Right Whales aerial surveillance tracklines over Cape Cod Bay and adjacent waters from the R/V Shearwater NEC-MB2002-1, 2002 (NEC-CoopRes project)

<p>Surveillance, Monitoring, and Management of Right Whales and Habitat of Cape Cod Bay: 2002</p> <p>Aerial survey tracklines flown over Cape Cod Bay and adjacent waters, 2002</p> <p>report: <a href=\"nec.whoi.edu/pdf/Rwhale02.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Surveillance, Monitoring and Management of North Atlantic Right Whales in Cape Cod Bay and Adjacent Waters - 2002 Final Report</a> by Moira W. Brown, Owen C. Nichols, Marilyn K. Marx, and Jacqueline N. Ciano, Charles Mayo, Moriah Bessinger.</p> <p>Executive Summary:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In 2002, from aerial and shipboard efforts in all areas combined, there were 139 sightings of right whales, of which 135 right whales were photographed and analyzed for this report. Of those 135 photographed sightings, 54 were from Cape Cod Bay and state waters along the outer coast of Cape Cod between Chatham and Provincetown (39 from aerial surveys and 15 from vessel cruises), 30 were from aerial surveys of Stellwagen Bank/Wildcat Knoll and 51 were from the Great South Channel.</p> <p>To date, of the 135 photographed sightings, 48 of 54 (88%) in Cape Cod Bay and adjacent state waters and 21 of 30 (70%) in Stellwagen Bank/Wildcat Knoll have been matched to an individual right whale. The 54 sightings from Cape Cod Bay consisted of at least 24 different right whales. There were 18 right whales identified from aerial and vessel surveys and five additional whales that have yet to be matched, but that do not match any of the 18 animals plus one right whale photographed in the Cape Cod Canal on 15 April that was not seen during surveys. The 30 photographed sightings on Stellwagen Bank/Wildcat Knoll represent 29 different right whales of which 21 have been matched to an individual in the catalogue. Of note is one of the identified whales (# 1145), an adult female, which was seen with a calf. This mother calf pair was not recorded during any other surveys or on the calving ground in the southeast US. Our sighting of the calf brings the annual reproduction total for 2002 to 22 calves. Only one whale was seen on more than one occasion (#1424, an entangled right whale) and there remain eight individuals to be matched. There were 51 photographed sightings obtained in the two Great South Channel aerial surveys. Of those, only four whales, two mother calf pairs also seen on the calving, have been matched. The photographic matching process for the remaining sightings is still underway. None of the matches has undergone final confirmation by researchers the New England Aquarium. This will take place in the autumn of 2002. All sightings were reported upon completion of each survey to the National Marine Fisheries Service Sighting Advisory System. These aerial and vessel surveys are the principal source of right whale sightings for the NMFA/SAS in the winter months for waters in the northeast north of latitude 41°N.</p> <p>Right whales were documented during aerial surveys of the Cape Cod Bay Critical Habitat area, in state waters west of the critical habitat and along the outer coast of Cape Cod between Chatham and Race Point for 37 days from 7 February to 15 March 2002. These visual sightings were augmented with passive acoustic monitoring in Cape Cod Bay. The bottom-mounted hydrophones recorded low levels of right whale calls from 24 December 2001 through April and early May. The results of the combined research efforts document right whale presence in Cape Cod Bay from late December through April into early May consistent with the results of the past four years. These data support the timing of existing management actions regarding gear restrictions.</p> <p>The presence of right whales in nearby areas outside of the critical habitats of either Cape Cod Bay or the Great South Channel in 2002 and in past years suggests that a re-evaluation of the area protected by ESA Critical Habitat designation is needed and timely to adequately reflect the distribution and movements of right whales. The use of these areas such as the eastern portion of Stellwagen Bank and Wildcat Knoll has only come to light with the expanded survey efforts of the last five years. Since these areas are used for fishing activity and are transected by a major shipping lane between Boston and New York, consideration should be given to changing the boundaries of the neighboring Cape Cod Bay and Great South Channel Critical Habitats to include these areas of seasonal importance to right whales. We recommend that the data collected in the Stellwagen Bank/Wildcat Knoll area over the last five years be assessed using sightings-per-unit-of-effort analysis to determine the density and seasonality of right whale use and that the area be considered as a target for habitat sampling to assess the conditions of the food resource and for passive acoustic monitoring equipment to augment visual sightings.</p> <p><a href=\"http://nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig1a_Rwhale02.jpg\"><img alt=\"map1\" src=\"https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/static/nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig1a_Rwhale02_sm.jpg\" style=\"height:343px; width:376px\" /></a></p> <p>(click maps to enlarge)</p> <p><a href=\"http://nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig2eb_Rwhale02.jpg\"><img alt=\"map2\" src=\"https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/static/nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig2eb_Rwhale02_sm.jpg\" style=\"height:343px; width:376px\" /></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://nec.whoi.edu/pdf/Rwhale02_dmfnq201p5.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Division of Marine Fisheries News article</a></p><p>露脊鲸（North Atlantic Right Whale）与科德角湾栖息地的监测、监控与管理：2002年</p><p>2002年科德角湾及邻近海域航空调查航线</p><p>报告：<a href="nec.whoi.edu/pdf/Rwhale02.pdf" target="_blank">《科德角湾及邻近海域北大西洋露脊鲸（North Atlantic Right Whale）监测、监控与管理——2002年最终报告》</a>，作者：Moira W. Brown、Owen C. Nichols、Marilyn K. Marx、Jacqueline N. Ciano、Charles Mayo、Moriah Bessinger.</p><p>执行摘要：</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>2002年，综合航空与船基调查的所有区域数据，总计记录到139次露脊鲸目击事件，其中135次对露脊鲸进行了拍照并用于本报告分析。在这135次拍照目击事件中，54次来自科德角湾及科德角外海岸查塔姆（Chatham）至普罗温斯敦（Provincetown）之间的州管辖海域（其中航空调查39次，船舶巡航15次），30次来自斯特尔瓦根浅滩/怀尔德克诺尔（Stellwagen Bank/Wildcat Knoll）的航空调查，51次来自大南水道（Great South Channel）。</p><p>截至本报告撰写时，在135次拍照目击事件中，科德角湾及邻近州管海域的54次事件里有48次（占比88%）、斯特尔瓦根浅滩/怀尔德克诺尔的30次事件里有21次（占比70%）已匹配至单一露脊鲸个体。科德角湾的54次目击事件至少对应24头不同的露脊鲸：其中18头通过航空与船舶调查完成个体识别，另有5头暂未完成匹配，但也未归入上述18头个体之中；此外4月15日在科德角运河拍摄到1头露脊鲸，该个体未在本次调查中被观测到。斯特尔瓦根浅滩/怀尔德克诺尔的30次拍照目击事件对应29头不同的露脊鲸，其中21头已匹配至个体识别目录。值得注意的是编号#1145的成年雌性个体，其被观测到携带有幼崽——这对母子在其他任何调查以及美国东南部的露脊鲸产崽场中均未被记录。本次对该幼崽的目击使得2002年年度新生幼崽总数达到22头。仅有1头露脊鲸（#1424，一头缠困露脊鲸）被多次观测到，另有8头个体尚未完成匹配。大南水道的两次航空调查共获得51次拍照目击事件，其中仅4头露脊鲸（包含2对曾在产崽场被观测到的母子）完成匹配。剩余目击事件的照片匹配工作仍在进行中，所有匹配结果尚未经过新英格兰水族馆（New England Aquarium）研究人员的最终确认，该项确认工作将于2002年秋季完成。所有目击事件均在每次调查结束后上报至国家海洋渔业局（National Marine Fisheries Service）目击咨询系统（Sighting Advisory System）。上述航空与船舶调查是北纬41°以东北海域冬季露脊鲸目击数据的主要来源，供NMFS/SAS使用。</p><p>2002年2月7日至3月15日的37天内，研究人员在科德角湾关键栖息地（Critical Habitat）区域、关键栖息地西侧的州管海域以及科德角外海岸查塔姆至雷斯角（Race Point）之间的区域开展航空调查，期间记录到露脊鲸的活动。本次目视调查辅以科德角湾内的被动声学监测：布放于海底的水听器于2001年12月24日起至次年4月及5月初，均记录到低强度的露脊鲸鸣叫声。综合各项研究结果证实，露脊鲸在科德角湾的活动时段为12月下旬至4月并延续至5月初，这与过去四年的监测结果一致。上述数据可为现行渔具限制管理措施的实施时机提供支撑。</p><p>2002年及过往数年中，露脊鲸在科德角湾或大南水道关键栖息地以外的邻近区域活动的情况表明，亟需且适时重新评估《濒危物种法》（Endangered Species Act，ESA）所划定的关键栖息地保护范围，以充分反映露脊鲸的分布与移动规律。诸如斯特尔瓦根浅滩东部与怀尔德克诺尔这类区域的露脊鲸使用情况，仅在过去五年的扩展调查工作中才得以探明。这些区域兼具渔业活动用途与贯穿波士顿至纽约的主要航运航道，因此应考虑调整邻近的科德角湾与大南水道关键栖息地的边界，将这些对露脊鲸具有季节性重要意义的区域纳入保护范围。我们建议采用单位努力量目击数（sighting-per-unit-of-effort）分析方法，评估过去五年在斯特尔瓦根浅滩/怀尔德克诺尔区域收集的数据，以明确露脊鲸在此区域的种群密度与活动季相；同时建议将该区域列为栖息地采样目标，以评估其食物资源状况，并布设被动声学监测设备以辅助目视调查。</p><p><a href="http://nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig1a_Rwhale02.jpg"><img alt="地图1" src="https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/static/nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig1a_Rwhale02_sm.jpg" style="height:343px; width:376px" /></a></p><p>（点击图片可放大）</p><p><a href="http://nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig2eb_Rwhale02.jpg"><img alt="地图2" src="https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/static/nec.whoi.edu/images/Fig2eb_Rwhale02_sm.jpg" style="height:343px; width:376px" /></a></p><p><a href="http://nec.whoi.edu/pdf/Rwhale02_dmfnq201p5.pdf" target="_blank">《海洋渔业部新闻》文章</a></p>