Forecasting of high-risk foraging activities in endangered baleen whales to mitigate vessel collisions in Massachusetts Bay and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

About This Grant

Large whales face a number of threats to their survival, with vessel collisions (ship strikes) being one of the most serious. Species that are found close to shore or overlap with busy shipping lanes are particularly vulnerable. The endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), with only ~350 individuals remaining in the entire species, and endangered sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) feed in the heavily trafficked Massachusetts Bay and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Both species often feed on the same prey near the surface, exposing them to possible injury or death from collisions with vessels. Despite decades of conservation efforts, including reducing the maximum speeds allowed during specific times of the year or when whales are detected on acoustic recorders, ship strikes are still impacting these animals. This project will collect whale behavioral and prey distributional data to better understand the conditions that lead to whale feeding activities and how whales move near the surface and underwater while they feed. The project will include a novel approach of using satellite imagery to identify areas where prey levels could lead to feeding right and sei whales and use that information to alert vessels and mariners of potential areas of feeding whales so that they are aware of possible overlap with whales, thus reducing the risk of collisions. Preventing ship strike injury and mortality is considered a priority conservation issue by the U.S. federal government. The endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) are both baleen whales that feed primarily on zooplankton and small schooling fishes and frequent habitats that are close to shore and overlap with busy shipping lanes. Massachusetts Bay, which includes the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, is an important feeding area for these whales and also a highly active shipping area. Their foraging strategy, which involves near-surface skim-feeding, places them at a high risk for vessel collisions due to their shallow depth, low visibility at the surface, and the typical speed of vessels. Although conservation strategies such as rerouting shipping lanes and restricting speeds for large vessels have been implemented, ship strike remains an issue that may limit population recovery for both species. This project will use suction-cup GPS biologging tags to collect fine-scale horizontal and underwater movement data that will provide information on the amount of time animals spend feeding near the surface. These data will be combined with data on prey distribution into movement models that will identify the foraging conditions that best predict the presence of feeding whales. Using remote-sensing technology, proxies for prey in the region will be monitored to identify foraging ‘hotspots.’ This information will then be pushed as alerts to vessels transiting the area that are using the vessel tracking global Automatic Identification System network and to the app WhaleAlert to mitigate the potential overlap between whales and vessels. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.