Many thanks to Martin Del Vecchio for sharing his video and still images (see photos here) of the spectacularly beautiful pod of North American Right Whales feeding off of Cape Ann shores yesterday, May 4, 2018.
Tag: whales feeding Gloucester
CHANNEL 5 WCVB STORY WITH RIGHT WHALES ON LONG BEACH
WCVB reporter Duke Castiglione was on Long Beach yesterday for the following story. Click on the link below to see Cape Ann locals and Castiglione at Long Beach!
http://www.wcvb.com/article/noaa-extends-emergency-bans-to-protect-endangered-right-whales/20181874
NOAA extends emergency bans to protect endangered right whales
WCVB: Federal authorities have extended a ban on trap gear closures for part of Cape Cod Bay to reduce the risk of right whales becoming entangled in trap gear.
Right whales are critically endangered and scientists say their population has been decreasing since 2010 due to continued mortality and low birth rates.
The large mammals seasonally migrate into Massachusetts waters and aggregate in Cape Cod Bay in late winter and early spring to feed on zooplankton.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, recent aerial surveys have observed upward of 100 right whales — about 25% of the known population — within Western Cape Cod Bay.
Officials said high plankton counts indicate the whales will likely remain in the bay into next week.
The whales have also been spotted off the coast of Cape Ann.
The Salem News reports Marblehead has been treated to some rare sightings of right whales over the past several days.
Right Whales are feeding along the Massachusetts coastline on their northward migration to feeding grounds off the coast of Nova Scotia, amongst other northern locations.
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EXTREMELY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OBSERVING EXTREMELY ENDANGERED RIGHT WHALES OFF THE CAPE ANN COASTLINE
Jennifer Goebel from NOAA writes,
It looks like the whales will be in town over the weekend and I was wondering if you’d be willing to remind people to watch out for them, report sightings to our hotline 866-755-6622, and to remind everyone about the 500-yard rule, which applies to everyone– swimmers, drones, boaters of every kind including kayakers, paddle boarders.
We have some info up here:
https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/stories/2018/05/03_watch_out_for_whales_.html
Thanks,
Jen
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STUNNING CLOSEUP PHOTOS RIGHT WHALES FEEDING OFF LONG BEACH FROM MARTIN DEL VECCHIO
Martin writes, “The North Atlantic Right Whales that have been spotted around Gloucester spent the morning feeding just off Long Beach. And I mean just off; in some cases, within 20 feet of the rocks.
There were at least four of them, which represents 1% of the global population of this extremely endangered species, which has been described as “on the brink of extinction” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/amp-stories/right-whales-are-on-the-brink-of-extinction/). This past year has been a tough one, with no confirmed live births, and more than a dozen deaths due to boat strikes and entanglements.
They seemed to my untrained eye to be adults, much larger than the juvenile who visited Bass Rocks in 2015 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJVnGpiwigY). And unlike that whale, which seemed to be exploring and playing, these whales were feeding systematically.”
All photos copyright Martin DelVecchio
See Marty’s flicker album here for more North Atlantic Right Whale photos:
Good Morning Gloucester 