The Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has reported 161 sightings of whales final month, representing seven totally different whale species.
The sightings, recorded on Might 25, befell off the northeastern U.S. Coasts, close to Martha’s Winery and southeast of Nantucket. In line with NOAA, the sightings included an unusually excessive variety of whale species, significantly endangered whales.
The sightings don’t essentially imply there have been 161 particular person whales, since some might have been counted a number of occasions, The Related Press reported.
However the recorded whale sightings had been nonetheless a optimistic signal, particularly contemplating the excessive numbers of endangered species noticed.
The researchers noticed 93 sei whales, that are thought of endangered below the Endangered Species Act.
As acknowledged on the NOAA web site, sei whales skilled main declines within the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when round 300,000 of those whales had been hunted.
This was one of many highest recorded concentrations of sei whales, The Related Press reported.
Teri Frady, chief of analysis communications for the Northeast Fisheries Science Heart below NOAA, mentioned that seeing so many whales on this space round this time of yr isn’t unparalleled, however the researchers didn’t look forward to finding such a big quantity in a single space directly, particularly with such quite a lot of species.
“It’s not uncommon that there are numerous whales within the space this time of yr. However since we don’t survey each day, or in the identical areas each time we fly, catching such a big aggregation with such quite a lot of species on one among our flights is the exception reasonably than the rule,” Frady defined, as reported by The Related Press.
Along with the sei whales, researchers famous three sightings of the North Atlantic proper whale, one other endangered species, humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, sperm whales and the uncommon sightings of two orcas, which aren’t as widespread on this space. One orca was noticed with a tuna in its mouth.
Gib Brogan, marketing campaign director at Oceana, instructed The Related Press that the world the place the whales had been noticed is “more and more vital as year-round core habitat for North Atlantic proper whales and different massive whale species,” however that it stays a dangerous place for whales. Brogan famous the U.S. must finalize authorized protections to attenuate dangers of vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements, two of the largest threats to whales within the area.
The sightings in Might observe the uncommon observations of a grey whale off the northeastern U.S. in March by the New England Aquarium. New England Aquarium researchers noticed a grey whale, a species that has been thought of extinct within the Atlantic Ocean for greater than two centuries, off the New England coast in an aerial survey. The uncommon grey whale sighting could also be attributed to the species’ adaptation to local weather change, scientists mentioned.
This text by Paige Bennett was first revealed by EcoWatch on 14 June 2024. Lead Picture: Humpback whales off the New England coast on Might 25, 2024. NOAA.
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