In 2017, counting the deaths on the Eastern Seaboard, there have been 18 North Atlantic Right Whale deaths, out of a total population that barely reaches 450. The even more alarming factor? Most of these deaths have occurred in the latter half of the summer, along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. I wanted to explore why the whales seem to be coming to the GSL more and what exactly is killing them. Finally, I wanted to investigate what could be done to reduce future mortalities.

As you can see, most of the whale deaths are clustered quite closely together. The question is, why are so many in the GSL?

As Right Whales are a migratory species, that habitually return to Atlantic Canadian waters to feed on lush abundances of their prey. Throughout history, right whales have spent the spring, summer, and parts of the fall in Atlantic Canadian waters, migrating to shallow waters off the coast of Florida and Georgia to calve in the winter. Female right whales only give birth to one calf every three to five years. In the spring, just like many other species, the whales migrate north. They spend the summer and early fall months feeding and nursing their calves in waters just off the coast of New England and the Bay of Fundy. Scientists are still trying to determine where these whales breed.

(Image Source: Smithsonian Ocean Portal)

Why would they be in the Gulf of St. Lawrence?

Necessary to a right whale's success and survival are factors such as foraging, nursing, feeding, socializing, resting, and raising calves. These functions are typically supported in areas called critical habitats. The Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine are home to two prominent critical habitats dubbed the Grand Manan Basin, and the Roseway Basin. Both of these areas are home to most of the needs of these right whales.

You may be wondering why right whales are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence rather than staying in the waters to the Southeast of Nova Scotia? To answer this, one should look to the migration patterns of North Atlantic Right Whales. Whales were documented to be migrating north to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2015 when scientists began to look more closely at migration patterns and behavioral habits.

Some scientists are proposing that the dispersal of the right whale population is not in fact moving north to the Gulf of St. Lawrence at all, and rather that more whales are being found in this area due to the increased searches and studies being conducted there.

Right whales feed primarily on a small crustacean-like creature called a copepod. Copepods require cold water temperatures to grow and thrive and the Gulf is an excellent source of this, suggesting that the whales may be following the food.

As the map illustrates, the waters to the south are significantly warmer. As climate change continues, it seems probable that copepods seeking warm waters may continue to thrive in the Gulf. But the Gulf also offers another advantage. 

Along with offering the cooler water temperatures preferred by copepods, the GSL shares another key trait with the Gulf of Maine--it is generally a shallow continental shelf, but has basins. As the research below makes clear, this is likely an ideal habitat for the copepods that the right whales prefer to eat.  

"The waters of the GoM are isolated from the Northwest Atlantic Ocean by Georges and Browns Banks and Nantucket Shoals. These banks are relatively shallow with average depth ranges between 20 and 60 m, with some areas as shallow as 5 m. Georges Bank in particular acts to separate the GoM waters from the warmer Gulf Stream waters. The Northeast Channel (NEC) and Great South Channel (GSC) connect the GoM to the waters of the Northwest Atlantic. The bathymetry of the central GoM is dominated by three large, deep basins: Jordan and Georges Basins to the northeast and east respectively and Wilkinson Basin in the southwest. The best available evidence indicates that these deep water basins serve as refugia habitat for diapausing copepods , and that these diapausing copepods serve as source populations for the annual recruitment of copepods to the GoM population (Davis 1987, Meise and O’Reiley 1996, Lynch et al. 1998, Johnson et al. 2006).”

Once the whales are in the GSL, I wanted to further investigate what is killing them. Based on the necropsies, blunt trauma from ships is one key problem.

In the image, green and red lines represent major shipping lanes through the water. Dark blue areas represent where different types of ships occasionally travel. Although the right whale deaths are not along the main lanes, the whales die along the areas where some ships still travel. These areas are also where many fishermen travel through and set their traps. Additionally, it is possible that the whales are hit in the shipping lanes and then drift with the currents. Of particular concern are two ferry routes that are very close to where the whales were discovered.

(Shipping Map Data from St. Lawrence Global Observatory)

The second most common cause of whale death is entanglement in fishing gear, particularly crab fishing lines. As the map illustrates, the whale carcasses were recovered mostly in Zone 12 of the snow crab fishery.

(Fishing Zones recreated from DFO Map)

Although there is debate among scientists regarding whether there are more whales in the Gulf now or whether we are simply doing a better job of finding them, it is very clear that more are dying. This would imply that either human activities (shipping and fishing) have changed or that the whales are visiting more dangerous parts of the Gulf.

(Image Source: Maclean's)

The biggest threats to right whales appears to be ships strikes and fishing gear entanglements. In an effort to reduce the threat, the Canadian government implemented a rule pertaining to speed travel on Atlantic waters which aims to protect the whales from getting hit by ships and other vessels. Vessels of 20 metres or more are required to slow to 10 knots, or about 19 kilometres per hour, while travelling in the western Gulf, from the Quebec north shore to just north of Prince Edward Island. The slowdown regulation takes effect immediately and will remain in place until the endangered whales migrate out of the areas of concern, likely in the fall, according to minister of transportation Marc Garneau; taking into account the borders of the restricted zone could change, depending on. Inevitably, lower boat speeds give whales a better chance of surviving an impact. Coast Guard officials are also patrolling the area in an effort to keep tabs on the whales and their migration. Vessels that don't comply to the new law, face a penalty of $6,000 to $25,000.

The federal government also plans to usher in a new set of rules around fishing gear to improve the safety of whale migration in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In addition to the new rules and regulations mentioned above, the government plans to create a marine protected area (MPA) around the Laurentian Channel, where North Atlantic right whales are known to be prone to injury. Certain parts of the zones could be closed, depending on migration patterns, some seasons could be adjusted, while certain types of gear could change, for example requirements that less rope be used or even rope that stays vertical in the water instead of floating on the surface to avoid entanglements.

(Source: CBC)

News about the right whales calmed down in the winter months of 2017, as well as the beginning of 2018. However, as of May 2018, two more right whales have been spotted in the GSL. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is taking immediate action by shutting down several Atlantic fisheries temporarily, having fishermen remove any set traps, and essentially quarantining off a section of the water to protect these two right whales. The fishermen of the Atlantic provinces were already unhappy with some of the new regulations to protect the whales, and they are for sure going to be unhappy about this course of action. Unfortunately for them, it's what needs to be done to try and save this species.

The map on the right was sent to fishermen and fisheries across the Atlantic provinces. It provides information on what sectors are off limits, or have the potential to be closed in the near future if need be.

(Image Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

This is an interactive map containing the section that is now off limits. Coordinates provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

A biologist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution named Mark Baumgartner has been studying and trying to save the right whales since 1999. He noticed that modern ropes are much too strong for whales to break though, so his solution is simple yet complicated; remove the rope. His design uses radio technology by sending a signal to a receiver connected to the traps underwater. The trap then sends itself up to the surface, which can then be returned back to the gulf's floor.

(Image Source: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

There are only approximately 450 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet and in order to preserve this critically endangered species, we must act swiftly and smartly to lessen our severely negative impact on these whales. What is alarming is not just the number of whale deaths, but the timeframe in which these deaths have occurred. In a span of three months fifteen whales have died, which is an incredibly short amount of time.

After analyzing the whale migration patterns, their diets, and the locations of the whale deaths, it was determined that the route cause of death in almost all cases was fishing and/or ship related. Climate change and changes to the ocean and environment are thought to be causing the migration of copepods to colder waters, which, in turn, leads to the migration of right whales to the GSL where most deaths are recorded. This climate change must also be limited as much as possible, but more immediately the tightening of fishing and shipping laws is necessary so the deaths can be reduced and possibly even avoided altogether. This will not be such an easy task, because it may disturb people’s livelihoods, such as fishermen; however, what is certain is that we need to make changes now, before this problem brings about the extinction of the entire right whales species.

(Image source: National Geographic Society)