Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: Five whales have died along NC’s coast this year. Here’s what researchers know so far

May 1, 2024 — Whales found stranded along the North Carolina coast in recent years have died from parasites, infectious disease and – too many times, marine experts say – as a result of human interactions.

At least five whales have been stranded on or near the shore this year, dead or unable to be saved. They include a humpback whale, a minke whale and three dwarf sperm whales.

Dr. Craig Harms, director of the marine health program at N.C. State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City, said the degraded condition of whale carcasses by the time they reach shore means researchers can determine a cause of death in fewer than half the recorded cases.

Read the full article at The News & Observer 

14 whale deaths along US East Coast remain a mystery

January 24, 2023 — Local officials and environmentalists are trying to find out what is behind the mysterious death of 14 whales along the US east coast since 1 December.

Some are blaming the deaths on the development of an offshore wind farm in the area.

Officials, however, say they have found no evidence to suggest wind farms are to blame.

Since 2016, they have been tracking the “unusual mortality” of humpback whales along the eastern shores.

Over the past six years, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tallied 178 dead humpback whales from Florida to Maine.

NOAA performed necropsies on about half the whales and found that of those, 40% of the deaths were caused by human interaction, either being caught in fishing gear or struck by vessels.

Sperm whales, an endangered species, have also been found dead along the eastern coasts.

The most recent death of a humpback whale, which washed ashore in Maryland on 16 January, prompted a press conference by NOAA officials and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), as it came amid mounting concerns a local wind farm development was to blame.

Read the full article at BBC News

NEW JERSEY: Here’s what federal scientists say is likely killing whales off the NJ coast

January 19, 2023 — Seven whale deaths along the coasts of New Jersey and New York in as many weeks have marine scientists seeking answers and federal authorities making assurances that offshore wind development is not to blame.

On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, held a phone conference with journalists across the country to address what the agency called an ongoing “unusual mortality event” among humpback whales.

Since early December, four dead humpback whales and one sperm whale have washed ashore New Jersey beaches. Another two whales washed up dead on Long Island beaches.

Read the full article at the Asbury Park Press.

Is your cell phone safe for whales?

June 7, 2018 — The following was released by Friend of the Sea:

In occasion of the World Oceans Day, international NGO Friend of the Sea calls both the shipping industry and consumers to take actions to prevent ship strikes.

The time you scroll down the news on your smartphone commuting to work, numbers of whales are killed or seriously wounded in the ocean. Chances are high that the vessel which shipped your brand new phone from the other side of the globe impacted whale populations on its way. The day the world celebrates marine life, collisions between vessels and cetaceans – commonly known as ship strikes – are still unnoticed and unreported.

“Consumers are mostly unaware of the connection between the goods they consume daily and whale mortality from ship strikes”, explains Paolo Bray, Director of Friend of the Sea. “This is probably the reason why the international shipping industry hasn’t really felt the need to solve the problem yet, although affordable technology is available to prevent the collisions.”

Several critical areas worldwide are experiencing an unsustainable number of ship strikes. The Mediterranean Sea is among the most affected areas. Every year, fin whale and the sperm whale are forced to dodge 220,000 ships greater than 100 tons, which constitute 30% of international seaborne volume. Other whale populations at risk are in the Hauraki Gulf, one of the busiest shipping passage in New Zealand, home to a semi-resident population, the bryde’s whale; in the Bering Strait, a nexus of trade between North America and Asia for millennia, where maritime traffic is increasing and seriously threatening a population of bowhead whales, and in the waters off Oman where a genetically distinct group of humpback whales risks extinction because of different causes including ship strikes.

Due to their size and speed, major shipping vessels are often unaware of the occurrence of the strikes and consequently are not able to report collisions. Nevertheless, most scientific studies conclude that ship strikes are likely the main cause of whale mortality globally.

Friend of the Sea, a non-governmental organization whose main mission is the conservation of the marine habitat, since 2015 has campaigned internationally for the shipping industry to consider measures to reduce ship strikes.

“Although some major international shipping companies and associations are showing willingness to collaborate on the issue”, comments Bray “the greatest majority of the shipping lines and industry associations have not implemented the existing measures to spot presence of whales, report and undertake measures to prevent strikes yet”.

In order to allow consumers, as well as cruise and shipping lines tourists to be able to select only those operators which have implemented whale ship strikes prevention measures, Friend of the Sea promotes a sustainable and whale-safe shipping certification. Friend of the Sea logo will allow environmentally aware customers to make a choice safe for whales. The proposed solution is simple and effective. Shipping companies need to:

– Have in place an on-board full-time marine mammal observation program on all vessels;

– Share real time observations of whales through an online platform;

– Have a procedure in place to react to and avoid nearby marine mammals.

MASSACHUSETTS: Lecture Series: Whales in the Heart of the Sea

October 27, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The following free lectures exploring our evolving relationship with whales will take place at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. 

6:00 p.m. Reception  |  6:30 p.m. Lecture

Tuesday, Nov 3

Whales: An Economic, Cultural, and Environmental Icon

Dr. Michael Moore (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute), Scott Landry (Center for Coastal Studies), Robert Rocha (New Bedford Whaling Museum), and Regina Asmutis-Silvia (Whale & Dolphin Conservation) discuss the complex and evolving relationship between people and whales.

Tuesday, Nov. 10 

The Culture of Sperm Whales 

Dr. Hal Whitehead, Dalhousie University Professor of Biology and author of Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean, illuminates the underwater lives and rich culture of these these misunderstood “monsters of the deep.”

Tuesday, Nov. 17 

Survivors: Life Before & After the Essex 

Michael Harrison, Chief Curator from the Nantucket Historical Society, discusses the real life tragedy that inspired Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and upcoming Warner Bros. film In The Heart of the Sea (based on the novel by Nathaniel Philbrick).

Save your seat by calling 508-997-0046 x 100 or register online.

These events will also be broadcast live online.  

This lecture series is supported by a grant from the NOAA Preserve America Initiative.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.