BOSTON – Scientists are concerned after seeing nearly a quarter of the world’s population disappear from the critically endangered North Atlantic Ocean. whales in an unusual and potentially dangerous place for them.
According to the New England Aquarium, at least 82 whales were sighted during research flights south of Long Island, New York, hundreds of miles away in late July and August. New England and Canadian waters, where they are usually seen in summer.
“It’s quite unusual to see these numbers this time of year near the offshore canyons, about 40 to 70 miles south of Long Island, New York,” aquarium scientist Katherine McKenna told WBZ-TV.
New England Aquarium
Why were there so many whales off Long Island?
During one flight alone, researchers spotted 56 whales along with fin and humpback whales, dolphins, tuna and sea turtles. That’s the most right whales many of the scientists on the trip have ever seen in one go.
“It was a lot. They were concentrated in such a small area,” said McKenna, who watched the whales from the air. “There were several whales on one side of the plane, and on the other side there were twice as many.”
McKenna says scientists aren’t sure why the whales are near New York, but they appear to be following food. Right whales feed primarily on tiny zooplankton.
“They were first seen in late May and they’ve been hanging out there for several months,” she said. “That indicates there’s a good prey, a good food source for them to stay there for that long.”
Concerns about whales off New York coast
Scientists are concerned about the presence of whales at the new location because the aquarium says there are no speed restrictions on the many commercial boats in the area of the Hudson and Block submarine canyons where the whales were spotted.
“This is a new area where right whales are showing up,” McKenna said.
The aquarium noted that several whales had propeller wounds. McKenna said the team had spotted boats near the whales and that a whale was also photographed swimming near fishing gear.
New England Aquarium
“We were really nervous when we saw that,” she said.
Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement are the leading causes of death for whales, with an estimated 360 left on Earth.
The aquarium said federal authorities proposed expanding seasonal speed limits years ago to protect the whales, but “the unsustainable delay has left this endangered species still at risk of extinction.”
Whale movements ‘becoming more unpredictable’
Where do the whales go now? McKenna says they are always adaptable and in recent years they have shown that they are ready to go where their food is.
“They are becoming more and more unpredictable in what they do, depending on changing conditions in the ocean,” she said.
