MAINE PUBLIC • August 5, 2024
Every spring, North Atlantic right whales were once known to migrate northward from their calving grounds off the southeastern United States to feed in the Gulf of Maine. But that all started to change 15 years ago when the endangered whales were seen in the Gulf less frequently, and researchers shifted their focus to the areas where larger aggregations were known to be in Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Gulf of Maine has lacked consistent survey effort since then. This summer, the Maine Department of Marine Resources is launching its own research program, an initiative that includes the acoustic monitoring, these boat surveys and now monthly flights over the Gulf of Maine to search for right whales. Eventually, researchers will also monitor and sample for copepods, a type of zooplankton, that serve as a critical food source for right whales.