Two North Atlantic Right Whale Calves Sighted in Cape Cod Bay
April 22, 2019

North Atlantic right whale #4180 swims with her calf in the southern portion of Cape Cod Bay on April 11, 2019. #4180 is at least nine years old and this is her first calf - she is the only first-time mother among the seven females that have given birth this year.
credit: Center for Coastal Studies, NOAA permit #19315-1

Two of the seven North Atlantic right whale calves born this season were seen with their mothers by the Center for Coastal Studies aerial survey team in Cape Cod Bay on April 11th. We reported earlier this month that #1204 was seen in the bay with her new calf on April 7th, making us hopeful that we'll see the other four calves soon. All three of the mother/calf pairs recently sighted in the bay were seen earlier this year in the southeastern US and have now successfully made the long and dangerous journey north through shipping lanes where ships constantly violate the voluntary speed restrictions and they are also forced to swim through areas that have no restrictions at all. They also have to avoid hundreds of thousands of fishing ropes that create a minefield of entanglement hazards and a increasing amount of plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean and in Cape Cod Bay itself.

#4180 is at least 9 years old as she was first sighted in 2010 and this is her first calf. Her calf was the fifth one sighted this year and was first seen by a park ranger from the shore of Sebastian Inlet State Park in Sebastian, Florida on February 5th. Until her calf was seen, the sex of #4180 was unknown but now it's clear that she's a female which is excellent news as there are only around 100 females of breeding age in the population. Protecting females of breeding age is crucial to the survival of the population so it's wonderful to be able to add to that number. She is also the only first-time mother among the seven that have given birth this year.

She has been seen in Cape Cod Bay every year except 2015 and she was most recently sighted there in late April of 2018. Researchers now realize she was pregnant at the time of that sighting. She was then seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in August of 2018 with nasty scars at the base of her flukes and on her back from an entanglement in fishing ropes that she experienced somewhere between Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. She managed to free herself of the rope before she was sighted so researchers were unable to recover it or identify the origin of the rope. There is a significant amount of rope in the water between Massachusetts and Maine during that time that she could have become entangled in and it's also very possible she became entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, an area that has become very popular among right whales - most likely due to shifting food supplies.

At least four North Atlantic right whales have been killed by entanglements in snow crab trap ropes traced to the Gulf of St. Lawrence since 2016 (one in 2016, two in 2017 and one in 2018), at least six others have been entangled and some of them have not been seen since. There have also been other entangled right whales sighted in Canadian waters with the exact type and origin of the trap ropes being unknown. In 2018, there were at least three deaths of North Atlantic right whales - all from entanglements in fishing rope.

The first death was traced to the Canadian snow crab fishery as the rope was still wrapped around the whale and could be traced to the source.^[.pdf] The other two whales, the first of which was found near Martha's Vineyard in August of 2018 and the second who was found off Nantucket in October of 2018 both had wounds consistent with entanglements but unfortunately no rope was found on them that could be traced to a specific fishery and their identities are unknown. Many entanglements and deaths go unseen and many times, even if a death is seen, the whale is too decomposed or the rope has come off to do a more complete investigation or to even identity the individual whale.

The first North Atlantic right whale found dead in 2018 was #3893 - she was only 10 years old when she was killed. When she was only three years old she was entangled in gillnet float line but was partially freed by rescuers and shed the rest of the line on her own. Her brother was killed by a fishing rope entanglement in 2012 when he was only a year old while her mother, Porcia (#3293), and her father, #1207, have both been entangled in ropes at least once and #1207 was struck and killed by a ship in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2017. His necropsy was held about a month before the last sighting of his daughter before she was found dead off the coast of Virginia.

The entanglement of #4180 while she was pregnant shows just how close she came to not only being killed but also how close to death her unborn calf was and how there would be no chance for #4180 or her calf to contribute to the highly endangered population in the future. Seeing the horrible story of #3893, who was about the same age as #4180 and just entering her reproductive years when she was taken from this world by humans - and knowing that #4180 was entangled while she was pregnant with her first calf - underscores how serious the threats to these whales are and that the entanglements have to stop.

Humans have tried to kill #4180 at least twice and she may not be so lucky the next time. This is why we all must continue to defend North Atlantic right whales and make sure they're truly protected. Our government is abdicating its responsibility to protect them so now it's up to the rest of us. The pain and suffering, the deaths, the loss of future life that these North Atlantic right whales could have brought into the world - it must end. Our Entanglement section has even more information on fishing rope entanglements and what we can all do to stop them from happening.

#3317 and her calf were also sighted in Cape Cod Bay on April 11th. #3317 is 16 years old and was born in late 2002 to Silt (#1817), who was actually sighted in the bay four days earlier on April 7th, putting three generations in Cape Cod Bay on nearly the same day. Silt brought #3317 to Cape Cod Bay when she was a calf in 2003 but the Center for Coastal Studies didn’t see #3317 there again until 2016 when she brought her second calf there. She gave birth to her first calf in 2009, #3917, and even though they never saw #3317 bring her to Cape Cod Bay, #3917 has been observed there nearly every year since 2011 and was seen there this year. Last year (when #3317 she was pregnant) she was seen inside the bay between February and March.

She was the second mom documented this season and was first documented with her calf from a shore sighting on January 13th off Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. #3317 has been entangled in fishing rope at least once and also has propeller scars on her back from a boat strike. Four of the seven North Atlantic right whales that gave birth this year (#2791, #3317, Pico (#3270) and #4180) have entanglement scars. Pico and #4180 have been entangled at least twice, #3317 has been struck by a boat at least once and another mother that gave birth this year, #1204, also has possible entanglement and boat strike scars. These whales are under attack and while it's incredible that they were able to overcome all this and still give birth, which is truly a testament to their resilience, so many whales simply can't make it through and it's humans that are the problem.

North Atlantic right whale #3317 swims with her calf in the middle area of Cape Cod Bay on April 11, 2019.
credit: Center for Coastal Studies, NOAA permit #19315-1

As we wrote in our post on April 15th about the recent sightings in Cape Cod Bay, there is currently a lobster trap ban in the bay but it's only seasonal as it ends on April 30th. There is also a 10 knot speed restriction in place for all vessels in Cape Cod Bay (a federal restriction on vessels over 65 feet and a state restriction on vessels under 65 feet) but these restrictions will also end on April 30th unless they get extended. Thankfully it is currently safer than many areas throughout their range as similar protections do not even exist in many other areas they are seen in but even with these protections these whales still face threats from ship traffic and marine debris in Cape Cod Bay during this time. Protective measures must be expanded and made permanent throughout their range to to make sure they're truly safe.

It is also illegal to approach a North Atlantic right whale within 500 yards (1,500 feet) without a federal research permit. This includes boaters, kayakers, paddle-boarders, swimmers, light aircraft and drone pilots. However, as the Center for Coastal Studies states, "the right whales often feed very close to shore, offering whale watchers on land unbeatable views" of North Atlantic right whales.

More Information:

Large Numbers of North Atlantic Right Whales Sighted in Cape Cod Bay - 4/15/2019

Dozens of North Atlantic Right Whales Sighted in Cape Cod Bay - 3/19/2019

Mandatory Speed Limits in Effect for Cape Cod Bay - 1/2/2019

To find out more about what is happening to North Atlantic and North Pacific right whales and how we can all take actions in our everyday lives to protect them, please visit our Facts and Action sections on our website. We also post updates and pictures on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter.