Right Whales

[deblen]

Current location of Right Whales-maps


https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-es...index-eng.html


https://whalemap.org/


Current Fisheries Regulations re whales-Canada: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-...index-eng.html


Current latest that I can find about current Maine whale rules.:https://www.nationalfisherman.com/no...n-right-whales


Atlantic Right Whales winter off Georgia & N. Fla. They summer (mostly) in Gulf of St. Lawrence. A few spend part of the year north of Cape Cod.


USA has hit & miss rules in state waters,but there are federal waters regs.


As previously stated & a little research will show-Right Whales rarely go into shallow (less than 40 fa/80m) waters. This would seem to eliminate the majority of <3nm state waters,but both countries have lots of fixed gear in deeper water and

One can't deny that whales are still getting entangled in rope.Hopefully,the current Cdn practice of colour marking each trap line will start to show where the entanglements happen.
Not sure what current US & indiv. states are doing/not doing about marking their gear.
Cheers/Len

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by deblen

...Hopefully,the current Cdn practice of colour marking each trap line will start to show where the entanglements happen...

I've seen those regulations. Sort of made my head spin. But, yes, these are at least an attempt to identify the true source of the problem. Far better than the blanket bans or unworkable gear requirements which have been suggested South of the border.

To date I haven't heard of anything like that being implemented in the US, but that doesn't mean it's not out there and I just missed it. Done right, it could make more effective, targeted regulations possible. If your gear is causing entanglements, you need to change.

[deblen]

Yeah-marking the existing rope was a lot of time, work & expense. Much of it had to be discarded & new rope purchased and then marked.There are tractor trailer loads of rope here,still waiting to be disposed of.
Thankfully,some mfgrs now supply factory marked rope.
I think it is unfair to tar all fishermen as "not caring".
Lets find the actual cculprits first. Cheers/Len


https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-...ouleur-eng.pdf

[deblen]

Latest on "ropeless buoy lines: https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundlan...est-100888276/

[deblen]

4 Right Whales in Fundy


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...k_1640_1269521

[deblen]

Some good news.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/north-atla...103000116.html


https://whalemap.org/

[chrisr]

seems its right across the boards

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-...-say/102990590

humpback numbers grown from 150 in late 60's, to 40,000 today

cheers,

[mako]

How do you grow a population from 150 to 40k without issues with inbreeding - or are whales immune from that malady?

Gotta make you wonder how all 5 billion of us supposedly started from Adam and Eve, and we don’t have three eyeballs and pancake shaped heads….

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by mako

...Gotta make you wonder how all 5 billion of us supposedly started from Adam and Eve, and we don’t have three eyeballs and pancake shaped heads….

i guess the fairies at the bottom of the garden fixed that problem !

cheers,

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by deblen

Some good news.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/north-atla...103000116.html

https://whalemap.org/

Not such good news.
North Atlantic right whales’ downward trend continues as updated population numbers released
➥ https://www.neaq.org/about-us/press-...bers-released/

The 2021 estimate of 340 North Atlantic right whales in existence has been recalculated to 365, primarily because of the number of calves born that year. The estimate for 2022 is 356.
There were 18 calves born in 2021, and 15 in 2022. That fell to 11 calves in 2023, well below the 24 average, in the 2000s.
The current population estimate represents a continued decline for the species, showing more individual whales died than were born.

“While it is certainly good to see the slope of the trajectory slow, the unfortunate reality is that the species continues to trend downward, with fewer than 350 individuals alive in 2021,” said Heather Pettis, research scientist in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and executive administrator of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by mako

How do you grow a population from 150 to 40k without issues with inbreeding ...

Good question.

Humpback whales are polygamous, with both males and females having multiple partners. They reach sexual maturity between the ages of 4 and 10 years, and [probably] live to 60, or older. A female will typically birth a calf every 2 to 3 years, with some females having a calf annually.

An interesting study [somewhat related]:
“Post-whaling shift in mating tactics in male humpback whales” ~ by Rebecca Dunlop & Celine Frere
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-04509-7

[GordMay]

Is inbreeding a problem for endangered whales?

[possibly, in some cases; but probably NOT, in most cases]

Inbreeding, also known as consanguinity, is defined as when individuals with common ancestors reproduce with each other. If such inbreeding may seem harmless, it can have significant consequences at the genetic level.

More ➥ https://baleinesendirect.org/en/is-i...ngered-whales/

With an estimated population of just 10 to 20 individuals, the vaquita is critically endangered. However, according to a recent study [1], this species is not believed to be threatened by inbreeding issues, despite the small size of its population.

The authors of this study [1] point out that the species survived for thousands of years in small numbers in an isolated area (the Gulf of California), which would have given it time to rid itself of deleterious genes by natural selection, thanks to to a hypothetic mechanism of “genetic purging”.

Scientific literature thus mentions several species that naturally show low genetic diversity or a high rate of inbreeding, such as the cheetah or the narwhal. While at the present time this does not seem to compromise their life expectancy or their ability to reproduce, this lack of diversity could nevertheless have an impact on their ability to adapt to changes in their environment.

[1] “Reference genome and demographic history of the most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita” ~ by Phillip A. Morin et al
➥ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...755-0998.13284

[GordMay]

The carcass of a North Atlantic right whale calf [a female, born Dec 2022], found floating, off Tybee Island east of Savannah, Georgia, marks the second known death, in the past month, for the critically endangered whale species.

Another young female right whale was reported dead Jan. 28 off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. A necropsy found rope embedded in its tail. NOAA said it was consistent with a type of rope used in commercial fishing gear.
NOAA says: a period of elevated fatalities and injuries, in right whales, has been ongoing since 2017*.

The two deaths, recorded since January, bring the period's total to 38 fatalities, leaving a population of less than 360.

“Dead Right Whale Floating Off Savannah, Georgia, February 15, 2024"
➥ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/natio...-whale-updates

* See also ➥ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/natio...ortality-event

[deblen]

https://www.newscentermaine.com/arti...4-89cc015bc473


Canadian lobster pot rope has been marked with inserted coloured strands,by law,for over a year.The inserted strands identify which of 41 eastern Canadian lobster fishing areas (LFA) that the rope came from. US rope has no identifying markings. AFAIK.
https://www.coldwaterlobster.ca/wp-c..._-Official.pdf

[psk125]

Originally Posted by deblen

https://www.newscentermaine.com/arti...4-89cc015bc473


Canadian lobster pot rope has been marked with inserted coloured strands,by law,for over a year.The inserted strands identify which of 41 eastern Canadian lobster fishing areas (LFA) that the rope came from. US rope has no identifying markings. AFAIK.
https://www.coldwaterlobster.ca/wp-c..._-Official.pdf

Maine potwarp now has purple strands, which were found wrapped around one of the recently found dead Right Whales.