The Rarest Whale on Earth is Bouncing Back From the Brink

X post in Environment & Energy, and GD

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/06/17/rarest-whale-earth-bouncing-back?cmpid=tp-internal-taboola


Closure of shipping lanes has helped the North Atlantic right whale population hit a new high.

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June 17, 2014 By David Kirby

David Kirby has been a professional journalist for 25 years. His third book, Death at Seaworld, was published in 2012.


Amid all the depressing news about the declining state of the world’s oceans, here’s a genuine feel-good story: The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population, once decimated by ship collisions, has rebounded to more than 500 individuals. That’s the highest level since researchers began studying the whale three decades ago.

News of the whales’ recovery was first reported Monday in the Yarmouth County Vanguard, a Nova Scotia newspaper. According to the article, the right whale population in Canada’s Bay of Fundy has added more than 300 calves since 1998.

Every summer and fall, a scientific survey is conducted to count and study the right whale population in the Bay, a critical habitat area.

The rebound was the result of a multiyear effort led by the Irving Oil company of Saint John, New Brunswick, in partnership with researchers, mariner organizations, environmental groups, the Canadian government, and the International Maritime Organization.

FULL story at link.