Aerial Surveillance

The right whale aerial survey program began at PCCS in 1998. The primary objectives of the survey program are:

• To document right whales within Cape Cod Bay and surrounding waters from January through mid-May.
• To use photo-identification techniques to identify individual whales.
• To examine all whales for evidence of entanglement in fishing gear.

All right whale sightings are called in to the Sighting Advisory System, which informs mariners of the presence and locations of these highly endangered whales.  Recreational boaters are also reminded that right whales are not to be approached within 500 yards. PCCS also works closely with managers of Massachusetts waters to better protect right whales in our own backyard.

Prior to 1998, surveys for right whales were conducted by boat within Cape Cod Bay.  The aerial platform of the Cessna Skymaster allows researchers to survey the Bay more extensively in less time.  Also, right whales can be difficult to see from a boat, even for a trained observer. Feeding right whales can swim slowly, mere feet below the surface for over twenty minutes.  From the air, observers can see into the water and can track a subsurface whale until it emerges for a breath.  In order to accurately count the number of right whales and other species within Cape Cod Bay, the survey plane flies a series of east-west tracklines that are spaced 1.5 nm apart. The waters off the eastern shore of the Cape are surveyed with a single track that runs north to south along the shoreline. The entire survey covers approximately 300 nm of trackline. Surveys are conducted at an altitude of 750 feet and a speed of 100 knots. 

The main objective of the two observers on board is to locate and document right whales. When a right whale is sighted, the plane breaks from its current trackline to circle over the whale. The observers quickly record the position, how many whales are present, dive times and behaviors.  Whales are also checked for signs of entanglement. One of the observers is responsible for obtaining identifying photographs of the whale. Right whales are identified by the patterns of callosities found on the top of the head. A catalog of each individual right whale in the North Atlantic population is maintained by the New England Aquarium. PCCS has been contributing to this catalog for more than 25 years and over 70% of the catalogued population has been photo-identified in Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bays at some point during their lives (Jaquet et al. 2006).  From the bird’s eye perspective of the airplane, the top of the whale’s head and a dorsal view of the body is easily photographed.  Photographing the body is important as scars along the body and flukes can assist in identifying the individual whale. 

Once the observers return to the Marine Lab, countless hours are spent conducting photo analysis and matching whales to the catalog.  Although the callosities of the whale do not change over the whale’s lifetime, the cyamids that live on the callosity can cause the pattern to be obscured and difficult to match.  PCCS’ contribution to the catalog is extremely important, as the catalog is used as a basis for all the research conducted on right whales. Age, sex, habitat preference, calving intervals and changes in scarring are just a few examples of the kind of information that this extensive catalog provides. 

 Photo Identification

Every whale included in the Right Whale

Catalog has a composite drawing. Researchers at the New England Aquarium create composite drawings as part of maintaining the catalog. These composite drawings are used in the primary stages of matching a whale. The photograph on the left was taken in 2004 by PCCS. The composite drawing for this same whale is shown on the right. A close look at the callosity pattern found on the head, lips and behind the blowholes identifies this whale as #1310, a female nicknamed “Amanda”.