Fourth Endangered Right Whale Found Dead; Agencies Move to Avoid Ship Strikes Last weekend, trained whale observers on U.S. Coast Guard flights located the carcass of a North Atlantic right whale southeast of Nantucket, MA. This is the fourth confirmed North Atlantic right whale death in 2004. Earlier this year, a calf beached and died of unknown causes and two pregnant females were killed by ship strikes. In addition to these mortalities, two right whales have recently been sighted off the coast of North Carolina. These animals are among the world’s most endangered large whales. In response, NOAA is organizing a summit among federal agencies to seek immediate voluntary actions that will make waters safer for migrating and calving North Atlantic right whales. The summit will be convened as a meeting of the NOAA-hosted Interagency Ship Strike Reduction Working Group. NOAA’s draft ship strike reduction strategy covers the entire East Coast. In the Mid-Atlantic, nine ports were identified where right whales are likely to be present seasonally, and the strategy recommends speed restrictions within 20 to 30 nautical miles of each port during those times. For more on NOAA’s ship strike reduction effort please visit: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/. Fourth Endangered Right Whale Found Dead; Agencies Move to Avoid Ship Strikes Last weekend, trained whale observers on U.S. Coast Guard flights located the carcass of a North Atlantic right whale southeast of Nantucket, MA. This is the fourth confirmed North Atlantic right whale death in 2004. Earlier this year, a calf beached and died of unknown causes and two pregnant females were killed by ship strikes. In addition to these mortalities, two right whales have recently been sighted off the coast of North Carolina. These animals are among the world’s most endangered large whales. In response, NOAA is organizing a summit among federal agencies to seek immediate voluntary actions that will make waters safer for migrating and calving North Atlantic right whales. The summit will be convened as a meeting of the NOAA-hosted Interagency Ship Strike Reduction Working Group. NOAA’s draft ship strike reduction strategy covers the entire East Coast. In the Mid-Atlantic, nine ports were identified where right whales are likely to be present seasonally, and the strategy recommends speed restrictions within 20 to 30 nautical miles of each port during those times. For more on NOAA’s ship strike reduction effort please visit: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/.
