A Teledyne G3 Slocum glider attempts to detect whale sounds off the coast of Georgia. Frank McQuarrie, a doctoral student at the UGA Skidaway Institute, plucks it out of the water.
Catherine Edwards Laboratory/SKidaway Institute
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Catherine Edwards Laboratory/SKidaway Institute
Most winter days off the coast of Georgia, scientists comb the waves in search of North Atlantic right whales. Those on a boat stay in constant contact with their colleagues on a small plane – all scanning the water for whales and, hopefully, newborn calves.
Whale surveys like this are essential for identifying and cataloging every right whale calf that is born, important work because these whales are among the most endangered whales in the world. There are approximately 370 North Atlantic right whales remaining.
But records in the sky and on the water are also imperfect, so scientists are increasing efforts to track whales in other ways, particularly in the Southeast, where whales migrate to give birth at this time of year.
“Unfortunately, the weather in December, January and February is not always suitable for flights,” said Catherine Edwards, a researcher at the University of Georgia. Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. She and her team therefore use tools to listen for whales underwater, which can happen no matter the weather or time of day.
Researchers from the UGA Skidaway Institute and the University of South Carolina deploy a Teledyne G3 Slocum glider.
Catherine Edwards Laboratory/Skidaway Institute
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Catherine Edwards Laboratory/Skidaway Institute
“The biggest success we’ve had in the last year is we have the first-ever confirmed passive acoustic detection of right whales south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina,” Edwards said.
Passive acoustic sensing means ultra-sensitive microphones float underwater and listen for whale sounds. Similar technology is widely used in the north, but shallower waters off the southeastern United States make it more difficult in the whales’ calving grounds.
There were thousands of these whales. But the 19th century whaling industry considered them the “right whale to hunt” because they are slow and swim close to the surface. By the time right whale hunting was banned in the 1930s, there were only about a hundred or fewer left. They returned to almost 500 in 2010, but are now back to approximately 370 whales.
“We’re at the point where the loss of a few animals could be the difference between recovery and extinction,” said Erin Meyer-Gutbrod, a professor at the University of South Carolina who is working with Edwards to improve acoustic tracking. in the South.
Humans are the main killers of right whales. Earlier this month, two whales were spotted tangled in fishing gear southeast of Nantucket. Biologists said one person was likely to die from their injuries. This is a common cause of injury and death among right whales.
North Atlantic right whale #5110 observed with line wrapped around head and body on December 9, 2024.
NOAA Fisheries
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NOAA Fisheries
Right whales are also hit and killed by boats. Alerts are sent to boaters when whales are spotted, but current tracking efforts still fail to detect whales. There is a speed limit of 10 knots, or 11 mph, in whale-sensitive areas, such as coastal Georgia, during calving season, but only for large boats 65 feet and above. Many ships are going too fast, according to studies by the defense group Oceana. And the application is not done in real time.
Shipping industry groups say the speed limit won’t always work for small boats, which need to move faster to stay safe and maneuver in ocean conditions.
But Meyer-Gutbrod hopes better tracking can convince ships to voluntarily slow down to help save right whales.
“While we would like to see a strengthening of these regulations, we also need to redouble our efforts to incentivize higher rates of compliance,” she said.
That’s one of the main goals of another monitoring effort, on Tybee Island, near Savannah.
In a loft Tybee Island Marine Science Center, Floor-to-ceiling windows offer panoramic views of the shipping channel leading to Savannah’s bustling harbor. Up there, a surveillance system displays the position and speed of ships moving offshore. Visitors can use an interactive coastline map to track ships and whales in real time.
“So you can see, almost like in a video game, how they are layered on top of each other,” said Chantal Audran, director of the science center.
For now, the exhibition is only there to raise awareness, but Audran hopes that one day it can have a more direct impact: she is waiting for permits that will allow the system to send SMS alerts to ships when ‘They’re going too fast. On Cape Cod, scientists say similar alerts have prompted ships to voluntarily slow down.
North Atlantic right whales have experienced unusual and ongoing mortality since 2017. Whales affected by the EMU include individuals confirmed dead, injured and sick. Individuals are counted only once in the EMU. Scientists estimate that only about a third of North Atlantic right whale deaths are detected.
NOAA Fisheries
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NOAA Fisheries
Audran said humans have a responsibility to protect right whales. In a play on their historic nickname, the exhibit on Tybee is dubbed “The Right Whale to Save.”
“To see a species disappear so quickly before your eyes is something you don’t see a lost animal often in your life,” she said. “But that may well be the case for the right whale, unless we do something.”
Over the next few months, whales will do their part by giving birth to their young. Scientists will work to spot each one and hope they survive. Several calves born last season are presumed dead – and at least one was killed by a collision with a boat.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between member stations WABE And Grista non-profit environmental media organization.