Northern right whale on path to extinction

http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9903/18/right.whales.enn/

Report: Northern right whale on path to extinction

March 18, 1999
CNN Web posted at: 5:45 p.m. EST (2245 GMT)

The North Atlantic northern right whale is headed for extinctionunless
human intervention improves survival, according to a studypublished
Wednesday in the "Proceedings of the National Academy ofSciences."

Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and theUniversity
of Massachusetts, Boston, have completed a study estimating the
probability of survival for this endangered whale population.
Researchers plan to use the data to advise the shipping industry onhow
minimize the likelihood of collisions -- the major threat to the
species.

                   Severalthousand right whales once existed in the
North Atlantic Ocean,
                   butcommercial hunting at the turn of the century
severely depleted whale
                   populations.For the past 60 years, the species has
been protected.
                   However,despite conservation techniques, right whale
populations have
                   neverrecovered. Their numbers are currently
estimated at about 300.

                   The smallpopulation has allowed scientists to
compile a catalog of
                   photographswhich enable individual animals,
distinguished by unique
                   markings,scars and callosity patterns, to be
identified and tracked.

                   Scientistshave recorded sightings annually since
1980 in calving areas in
                   Florida andin waters off New England and into the
Bay of Fundy in Nova
                   Scotia.According to the report, over that time
survival has declined
                   dramaticallyand population growth rate has gone from
positive to negative.
                   Undercurrent conditions, the population is headed
for extinction in less
                   than 200years, the study shows.

                   "Theright whale is at risk from entanglement in
fishing gear, collisions with
                   ships andpollution. The population seems to be
recovering more slowly
                   than otherwhale species, such as humpbacks. Why this
is happening has
                   not beendocumented. Until this study, no one
suspected that the survival
                   probabilityfor northern right whales was going down
or that the population
                   was actuallydeclining," said Senior Scientist Hal
Caswell of the Woods
                   HoleOceanographic Institution Biology Department.

                   Caswell andstudy colleagues used the New England
Aquarium database
                   to estimatesurvival and discovered the probability
of survival was declining
                   over time.They then combined these data with an
estimate of birth rate,
                   which isalso declining. Together, the numbers show a
decline in the rate of
                   growth ofthe entire population.

                   Most rightwhales are killed by collisions with
ships, according to the
                   NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Slow
moving in
                   general, thewhales are especially slow when
accompanied by calves. With
                   only theflat of their back visible at the surface,
they are difficult to detect
                   from large,fast moving vessels.

                   The reportnotes that the most effective way to
improve the prospects for
                   the whalesis to reduce mortality. The research
team's goal is to provide
                   reliablemodels that can be used to choose targets
for management
                  intervention.

                   "Thefuture is not as bleak as it may appear for the
right whales, since a
                   number ofefforts are already under way to reduce
their mortality rate,"
                   Caswelladds. "There is no question that reducing
human-caused mortality
                   is essentialto the survival of the population. NOAA
is at work to teach
                   shipoperators how to recognize and avoid right
whales, and fishing
                   grounds havebeen closed during certain periods in
some areas frequented
                   by thewhales, such as Cape Cod Bay and Great South
Channel."

                   New federalregulations, effective April 1, emphasize
the development of
                  whale-friendly fishing gear. They require gillnetters
and lobster boats to
                   avoidcertain types of gear, and place bans on
fishing in some areas in
                   order toprotect the whales. The National Marine
Fisheries Service
                   finalizedrules to protect the endangered population
in February. Officials
                   hope thatover time, as more people learn about how
whales are entangled
                   and how toprevent it, the population will start to
rebound.

                   For moreinformation, contact Shelley Lauzon, Woods
Hole
                  Oceanographic Institution, (508)289-2270, e-mail:
slauzon@whoi.edu.

                       Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network,All
Rights Reserved

-------------------------------------

RELATED SITES:

Right whales in the wrong place, March 4, 1999
http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9903/04/missing.whales/index.html

On the trail of the right whale
http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1999/02/020399/rightwhale.asp

WWF turns up heat as IWC meets in Oman
http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1998/05/051598/whales.asp

Clinton OKs protections for right whales
http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1998/04/042798/whale.asp

The right whale, on the other hand ...
http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1997/02/020597/02059706.asp

The Northern Right Whale
USGS
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Cape Cod, Plymouth Mass., Scituate Mass.
http://vineyard.er.usgs.gov/rwdoc/index.html

On the Trail of the Northern Atlantic Right Whale
http://www.rightwhale.noaa.gov/index.html

Year of the Ocean (1998)
http://www.enn.com/yoto/

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
http://www.whoi.edu/

-------------------------------------

PHOTO CAPTION:

RightWhaleNMFS.jpg
The Right Whale population is estimated currently at about 300.

&ProfileI;r=469&AdI;i=6468&GroupI;I=1&FamilyI;;=1217&TagValue;r=434.435.598.606.629.644.645&Redirec;;=http:%2F%2Fcnn.com%2Fbooks%2Fcrossword%2F"> &ProfileI;'=469&AdI;i=6468&GroupI;I=1&FamilyI;;=1217&TagValue;'=434.435.598.606.629.644.645&Redirec;;=http:%2F%2Fcnn.com%2Fbooks%2Fcrossword%2F">Click Here&ProfileI;.=657&AdI;i=6777&GroupI;I=298&FamilyI;;=328&TagValue;.=434.435.594.598.607.629.951&Redirec;;=http:%2F%2Fcnn.com%2FWORLD%2Findex.html%23fringe"> &ProfileI;s=657&AdI;i=6777&GroupI;I=298&FamilyI;;=328&TagValue;s=434.435.594.598.607.629.951&Redirec;;=http:%2F%2Fcnn.com%2FWORLD%2Findex.html%23fringe">News that's a little out-of-theordinary

MAIN PAGE WORLD U.S. LOCAL POLITICS WEATHER BUSINESS SPORTS SCI-TECH NATURE ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS TRAVEL FOOD HEALTH STYLE IN-DEPTH

=Sci-Tech">custom news Headline News brief daily almanac CNN networks CNN programs on-air transcripts news quiz

CNN WEB SITES:

PATHFINDER SITES:

GoTo ... Time People Money Fortune EW

MORE SERVICES: video on demand video archive audio on demand news email services free email accounts desktop headlines pointcast
pagenet

DISCUSSION: message boards chat feedback

SITE GUIDES: help contents search

FASTER ACCESS: europe japan

WEB SERVICES:

2505&categoryi;c=homepage">
Keyword Title Author

Report:Northern right whale on path to extinction

ale.jpg" alt="rightwhale" align="top" width="220"height="151">The right whalepopulation is currently estimated at about 300

March 18, 1999
Web posted at: 5:45 p.m. EST (2245 GMT)

The North Atlantic northern right whale is headedfor extinction unless human intervention improves survival, accordingto a study published Wednesday in the "Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences."

Researchers at Woods Hole OceanographicInstitution and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, havecompleted a study estimating the probability of survival for thisendangered whale population. Researchers plan to use the data toadvise the shipping industry on how minimize the likelihood ofcollisions -- the major threat to the species.

Several thousand right whales once existed in theNorth Atlantic Ocean, but commercial hunting at the turn of thecentury severely depleted whale populations. For the past 60 years,the species has been protected. However, despite conservationtechniques, right whale populations have never recovered. Theirnumbers are currently estimated at about 300.

The small population has allowed scientists tocompile a catalog of photographs which enable individual animals,distinguished by unique markings, scars and callosity patterns, to beidentified and tracked.

Scientists have recorded sightings annually since1980 in calving areas in Florida and in waters off New England andinto the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. According to the report, overthat time survival has declined dramatically and population growthrate has gone from positive to negative. Under current conditions,the population is headed for extinction in less than 200 years, thestudy shows.

"The right whale is at risk fromentanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and pollution.The population seems to be recovering more slowly than other whalespecies, such as humpbacks. Why this is happening has not beendocumented. Until this study, no one suspected that the survivalprobability for northern right whales was going down or that thepopulation was actually declining," said Senior Scientist HalCaswell of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution BiologyDepartment.

Caswell and study colleagues used the New EnglandAquarium database to estimate survival and discovered the probabilityof survival was declining over time. They then combined these datawith an estimate of birth rate, which is also declining. Together,the numbers show a decline in the rate of growth of the entirepopulation.

Most right whales are killed by collisions withships, according to the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration. Slow moving in general, the whales are especiallyslow when accompanied by calves. With only the flat of their backvisible at the surface, they are difficult to detect from large, fastmoving vessels.

The report notes that the most effective way toimprove the prospects for the whales is to reduce mortality. Theresearch team's goal is to provide reliable models that can be usedto choose targets for management intervention.

"The future is not as bleak as it may appearfor the right whales, since a number of efforts are already under wayto reduce their mortality rate," Caswell adds. "There is noquestion that reducing human-caused mortality is essential to thesurvival of the population. NOAA is at work to teach ship operatorshow to recognize and avoid right whales, and fishing grounds havebeen closed during certain periods in some areas frequented by thewhales, such as Cape Cod Bay and Great South Channel."

New federal regulations, effective April 1,emphasize the development of whale-friendly fishing gear. Theyrequire gillnetters and lobster boats to avoid certain types of gear,and place bans on fishing in some areas in order to protect thewhales. The National Marine Fisheries Service finalized rules toprotect the endangered population in February. Officials hope thatover time, as more people learn about how whales are entangled andhow to prevent it, the population will start to rebound.

For more information, contact Shelley Lauzon,Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, (508)289-2270, e-mail: slauzon@whoi.edu.

RELATEDSTORIES:

Mexican environmentalists report50 gray whale deaths
March 12, 1999
Iceland's parliament OKscommercial whaling
March 11, 1999
'Free Willy' progressing toward realfreedom
March 11, 1999
Right whales in the wrongplace
March 4, 1999

RELATED ENNSTORIES:

hale.asp">On the trail ofthe right whale
WWF turns up heat as IWC meets inOman
Clinton OKs protections for rightwhales
06.asp">The right whale,on the other hand ...

Note: Pages will openin a new browser window

Externalsites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

RELATEDSITES:

The Northern Right Whale
On the Trail of the Northern Atlantic RightWhale
Year of the Ocean
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

Note: Pages will openin a new browser window

Externalsites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

LATESTHEADLINES:

WORLD:
Kosovo talks adjourned as U.S.prepares withdrawals from Belgrade
ndex.html">Bomb kills morethan 50 in Russia
.ap/index.html">Balloonists race across Atlantic in round-the-worldquest

US:
Car of missing women found nearYosemite National Park
Witness says trucker tried to racetrain
Company recalling 1 million carbonmonixide alarms

SCI TECH:
/index.html">Legendaryhacker signs plea bargain to win freedom in one year
CNN Interactive clicks its heelsover Webby Awards

ENTERTAINMENT:
oscar/index.html">Sixdegrees -- no, fewer -- separate Oscar nominees

SPORTS:
/news/1999/03/18/us_tease">
valiers">Without Rodman,Lakers crumble against Cavs
Doctors say Torre's cancer surgerysuccessful

BUSINESS:
Tokyo roars up 660 points
Dow peeks over 10,000 again
>Mattel buys Purple Moon softwarecompany

Launch CNN's Desktop Tickerand get the latest news, delivered right on your desktop!

Today on CNN

SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s) go help