December 13, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
This fall, myself and 10 others set off on our annual North Atlantic Right Whale Shipboard Survey. Our goal was to collect data around groups of endangered North Atlantic right whales, including:
- Photo identification to monitor the population
- Drone imagery for behavior and health assessments
- Biopsy sampling for genetics and health metrics
- Suction cup tagging to get data on whale movements
- Plankton collection to sample their prey density
- Water sampling to measure dimethyl sulfide levels to see if they change with prey density and feeding
We surveyed a number of areas in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean that included south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, the Gulf of Maine, the northern edge of Georges Bank, Browns Bank, and the Bay of Fundy. Our home during the survey was an offshore supply ship M/V Captain Joseph E. Pearce. This is where we ate, slept, and conducted our research. During the survey, we scanned the horizon from dawn to dusk looking for marine mammals using high-powered binoculars. We looked for any signs of life—blows, bodies, splashes—and recorded the marine mammals we saw.
When we spotted whales, we’d launch our small boat, R/V Coriacea, from the back deck of the Pearce. We use the Coriacea to get closer to the whales and collect data. The back deck was also outfitted with two shipping containers. One was our science lab and the other stored our gear. We are completely set up for research!
This year, high winds kept us at the dock much of the time. We did get some lucky breaks when the weather and whale sightings aligned. Here are some notable highlights from our lucky breaks.