A recent research study discovered that North Atlantic right whales, a critically endangered species, are engaging in nighttime surface feeding, which puts them at higher risk of being struck by boats. The findings, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, shed light on this behavior among the whales and offer insights that could help mitigate fatal collisions with vessels.
The study was led by Jay Kirkham, a PhD student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, in collaboration with the U.S.-based non-profit Ocean Alliance. Using tags attached to 23 right whales in the Shediac Valley, located in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, the research team captured video footage and collected data on the whales’ movements and feeding habits. Kirkham explained that the tags provided valuable information, including video recordings of the whales’ feeding behavior during the day.
By training a machine learning algorithm to identify nighttime feeding behaviors when visual identification was not possible, Kirkham revealed that the whales were feeding at depths similar to large vessels at night, increasing the risk of collisions. While right whales typically feed near the sea floor during the day, they follow their primary food source, zooplankton, higher up in the water column at night.
Collisions with ships and entanglements in fishing gear are the primary causes of death for North Atlantic right whales. Kirkham’s study aims to support conservation efforts by providing crucial data for protecting the whale population. Both Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are currently responsible for overseeing protective measures for the whales.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada highlighted that their measures focus on preventing whale entanglements in fishing gear and enforcing seasonal fishing closures, utilizing insights from studies like Kirkham’s to develop tailored management strategies. Transport Canada, on the other hand, enforces speed restrictions and a vessel exclusion zone in the Shediac Valley during the summer to reduce the risk of collisions. Despite these efforts, Kirkham noted that a significant portion of the tagged whales fed outside the protected zone, increasing their exposure to ship traffic.
Transport Canada stated that they employ a right whale surveillance program using visual and audio detection tools to safeguard the whales from collisions. By leveraging cutting-edge research, monitoring data, and stakeholder feedback, the department aims to continually enhance protection measures for the North Atlantic right whales.