made available to the general public through the Federal Register for a 60 to 90 day review period. Implementation will follow the review. One of the focal points for the update will be improving and prioritizing right whale research goals and activities conducted or funded by the NMFS.

Canada to Prepare Its Own Right Whale Recovery Plan

The Canadian government, under the leadership of the Department of Fisheries and Oceanís (DFO) Marine Mammal Coordinator, Jeremy Conway, and the co-sponsorship of the World Wildlife Fund-Canada (WWFC) is also planning to prepare its own recovery plan for the northern right whale. The development an implementation of the Recovery Plan will be consistent with the requirements of the proposed Canadian Endangered Species Act. The proposed legislation - essentially last year's version with amendments - is expected to be reintroduced soon, with the first reading in the House of Parliament anticipated in the spring of 1998.

On October 21, DFO and WWFC hosted a meeting in Halifax to discuss bringing together a team to draft a recovery plan, developing a budget of estimated costs, establishing what was needed in a recovery plan and identifying agencies and industries that will need to be consulted

The planning effort will begin with the selection of a core group of about 12 experts who will be invited to participate as the Recovery Plan Team. The Team will develop the criteria for a recovery plan, identifying information and research requirements and the coordination of the gathering and dissemination of information. The Team will also be responsible for the development of recommendations and the production of the final Recovery Plan for Northern Right Whales in Canadian waters. It is estimated that moving the plan through to the implementation phase will take about 18 months.

Consultation with all stakeholders and in particular, the fishing and shipping industries, will take place throughout the planning process. Given the trans-boundary nature of the right whale's distribution and the need for consistent protection throughout the species' range, coordination between the two nations' plans will be emphasized. Hopefully, the Canadian plan and the U.S. plan will be compatible and consistent with each other. This may require a change in the U. S. plan's step-down format, for indications are that Canadian plan will be modeled after their St. Lawrence Beluga Recovery Plan (1995; copies are available from WWFC by calling 416-489-8800).

The Halifax meeting was co-chaired by Jerry Conway (DFO) and Cathy Merriman (WWFC). Participants included Don Bowen and Jim McMillan (DFO - Science, Division of Marine Fisheries), Derek Fenton and Bob Rutherford (DFO - Marine Protected Areas) Larry Wilson, Don Hatcher, David Wright, Tim Hall, Scott Verret and Ann Miller (DFO - Canadian Coast Guard), Carl Myers (DFO - Communications), Jim Lawson (Ship Safety, Transport Canada), Moira Brown and Deborah Tobin (East Coast Ecosystems), Scott Kraus (New England Aquarium), Randall Reeves (private consultant) and Greg Silber, Chris Mantszaris and Sal Testaverde (National Marine Fisheries Service).

For more information on the Canadian initiative, contact Jerry Conway at Scotia-Fundy Region, CPB, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, P.O. Box 550, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2S7, Canada. Tel. 902-426-9609.

Information provided by

ENTANGLEMENTS AND A MORTALITY IN THE BAY OF FUNDY

Entanglements continued to be a problem for right whales in northern waters this year. In addition to the two animals observed off the coast of Massachusetts earlier this year (see Right Whale News, August, 1997, page 1), at least four more right whales have been observed entangled in the Bay of Fundy. A ten-year-old female (#1705) was observed on August 25th with a short orange line through her mouth. A five-year-old male (#2212) was observed the following day with orange line, black line and half-inch chain around its flukes. On September 12, a seven-year-old male (#2027) was seen trailing more than 600 feet of line. (The New England Aquarium team was able to remove about 440 feet of the line.) A two-year-old female (#2557) was seen on September 19 with line wrapped around the left flipper. In addition to these confirmed observations, there were two additional entanglement reports from the Bay of Fundy, one possibly in crab pot gear near Yarmouth and another in gillnet gear in mid July.

A ship strike also took a toll in the Bay of Fundy this summer. On August 19, a dead whale was observed floating off the Nova Scotia coast about 1.6 nautical miles east of the inbound shipping lane to St. John. The whale, later identified as a 12.59 meter long female right whale (#2450), was towed ashore. A necropsy was performed on August 20 under the direction of Dr. Bill McLellan (University of North Carolina, Wilmington) and Dr. Pierre Daoust (University of Prince Edward Island). The necropsy report noted a "large region of edenatous hematoma on the left flank. This would require significant blunt trauma to cause a region of hematoma this large...ln addition, the right mandible was factured." Dr. McLellan also noted that he was unable to find the ovaries, in spite of the reasonably good internal condition of the animal.

SOUTHEAST EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FINE-TUNED

The fourth year of operation of the Early Warning System in southeastern waters will see some important improvements. One, which will significantly improve the safety of those who fly the surveys, will be the shift from single-engine aircraft to twin-engine aircraft. Financial support from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Marine Mammal Commission made this possible.

There will also be some modifications of the survey routes being flown. Based on the experience of previous years, the surveys south of Jacksonville to Fort Pierce will be flown parallel to shore (N-S). Eight E-W survey lines will be flown in the Port Canaveral area. Surveys north of Jacksonville will continue to be E-W. The offshore survey area (east of the Early Warning Survey area, from about 20 to 45 miles offshore) will also be condensed, with 22 survey lines being flown in one day in January, February and possibly March.

Another change will be in the streamlining and simplification of the reporting procedures. For the 1997-98 calving season, all whale sightings from all sources including EWS survey planes, the public, harbor pilots, the Coast Guard and Navy, will be transmitted to the U.S. Navy's FACSFACJAX (see Right Whale News, Feb. 1997, pages 7 - 8, for description.) FACSFACJAX, under the command of Captain R. D. Parlet, will then distribute the information using alpha-numeric pagers to some 26 participants, including regional ports authorities, harbor pilots, Florida and Georgia natural resource agencies, the Coast Guard, Navy and others. Recipients will receive real-time information including a serial number unique for each sighting, date and time of sighting, position (latitude/longitude), direction of movement if apparent, number of animals and description (e.g., cow/calf), source of report and sighting point of contact. Additional information can be distributed if necessary. Funding for the pagers has been provided by the Jacksonville Ports Authority. Several days later, the data will also be entered on FACSFACJAX's web page (http://users.southeast.net/~facsfac). The delay will discourage the public from using the information to go out and look for whales.

The U.S. Coast Guard will broadcast the whale sighting information to commercial shipping and Coast Guard units using NAVTEX (see Right Whale News, May, I 995, pages 5 - 6). Unfortunately, the broadcast ranges of NAVTEX from Miami and Portsmouth, VA, leave a gap in coverage that encompasses most of the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. The Southeast U. S. Implementation Team has asked the Coast Guard to expand NAVTEX to cover to the entire coast. Even with these improvements, we should remember that there is only a 20 to 25% chance that a right whale will be seen and reported in the calving ground.

Information provided by

RIGHT WIIALE ALERT PROCEDURES IN THE BAY OF FUNDY

In June, 1996, at the request of East Coast Ecosystems and the Resource Management Branch of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Canadian Coast Guard's Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) Centre at St. John, New Brunswick initiated an information and reporting procedure called the "Right Whale Alert Procedure."

Right whales congregate in the lower part of the Bay of Fundy in an area that lies in the middle of the mandatory Traffic Separation Scheme. The outbound shipping lane cuts diagonally across Canada's Whale Conservation Area #1.

A traffic separation scheme has been in place in the Bay of Fundy since the early 1970's and these traffic lanes are approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The reporting procedure, required by Canadian Vessel Traffic System (VTS) zone regulations, applies to allvessels of 20 meters or more in length that enter, get under way, or navigate within the Bay of Fundy. These vessels are required to report to the MCTS Center identified as "Fundy Traffic." The reporting procedure applies during the months of June through December. Under the Canada Shipping Act, the Marine Traffic Regulator does have the authority to direct a vessel to leave or refrain from entering a defined area with the VTS zone for various reasons including "the presence of animals whose well being could be endangered by the vessel." Cooperation from mariners to date has made this unnecessary.

When a vessel arrives at VTS calling-in-point 2 Alpha (a position south of the main concentration of right whales) in the traffic lane, "an inbound vessel is advised that it is about to enter a right whale conservation area, that right whales are an endangered species and that actions are being requested from the vessel to maintain a close watch and take appropriate actions to avoid close quarters with any whales sighted." Outbound traffic receives the same advisory at calling-in-point 5, a position north of the right whale aggregation.

The same advisory was continued in 1997 starting on June 1st which coincided with reports of the first right whale arrivals of the season from whale watching vessels. The advisory will continue into December. In addition to the VTS activities, the advisory is published in the Notice to Mariners and in 1997, the St. John Harbor Pilots worked with MCTS in distributing a Department of Fisheries and Oceans pamphlet "Caution Mariners." Finally, to provide more data for the general advisory, sighting data are relayed to Fundy Traffic at the completion of any research surveys in the Bay of Fundy. Prior to the start of the research season, sightings were reported by whale watch companies. These supplementary reports help the VTS operators give transiting vessels the most up-to-date information available.

The goal of this alert procedure is to reduce the potential for collisions between right whales and vessels in the Bay of Fundy. There are still difficulties to overcome such as the chance of seeing a right whale from a large vessel (the largest are up to 1100 feet in length) in time to change course is very low, and there are long periods of reduced visibility during fog, foul weather and at night. Given that there is an overlap in the shipping lanes and the area where right whales aggregate, and no way to move the whales, the next option may be to shift the shipping lanes to reduce the overlap in distribution of ships and whales. In addition to the overlap between right whales and the traffic lanes to St. John, there is an additional risk to the right whale from vessels leaving the shipping lanes at calling-in-point 4 (in the conservation area) to transit across the northern edge of the conservation area to the ports of Bayside, New Brunswick, and Eastport, Maine. Moving shipping lanes is one option to be investigated, however, this may result in added navigational dangers and increased transit times through the Bay of Fundy. Continuing efforts are underway between MCTS and East Coast Ecosystems with the help of Amy Knowlton of the New England Aquarium to further refine the Right Whale Alert and traffic separation scheme.

LARGE WHALE TAKE REDUCTION RULES GARNER PRAISE AND CRITICISM

As expected, the National Marine Fisheries Service's Interim Final Rule to implement the Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Federal Register July 22, 1997, pp. 39157 - 39188, and Right Whale News 4 (3): 2) has received both praise from the fishing industry and criticism from whale conservationists. An example of the praise appeared in a July 24th editorial in the Ellsworth American (Ellsworth, Maine). It noted: "The (new) rules are much less onerous than originally proposed for the majority of Maine fishermen who work the inshore waters where right whales seldom venture. It's safe to say that things could have turned out much worse for Maine s fishermen had they not joined forces to make their case with the fisheries service. This time, when the people spoke with a single voice, the government listened."

An example of the criticism can be found in the comments submitted to the NMFS by the Center for Marine Conservation, the Humane Society of the U.S. and 16 other national and international conservation organizations. The organizations specifically opposed NMFS's reliance on a gear technology options list that "provide no meaningful risk reductions and in most cases are not a departure from the current fishing practices that have entangled whales, most of which are endangered species."

SOUTHEASTERN U.S. IMPLEMENTATION TEAM MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

The October 23 - 24 meeting of the Southeastern U. S. Implementation Team for the Recovery of the Northern Right Whale included presentations and discussions on a number of topics described elsewhere in this issue of Right Whale News. Other meeting highlights include:

Ship reporting proposal: A draft proposal is being developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard for submittal to the International Maritime Organization that would establish two mandatory ship reporting systems, one off the northeastern coast and one off the southeastern coast of the United States. The objective of the reporting systems is to reduce ship strikes of endangered large whales, particularly the northern right whale. Reporting ships would be informed that they were entering an area of critical importance to the right whale, that whales were in the area and that ship strikes pose a significant risk to the whales. Ships would also be provided with information on confirmed whale sightings. It is hoped that the proposal will be ready for submittal by March 1998. For more information, contact Dr. Greg Silber at NMFS: 301-713-0376.

Text changes for nautical charts and U.S. Coast Pilot: The Team discussed proposed changes in the text of the National Ocean Service's U.S. Coast Pilot 4 that covers the southeast from Cape Henry to Key West. The Team recommended that the general section on right whales contain information about the kinds of conditions in which ship strikes are known to occur. The Team also supported efforts to get appropriate language on the relevant navigation charts, supporting the notion that charts are for more than just navigation. Efforts will be made to coordinate the Coast Pilot 4 language with that used in Coast Pilots 1 & 2 for northeast waters. For more information, contact Bruce Russell at 301-656-1751.

Ocean disposal plans: There are a number of ocean disposal sites off the southeast coast, primarily for the disposal of dredged material. Some of these sites are in the right whale' s critical habitat. All sites must have management plans and all permits issued to use the sites must be consistent with those plans. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers are jointly charged with developing these plans. The plan for the disposal site east of Jacksonville will final in 1997. A preliminary draft has been prepared for the site east of Brunswick and Fernandina's is in development. Canaveral's plan was approved in 1990, it will be revised by the year 2000. For further information, contact Chris McArthur at EPA IV: 404-562-9391 .

Expansion of area covered by the Southeast Team: This past summer, the Northeast Whale Implementation Team expanded its geographic scope south to the Virginia - North Carolina boundary. This left a gap of North Carolina and South Carolina that the Southeastern Implementation Team will now attempt to fill. Representatives from both states will be asked to join the Southeast Team. The importance of having these two states involved will undoubtedly grow as we learn more about the specific migratory routes used by right whales off the Carolina coasts.

For a copy of the minutes of the October 23-24 Team meeting, contact Mike Harris at 912-264-7218.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Lisa Conger has left the New England Aquarium to direct the offshore right whale surveys for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL DEP). Bill Brooks has also left FL DEP for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service where he will be working on manatee recovery. Cyndi Thomas will replace Bill (to the extent that anyone can replace him) at FL DEP. Dick Merrick has joined the NMFS's large whale research and management team in the Office of Protected Resources; contact information: OPR, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, 20910; tel. 301-713-2322 . Greg Silber, Steve Swartz and Phil Clapham have also joined the NMFS large whale team. See article on page 3 for details. Mike Harris has announced that he will be stepping down as chair of the Southeastern U. S. Implementation Team for the Recovery of the Northern Right Whale after the Team' s next meeting in May 1998.

FROM WHALING TO WA TCHING: THE NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE NEW EDUCATIONAL VIDEO AVAILABLE

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recently released a wonderful video with some very impressive footage on the northern right whale. This new video is entitled From Whaling to Watching. It is an excellent tool for classroom teachers to use to enhance any curriculum. It could be used as a starting point for many exciting lessons or to find answers to questions such as: "How big is it?" "Why is it called the right whale?" "What is baleen?" "Why is it so endangered?" Maritime history is an area of interest to many. Mapping and math skills could become much more exciting as students explore the migratory routes by plotting locations and calculating travel time. Population reductions might be another set of math problems. Students are presented with difficult choices humans must make concerning environmental issues surrounding the endangered right whale. Such issues lay the groundwork for many stimulating discussions at any age level. These are just a few ideas for the use of this new video. Many more are available in a companion handbook that is also available.

From Whaling to Watching was written by Sarah Mitchell of the Gray' s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Anne Smrcina of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Becky Marshall of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Becky Marshall and Jim Couch, also of GA DNR are the producers. Diane Cardea is the narrator. The entire team is to be commended.

NEW BRUNSWICK MUSEUM EXHIBIT FEATURES DELILAH

According to Scott Kraus, the New Brunswick Museum in St. John has created a "must see" exhibit on the right whale featuring Delilah, an adult animal that was killed in the Bay of Fundy in September, 1992. Scott notes that the exhibit includes the best articulation of a mounted skeleton and the best fiberglass model of a right whale in the world! The exhibit was assembled under the direction of Dr. Don McAlpine, Curator of Zoology. For information about the exhibit and the museum's hours, etc., call 506-643-2300.

MEASURING BLUBBER THICKNESS TO ASSESS REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS

The northern right whale is an endangered species, with a population of fewer than 300 animals in the Western North Atlantic. In addition to ship strikes and fishing gear mortalities, many females never calve. Under the leadership of Michael Moore of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scott Kraus of the New England Aquarium, a project has been initiated to gather acoustic measurements of blubber thickness to look for differences in body condition between animals that breed successfully and those that do not. These data will allow a better appraisal of the potential significance of nutrition to the apparent reproductive failure of the northern right whale.

This past sumrner, researchers used a custom-designed ultrasound field probe to measure blubber thickness in more than 50 animals. This kind of data has never been collected from free-ranging large whales before. The probe data will be combined with blubber thickness measurements from dead animals to create a model of blubber thickness across the backs of right whales. The model will then be compared with life history data for individual whales for which there is a lot of reproductive history. The resulting analysis should allow comparisons between breeding and non- breeding animals, between males and females and adults compared with calves and juveniles.

The research is supported by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Rinehart Coastal Research Center.

NMFS AND NEA TO RADIO TAG WHALES IN SOUTHEAST

Dr. Steve Swartz of NMFS and Chris Slay of the New England Aquarium will be attempting to collect fine scale behavioral data on a few right whales this coming calving season. They plan to attach a small VHF radio transmitter to a lucky mom and track her 24 hours a day for about 30 days from a small vessell. Among other things, the tracking will be a pilot study of such behaviors as resting times, nursing, diving and reactions to the proximity of ships. This research will build on the satellite data previously acquired and attempt to find out what the whales are doing between satellite readings.

INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION TO HOLD RIGHT WHALE STATUS MEETING IN SOUTH AFRICA

The International Whaling Commission is sponsoring a meeting to discuss the current status of both northern and southern species of right whales. The focus of the meeting will be on the scientific knowledge gained since the last IWC-sponsored workshop on right whales held in 1983.

(The results of that workshop were published in Brownell et al, 1986, Right Whales: Past and Prese)71 Statlls, Reports ofthe IWC Special Issue No. 10.) There will be two parts to the meeting.

The first meeting will be a two-day symposium on March 16-17, 1998, that will open to the marine science community. It will be held at the Two Oceans Aquarium on the Victoria and Albert Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. The second meeting will be a by-invitation-only symposium and workshop on March 19-25. It will be held at the Monkey Valley Beach Nature Resort in Noordhoek, Cape Town.

Dr. Robert Brownell is chairing the steering committee for the meeting. The local host is Dr. Peter Best of the South African Museum. For further information, contact Dr. Brownell at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, P.O. Box 271, La Jolla, CA 92038-0271. Tel. 619-546-7165. Fax 619-546-5653. E-mail: brownell@caliban.ucsd.edu

Scientific Literature and Reports

Beardsley, R.C., A. W. Epstein, C.S. Chen, K. F. Wishner, M.C. Macaulay and R.D. Kenney. 1996. Spatial variability in zooplankton abundance near feeding right whales in the Great South Channel. Deep-Sea Research, Topical Studies in Oceanography 43 (7-8): 1601-1625.

Center for Coastal Studies. 1997. Emergency surveillance, reporting , and management program in the Cape Cod Bay right whale critical habitat. A Final Report to the Massachusetss Environmental Trust. Provincetown, MA. Pp. 18 & appendices.

Goodyear, J. 1996. Significance of feeding habitats of North Atlantic right whales based on studies of diel behavior, diving, food ingestion rates, and prey. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Pp.269. Knowlton, A. 1997. Shipping/Right Whale Workshop. New England Aquarium Aquatic Forum Series 97-3. Boston.

Rosenbaum, H.C., M.G. Egan, P.J. Clapham, R.L. Brownell and R. Deslle. 1997. An effective method for isolating DNA from historical specimens of baleen. Molecular Ecology 6 (7): 677-681.

Slay, C. K., L. A. Conger, S. D. Kraus, P.K. Hamilton and A. R. Knowlton. 1997. Aerial surveys to reduce ship collisions with right whales in the coastal waters of Georgia and northwest Florida. A Report of the New England aquarium to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Contract no. 50WCNF706010PW.

Webster, W. D., R. J. Smolowitz, W. Adler and R. Mackinnon. 1997. Development and operational testing of snag-free fishing gear for use in reducing right whale entanglement and mortality. A report submitted to the Massachusetts Environmental Trust by the International Wildlife Coalition. Falmouth, MA. Pp. 13 and appendices.

Woodley, T. H., and D. E. Gaskin. 1996. Environmental characteristics of North Atlantic right and fin whale habitat in the lower Bay of Fundy, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74 (1): 75-84.

Calendar of Events

January 17, 1998: Deadline for submitting articles or news for publication in the winter, 1998, issue of Right Whale News. See details below.

January 20-24, 1998: World Marine Mammal Science Conference, Monaco. For further information, contact Anne Collet, Conference Chair, Centre de Recherche sur less Mammiferes Marins, Institute la Mer et du Littoral, Port des Minimes, 17000 La Rochelle, France; tel.=33 (0) 546-4499 10; e-mail: crmm@univ-lr.fr

January 29, 1998: Tentative date for the next meeting of the Northeast Whale Implementation Team. The meeting will be held at the New England Fisheries Management Council office, Suntaug Office Park, 5 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus, MA 01906. To confirm date and for further information, contact Dr.Sal Testaverde at 508-281-9368.

March 16-17 and March 19-25, 1998: International Whaling Commission meetings on northern and southern right whales in Cape Town, South Africa. For further information, see article on page 12.

May 7-8, 1998: Next meeting of the Southeastern U.S. Implementation Team for the Recovery of the Northern Right Whale. Location to be determined. For more information, contact Mike Harris at 912-264-7218.

October 22-23, 1998: Fall meeting of the Southeastern U.S. Implementation Team for the Recovery of the Northern Right Whale. Location to be determined. For more information, contact Mike Harris at 912-264-7218.

Right Whale News

Right Whale News is the newsletter of the Southeastern United States Implementation Team for the Recovery of the Northern Right Whale. The editor is Hans Neuhauser. The editoral board consists of Bill Brooks, Moe Brown, Scott Kraus, Mike Payne and Jerry Wallmeyer.

Both current and back issues of Right Whale News are also available on the Internet, thanks to the Grayís Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Visit their web page at http://www.skio.peachnet.edu/noaa/grnms.html

The Massachusetts Environmental Trust and the Southeastern Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Services have underwritten the production costs of this issue of Right Whale News. The Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary has underwritten the printing and mailing costs. Thanks to their support, Right Whale News will be published four times in 1998.

To subscribe or to submit new or articles for publications, contact the editor, Hans Neuhauser, at the Georgia Environmental Policy Institute, 380 Meigs Street, Athens, GA 30601. Tel. 706-546-7507. Fax 706-613-7775. E-mail: gepi@ix.netcom.com