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<DIV class=article-heading><FONT size=4>Whale woe in the
Atlantic</FONT></DIV></HGROUP>
<DIV>Four decades of data show most whale deaths were caused by humans.</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=vcard><A class=fn
href="http://www.nature.com/news/whale-woe-in-the-atlantic-1.11547?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20121009#auth-1">Daniel
Cressey</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=pubdate-and-corrections><TIME datetime="2012-10-05" pubdate>Nature,
05 October 2012</DIV>
<DIV class=pubdate-and-corrections><A
href="http://www.nature.com/news/whale-woe-in-the-atlantic-1.11547?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20121009">http://www.nature.com/news/whale-woe-in-the-atlantic-1.11547?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20121009</A></DIV>
<DIV class=pubdate-and-corrections></TIME></DIV></HEADER><SECTION>
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<DIV class="content no-heading cleared main-content">
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<P class=caption><FONT size=1>Collisions with ships can be deadly for right
whales. National Geographic/Getty Images</FONT> </P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=article-tools>Human activity is still killing right whales, one of
the most endangered animals in the ocean. An analysis of four decades of whale
deaths shows that attempts to prevent them have not had a demonstrable
impact.</DIV>
<P>Only around 460 North Atlantic right whales (<I>Eubalaena glacialis</I>) are
thought to be swimming the waters off the eastern seaboard of Canada and the
United States. The governments of both countries have implemented several
measures to protect whales from becoming entangled in fishing gear or being hit
by ships, such as the US ‘ship strike rule’ that limits vessel speeds in certain
areas. That rule came into force in 2008 and is due to expire next year.</P>
<P>Marine-mammal researchers Julie van der Hoop and Michael Moore, both at the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and their
colleagues, analysed all known deaths of eight species of large whale in the
northwest Atlantic between 1970 and 2009. During that time 122 right whales
died, along with 473 humpbacks (<I>Megaptera novaeangliae</I>), 257 fin whales
(<I>Balaenoptera physalus</I>) and scores of whales of other species. When the
authors were able to assign a cause of death, ‘human interactions’ was the most
common, appearing in 67% of cases. Entanglement in fishing gear was the main
cause of death in this category.</P>
<DIV class="related-stories-box box">The protection measures seem to have had no
impact on whale deaths, according to the study published online in
<I>Conservation Biology</I><SUP><A id=ref-link-1 class=ref-link
title="Van der Hoop, J. M. et al. Conserv. Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01934.x (2012)."
href="http://www.nature.com/news/whale-woe-in-the-atlantic-1.11547?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20121009#b1">1</A></SUP>.
Although several of the rules were implemented only towards the end of the study
period, Moore still admits that the finding is “hugely disappointing”.</DIV>
<H2><FONT size=2>Signs of hope</FONT></H2>
<P>But Moore also notes that the study was a very “broad brush” analysis. There
are specific local efforts — such as moving shipping lanes in the Bay of Fundy
between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia — that
“undoubtedly” helped the conservation of right whales, but which would not show
up in a wider view.</P>
<P>The analysis also points out where future protection efforts could be
focused. Van der Hoop notes that their estimates of where vessel strikes occur
show a large spike in the waters around Cape Hatteras, just north of Morehead
City in North Carolina. Almost no measures have been implemented in this region
to reduce whale deaths, so a focus on preventing vessel strikes here could be
hugely valuable. </P>
<P>Greg Silber, a marine-mammal researcher at the US National Marine Fisheries
Service, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, says that this latest work
“helps to reinforce the need for thoughtful, science-based and well-balanced
approaches to reducing human-caused mortality of large whales”.</P>
<P>Silber and his colleague Shannon Bettridge, also from the fisheries service,
concluded in a report earlier this year<SUP><A id=ref-link-2 class=ref-link
title="Silber, G. K. & Bettridge, S. An Assessment of the Final Rule to Implement Vessel Speed Restrictions to Reduce the Threat of Vessel Collisions with North Atlantic Right Whales. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-48 (2012)."
href="http://www.nature.com/news/whale-woe-in-the-atlantic-1.11547?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20121009#b2">2</A></SUP>
that it was too soon to tell whether the ship strike rule was effective.
Compliance with the rule was poor after it was implemented, Silber notes, but it
has improved more recently. Their report called for speed restrictions to be
continued, and suggested that these could be extended to include smaller
ships.</P>
<P>Although the right whale population experienced some bad years in the
mid-2000s when numbers declined, Silber is hopeful that the species is turning a
corner. “The North Atlantic right whale population appears to be growing,” he
says, “but it is not out of the woods.”</P>
<P>Moore has also seen tentative signs that things have improved since 2009. His
team has funding from the US government to perform autopsies on right whales.
“I’ve had a hard time spending the money in the past few years,” he says, “and
that’s a really positive sign.”</P></DIV>
<DL class=citation>
<DT><A href="javascript:;" jQuery16409848200863438317="8"><FONT
color=#000000><STRONG>References</STRONG></FONT></A></DT></DL></DIV>
<DIV id=references class="section expanded">
<DIV class=content>
<OL class=references>
<LI id=b1>
<P><SPAN class="vcard author"><SPAN class=fn>Van der Hoop, J. M.</SPAN></SPAN>
<I>et al</I>. <SPAN class=source-title>Conserv. Biol.</SPAN> <A
href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01934.x">http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01934.x</A>
(<SPAN class=year>2012</SPAN>).</P><A class="context-link show"
href="javascript:;">Show context</A></LI>
<LI id=b2>
<P><SPAN class="vcard author"><SPAN class=fn>Silber, G. K.</SPAN></SPAN> &
<SPAN class="vcard author"><SPAN class=fn>Bettridge, S.</SPAN></SPAN> <SPAN
class=book-title>An Assessment of the Final Rule to Implement Vessel Speed
Restrictions to Reduce the Threat of Vessel Collisions with North Atlantic
Right Whales.</SPAN> NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-48 (<SPAN
class=year>2012</SPAN>).</P><A class="context-link show"
href="javascript:;">Show context</A></LI></OL></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>