Featured Image Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
By Laura O’Brien
Scientists are hoping to discover what’s killing North Atlantic right whales. An unusually high amount of right whales have died already in 2017. The population of the endangered whales is very low, so the increase in deaths could have very serious consequences. Due to the heightened death rate, scientists are investigating recently deceased whales to determine their cause of death. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) performed necropsies on two right whales in recent months.
The first whale died in April, so IFAW and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association teamed up to research the young right whale. Unfortunately, the necropsy revealed injuries consistent with blunt force trauma from being hit by a boat.
The second whale was killed this August, and IFAW began an investigation which is not yet concluded. Lesions most likely resulting from entanglement were found, though.
The fears that humans are to blame for the increase in right whale deaths seem to be well founded. Fortunately, groups are already taking action to try to prevent more deaths. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada closed down multiple fisheries in hopes that this would help prevent lethal interactions with whales. There is even an app that can be used to locate whales so that mariners do not risk hitting one.
In the near future even greater protective measures will be implemented. Rerouting shipping lanes and reducing ocean noise should be helpful. IFAW, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association are collaborating to produce a summary of the right whale death patterns over the last 12 years. The summary is intended to help policy makers put effective protections in place.
The hard work of scientists, policy makers, mariners, and everyone else is vital if the North Atlantic right whale population is to recover. The endangered species has merely 500 individuals left, and the number is dropping. Let’s hope that the work of organizations like IFAW and NOAA pays off and saves the North Atlantic right whales. you can help too! If you live in an area where North Atlantic right whales live, write your policy makers to tell them how important the whales are for their ecosystem. You could even work with an organization who is trying to save the whales.
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