Amanda Maderia, director of education programs at Maritime Gloucester writes, “Confirming Iain’s comments about believing the whales seen off our coast are likely Right Whales: We have observed some incredible plankton tows the last two days. From a few passes from our docks with our net, the sample has looked pretty clear most of the winter, but as you can see from yesterday’s sample, it looks almost blood red thick with Calenoid copepods, a huge food source for the North Atlantic Right Whale.
Looking at the overhead shot, the bucket on the left is from our plankton tow, and a close up of that to follow. This is what one looks like under the microscope.
The plankton haul was discovered by Waring School students who come to Maritime Gloucester once a week for the spring semester. They use it as their field station for John Wigglesworth’s oceans and climate course.Wednesday morning, May 16th, students will be having a poster presentation of their work in the Gorton Gallery at Maritime Gloucester from 10:30-11:30.
We welcome and encourage public to attend!!
Right Whale Migration Route
The first photo was taken from Race Point in Province town, on April 21, 2017, almost a year to the day of the Gloucester sightings.
Good Morning Gloucester 