Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries/Pete Duley, NEFSC. Images collected under MMPA research permit #17355
DENNIS – The Cape Cod Museum of Art will host a Guild Speaker Presentation – “Right Whales: Stewardship at the Edge of Extinction” – this spring.
Dr. Charles “Stormy” Mayo, a senior scientist and the Director of the North Atlantic Right Whale Ecology Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, will lead the program
The right whale of the North Atlantic Ocean is the rarest of the great whales, clinging to existence on the very brink of extinction. The whale is threatened by entanglement in fishing gear and the insidious effects of climate change.
The right whales’ story, along with efforts by scientists and conservationists to save them, speaks to the issues of biodiversity, protection of the oceans, the conflict between conservation and economic imperatives, and animal welfare.
In this extensively illustrated presentation, Dr. Mayo will describe the status of the right whales, their history, the major efforts to understand and protect them, and pose the ultimate question: “As stewards responsible for the vitality of the coastal waters of Cape Cod and the Islands, how shall we confront the issues that control the right whales’ future?”
Included in this discussion are the results of recent studies that suggest that the right whale of the North Atlantic are on the path to extinction.
In 1975 Dr. Mayo along with two other scientists founded the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown. He has been studying endangered large whales for the last 40 years, directing efforts to understand the interaction between rare whales and the ecosystems that support them.
Dr. Mayo is also known for his efforts to reduce whale mortality caused by entanglement in fishing gear through the development of new management techniques and methods to rescue entangled whales at sea.
The event free for Guild members, while nonmembers pay $15. Reservations can be made in advance at ccmoa.org/upcoming-events.
The program will be held on Saturday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m.
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
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