(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
HYANNIS – The population of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale is in decline and scientists are especially worried about the female population.
During a recent North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium conference in Canada, findings were presented that show there are fewer female right whales than males, which is not good for an endangered species, according to New England Aquarium scientist Heather Pettis.
“It’s 1.5 times more likely for females to die than males so that was not good news to hear,” Pettis said. “It also appears that female’s life expectancy is much shorter than the males, so again more bad news.”
The population for the species is less than 500 and at least 16 have died this year, primarily from boat strikes and entanglements.
Pettis said those gathered at the conference also discussed forming an international task force to reduce mortality rates.
“Next steps are to think about who might best fit into those task forces, with the idea of having one dedicated to entanglement reduction and the other ship strike reduction,” she said.
Pettis hopes the task force can help to develop new technology in breakaway ropes and rope less traps.
“I think we’ll see groups, like the aquarium and others, working really hard to identify these technological advances that may work in the industry,” she said. “I think we know what we need to do at a simple level. It is putting it into place that is the hard part.”
Pettis said Canadian fishery officials and fishermen had a strong presence at the conference as the majority of the deaths this year occurred in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
“It was a really good, strong showing, which I think reflects the interest and the concerns of both sides of the boundary,” she said.
Pettis expects U.S. and Canadian officials will continue to engage in dialogue on policies and strategies for the best ways to reduce ship strikes and entanglements moving forward.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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