NCCOS Project Explorer (NPE)

Development of Aerial Early Warning System to Protect Right Whales from Ship Strikes (2003)

Project Description:
This project focuses on developing a statement of work (SOW), evaluating research proposals, and monitoring approved studies, for the aerial survey Early Warning monitoring system contract for the protection of northern right whales from ship strikes in the calving grounds off northern Florida and Georgia from December through March each year. This project is funded by the US Navy, US Coast Guard, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Aerial surveys are flown daily by a contractor to detect right whales in the calving grounds and relay their locations immediately via a digital pager system to the funding agencies, harbor pilots, mariners in the area of sightings, Georgia and Florida state agencies, and others. CCEHBR staff is a member of the Southeast Implementation Team for the recovery of northern right whales and serves on the Ship Strike Committee and Large Whale Disentanglement Team.

Expected Outcome:
CCEHBR staff continues to serve as the COTR for the right whale EWS contract in northern Florida and Georgia. During 2002, the contract required reseaching and drafting modification for a temperature probe to be installed on the survey aircraft, which provides precise water temperatures for the area surveyed to determine temporal movements of the right whales - a more effective measurement not limited by cloud cover as in satellite imagery. The statement of work for the 2002-2005 seasons was completed which included a new aerial survey design that will cover the calving grounds as well as the Mandatory Ship Reporting (MSR) requirement imposed by the US Coast Guard which requires that each ship report data to track ship movement. This system, combined with what is known about spatial movements of right whales in the calving grounds, will help researchers identify high use areas of both ships and whales and ultimately help mitigate ship/whale collisions. This contract has been successful in mitigating ship strikes of right whales as no (known) right whales in the calving grounds have been hit in the past several years. The project is instrumental in determining temporal and spatial movements of right whales in the calving grounds, as well as being a good souce of information for ship traffic in and out of the major ports that cross critical right whale habitat.