Cape Cod boaters urged to steer clear of endangered North Atlantic right whales

By Colin A. Young

March 22, 2012

2 minutes to read

Boaters off Cape Cod are being urged to keep an eye out for North Atlantic right whales in waters close to shore after about 30 of the endangered cetaceans were spotted feeding off the coast of Provincetown.

The state Division of Marine Fisheries issued a “high risk’’ advisory Wednesday due to the number of the whales, their proximity to shore, and the abundance of food drawing them to the area.

“Dense concentrations of zooplankton at the surface and just below the surface are attracting the whales to this area,’’ the advisory said.

Charles “Stormy’’ Mayo, a senior scientist at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, said the plankton attracts the whales, but also puts them at a much greater risk.

“When right whales are feeding close to the surface, they tend to be much less responsive to their surroundings,’’ Mayo said. “They’re paying attention to the layer [of zooplankton] to optimize their food intake and putting all their senses into finding out where the plankton are. As a consequence, they’re not as reactive to the presence of boats.’’

While feeding, the whales swim around with their mouths agape and full of water, Mayo said, making it more difficult for them to maneuver.

The state told boaters to proceed with caution in the area between Race Point and Long Point, post lookouts to avoid colliding with a whale, and to keep their speed below 10 knots. Being struck by a boat is a leading cause of right whale mortality, the division said in its advisory.

“You have an extremely rare animal, an animal close to extinction, confronting its main cause of mortality,’’ Mayo said. “Then you put in all these other factors and end up with a situation that does not look good in any direction.’’

North Atlantic right whales are among the world’s most endangered mammals, Mayo said, and are the most endangered large whales in the north Atlantic. The population is “hanging by a thread,’’ Mayo said, with only about 475 of them remaining.

Mayo said some whale researchers in other parts of the world have never had a chance to see one of the endangered animals in person, but sightings near Cape Cod are fairly common.

“It happens to be not nearly as rare in waters around Cape Cod. We have a really very special situation,’’ he said. “If you were here on the Cape today, you could drive out to one of a couple of beaches near Provincetown and be virtually certain of seeing a right whale.’’