Rare Right Whales Off Cape Cod: Feds Ask Mariners To Slow Down

NANTUCKET, MA — A pod of 22 endangered North Atlantic right whales was spotted off Cape Cod this week, leading federal officials to request mariners reduce their speed to avoid colliding with the ocean behemoths. There are only about 500 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet and boat propeller strikes are one of the greatest threats to the whales.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries division this week announced a voluntary speed restriction zone about 30 nautical miles south of Nantucket to protect the 22 whales in the area.

"Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less," NOAA said in a statement.

The voluntary restrictions were established through February 5. This is a map of the area:

This week, a right whale was found dead off the coast of Virginia. Officials were investigating the cause of its death. In 2016, a right whale calf was killed by a boat propeller strike off Cape Cod.

Right whales, which grow up to 50 feet long and 80 tons, are drawn to Cape Cod Bay every winter to feed on zooplankton. Propeller strikes and fishing gear entanglements are huge threats to the whales, which are categorized as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Federal law prohibit vessels from coming within 500 yards of right whales.

North Atlantic right whales were nearly hunted to extinction in the 1800s. There are signs of hope, however, as the population has nearly doubled since its 1992 level of 295, according to a 2016 report in Frontiers in Marine Science.

"Right whales are not yet a conservation success story," the report's authors wrote. "Right whales need immediate and significant management intervention to reduce mortalities and injuries from fishing gear, and managers need a better understanding about the causes of reduced calving rates before this species can be considered on the road to recovery. Failure to act on this new information will lead to further declines in this population's number and increase its vulnerability to extinction."

Previous:

• Rare Right Whales Spotted In Cape Cod Bay
• Right Whale Calf Killed By Boat Propeller Strike off Cape Cod

Photos: Right whales spotted off Cape Cod January 19, 2018. (Credit: Center For Coastal Studies)