Saving Entangled Right Whales!

'Tis the season to save as many North Atlantic right whales as possible. Preventing even one female death from ship strike or gear entanglement is essential for this species to recover ... and it's all hands on deck for conservation organizations in the Southeast U.S.

Today's article form Jacksonville.com has a success story covering a team effort by the NOAA, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources, the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, the New England Aquarium and Wildlife Trust to rescue an entangled whale.

The Right Whale Aerial Survey Blog has reported two entangled whale sightings this season already. Disentangling a right whale is no easy task. Even approaching a right whale in a raft requires extreme care and expertise ... and that's before attempting to cut fishing gear away from the moving animal with sharp edge on the end of a stick!

In addition, the research time is conducting daily (weather allowing) flights to spot whales and alert nearby ship traffic.

New Year's Fun for Kids! (Sold Out!)

2009 is coming!

What's the best way for a family to celebrate the new year? Come on down to the New England Aquarium for the annual First Night Workshop! Not only will you and your little ones learn about marine biology and see an IMAX movie, but you'll also make an animal-themed costume and march with the rest of the participants in the First Night parade!



Update: This year's workshop just sold out, but you can find out more about it here.

Greg Stone for Boston's Person of the Year!

I hope you'll take a moment to click on researcher and ocean conservationist Greg Stone's name for Boston's Person of the Year! (Pictured in action at left.)

This past year, I've had the opportunity to work with Greg. When I began this job he was working to help make the Phoenix Islands Marine Protected Area a reality. That project has been a resounding success.

Since then I've had the chance to be involved with his Sea of Cortez expedition blog and other Aquarium projects. His commitment to ocean protection and conservation is an inspiration to everyone at the Aquarium and beyond. Here are all the posts about him on this blog, including videos and interviews.

So help us out with some freeping conservation-minded Bostonians!

UPDATE: While Greg was not named Bostonian of the Year, it was great to see this nomination and the out pouring of support for ocean conservation.

The Fist Day of the Rest of the Right Whales' Lives

Today the long fought-for speed regulations go into effect for shipping lanes within 23 miles of the eastern seaboard. (previous posts about it here, here and here. Also read what the experts think over on the research team's Bay of Fundy blog.)

What does this mean for the future of right whales? It helps:

Researchers have found that the probability of right whales dying after being struck drops from over 80% when a vessel is traveling at 15 knots or more to just above 20% when a vessel is traveling at 10 knots or less. Average vessel speeds in critical right whale habitats have been around 15 knots.

But it is not a panacea. In fact, it's less strict than the originally drafted rule. The questions that remain now are 1.) How will this be enforced? and 2.) What effect will the regulation have on the right whale population?

The research team continues to be engaged with officials to find the answers to those two questions.

Healthy Seal is Safe as Well as Healthy

This is the cold-stranding season for sea turtles. So with the Aquarium's Animal Medical Center filled with severely injured turtles (like this guy), it's good to know that some stranded animals are going to be just fine.

Enter, this innocently sunning harp seal:



Special note: This story caused three news channels to put up helicopters to monitor the harp seal getting a ride to a more secluded beach.

Ocean-Friendly Seafood on Aqua Kids

In addition to two animal-centered segments, the TV show Aqua Kids also filmed this conservation interview with Greg Stone. Get your holiday seafood shopping advice here!

196 Reasons To Visit the Aquarium

That's how many photos in the slideshow so far ...

Turtlemania is coming!

The turtles are about to take center stage at the Aquarium ... more details to come.

Not that they don't steal the show already. Check out this playlist of Turtle YouTube videos uploaded by visitors.

Cyber Seal

Marine mammal trainer Paul has been working for a long time to devise the perfect marriage of technology and nature: the sealcam. In his finished blog post, you can watch a video of all the training steps that went into teaching Chacoda to calmly wear the harness, and you also get to see the final result!

Conclusion? This might be the world's best way to get kids to smile for the camera ...

The Insider Tour Gathers Steam!

Since the Aquarium's new mobile device tour launched, I've written about it here, it's been mentioned on the Giant Ocean Tank Divers Blog and our friends over at The Other 95% wrote it up. Today, our server is really going to feel the burn. The Boston Globe wrote up the tour and included this great picture of some visitors checking out the tour:


Now, they know everything there is to know about octopi. It was that easy.

Tree Lighting Tomorrow!

Faneuil Hall Marketplace is lighting a very special tree tomorrow (Saturday). The big event starts at 5:30, and will include live music! It's going to be an incredible event for the whole family, and it'll only be steps from the Aquarium. Hopefully our visitors will leave after a day of discovery and head over to Quincy Market to celebrate.


Plus, there's something extra special about the tree this year. The tree topper isn't just any star ... it's a sea star designed by the New England Aquarium's own exhibit designer Peter Bradey! What a great way to kick off the season!

Owen is My Hero

This video from comeleon is amazing. Not just because it's well edited. It really expresses a young man named Owen's voice so clearly and encapsulates his adventure in a way that really gets across what the Aquarium can be from a child's point of view.

Watch Owen being educated and building an appreciation for the natural world ... and it's all happening on a cold rainy day that would likely be spent watching TV otherwise.



Aquarium visits during the wintertime are really special. On weekdays there are often large school groups patrolling the exhibit space, and on weekends the building is full of families sharing an incredible bonding experience and seeing things in person they might never see otherwise if they didn't venture into Boston and pop in to check it out.

Aqua Kids Visit the Aquarium

This month the ocean science kids show Aqua Kids featured the New England Aquarium's turtle rescue program and penguin exhibit! Check out the videos below!

NEAq Insider: The New England Aquarium Mobile Tour

The brand new mobile audio/video tour of the New England Aquarium is here!



This exciting new feature lets visitors download behind-the-scenes content, such as animal sounds, marine biologist interviews and fun facts onto a mobile device and bring it with them on their Aquarium visit. I can't wait to hear from people who took the tour about what they thought!

It's an exciting time to visit the Aquarium, because this technology has the potential to turn a quick glance at one of the aquarium tanks into an immersing journey through a world previously only known by the Aquarium's biologists.

You lost your ring ... where?

Losing a wedding ring is stressful enough.
Imagine if you lost one in 200,000 gallons of ocean water inhabited by 600+ marine animals including three adult sand tiger sharks.



That's exactly what happened to Bob Pirrman, a friend of the Aquarium and creative director of the Boston-area ad agency Mullen. That's the outfit that put together the Aquarium's summer "Sharks and Rays" ad campaign.

Rumor has it that the ring slipped off Bob's finger while he was petting Myrtle the green sea turtle during a dive this summer. For a long time, it looked like the ring would remain in the sandy bottom of the tank forever.

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Tomorrow morning Bob gets his ring back thanks to volunteer Giant Ocean Tank diver Mike Whyte. The ring return will be a press event, with photographers and camera crews from all over the city recording the triumphant return of the expensive (somewhat tarnished) wedding band.

The Genius of Myrtle the Turtle

Depending on who you ask, Myrtle the green sea turtle is between 60 and 90 years old. She recently weighed in at 550 pounds. And ... she's a genius.



Check out this post from Aquarium trainers who are teaching Myrtle to go to targets based on sound cues. Myrtle has different auditory signals that direct her to one of three polls with unique markings. She is rewarded with food when she goes to the right pole after hearing its signal. Watch the video here. This work is investigating the extent of sea turtles' hearing, as well as sea turtles' intelligence and memory.

Animal babies!

The Bliemans have given the world so much. Dysfunctional social situations, British clothing made from dead pets, and gross worm pictures.

Now, they've given us baby animal photo central. It's called www.zooborns.com and this is what you'll find there:

Newborn Beluga whale and mother from the Shedd Aquarium.

I can't wait to send them penguin chick photos galore. It'll be nice to give Benny something to post that doesn't involve whale poop.

Killer Whales Vs. The U.S. Navy

Marine mammals are getting their day in court. The supreme court is going to hear a case brought by environmentalists seeking to halt Navy sonar training in Southern California. Although lower courts have awarded the injunction against the exercises, the Navy has proceeded with 13 of the 14 missions anyway and appealed the case to the highest court.

"Your Honor, if it please the court, I'd like to request a salmon break."

It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out, and I'd love to hear from some west coast bloggers about the details. The case started when these SONAR missions caused observable behavior changes among killer whales and minke whales in the Puget Sound. Early studies have shown NAVY SONAR blasts at the same frequency as killer whale echolocation. In addition, WHOI is currently investigating the seemingly fatal effects of Navy SONAR testing in the Bahamas.

It looks like the argument will come down to the Navy's claim of national security interest versus the government's interest in protecting endangered species (the Puget Sound killer whale was placed on the Federal Endangered Species list in 2005). I'm no lawyer, but seeing as protecting endagered species is already a federal mandate, the burden will likely fall on the Navy to prove how essential these maneuvers are for protecting national interests.

In the meantime, I'd love some more info on how the Navy is recruiting killer whales into what appears to be a marine mammal cyborg workforce. We could definitely use some strict scrutiny on that. Here's a killer whale with a "recovery device":

"I've been sent from the future to kill John Connor"

Speed Limit Success!

Today, the NOAA put into effect the shipping speed limit designed to protect North Atlantic Right Whale Populations! From the NYT:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday issued a 11.5-mile-per-hour speed limit for ships 65 feet or longer that travel within 23 miles of major mid-Atlantic ports, and in areas where the North Atlantic right whale breeds, feeds and migrates. The regulation will go into effect in December.

Looks like it's a Christmas present. However, it is not the boon to the endangered North Atlantic right whale that researchers were aiming for. The original proposed rule called for a 10 knot limit 30 miles from shore. This rule enforces an 11.5 knot limit 23 miles from shore. A revised version that was submitted for public comment was asking for 20 miles from shore. It looks like the NOAA gave more on the distance but less on the speed.

This particular regulation has been a major focus for NEAQ researcher Amy Knowlton. I wrote about it here and here. It has also been a topic on the researchers' Bay of Fundy blog.

It remains to be seen if this will have the significant effect conservation experts were hoping for ... but at the very least we have lived to see some kind of speed regulation make it through the current administration.

New Marine Mammal Center Coming!

Build we must! Thanks to a groundbreaking donation from the New Balance Foundation, the Aquarium has broken ground on a brand new wing! Construction is underway now, and will be complete by the summer. The New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center will not only be an amazing facility for the Aquarium to house northern fur seals and sea lions ... it is also a symbol of the reclamation of Boston Harbor.



The back of the Aquarium used to open up on a harbor too polluted to enjoy. Sure, it's always been possible to walk round the Aquarium, but there wasn't much reason to for a long time. However, thanks to decades of effort from conservation groups and industry reforms, the harbor is now visitable, and visitors to the Aquarium will be able to take advantage of that. The new design will open up the back of the Aquarium for visitors to walk along the harbor in public space while viewing animals.

A good place to follow the construction of the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center is the Marine Mammal Trainers Blog. They're expertly adjusting to the current changes and preparing for a bright and exciting future!

How to move a shark

Before coming to work here, I'd always wondered how aquarium biologists managed to transport ocean animals overland for long distances. This post from the GOT divers goes a long way toward explaining how that works.

The entry before that has a description of how fishes are packed for plane transport. This photo struck a chord with me:


I'm considering moving and seeing boxes all neatly stacked reminded me what a trial packing can be.

Conservation: The Only Reason to Have Zoos and Aquariums

Interesting thoughts from Jane Goodall in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

The only reasons zoos should be open is to conserve the environment, Dr Goodall said.

"I think if they're going to continue to exist they must," Dr Goodall said.

"I don't think it's ethical to have animals from other countries and not be involved in some way in conservation ..."

Goodall's review of a Captive Beauty, a photo book capturing the reality of unnatural Zoo environments presents the dilemma of zoos:

“It is both beautiful and profoundly disturbing,” Jane Goodall writes in her forward to the book. “He has captured, in this series of portraits, the very essence of the problem of zoos.”
...

The book is not meant to be an indictment of all zoos; rather it is "a plea for greater understanding of the animal beings within them," writes Dr. Goodall. These photographs put a face to the zoo debate — at once stunning and disturbing.

This jumps out at me because the central mission of my job is to find ways to highlight the conservation programs that make up the core of the Aquarium. For the last several weeks, I've posted articles on the Right Whale Research Program. In addition, the Aquarium is involved in many other projects, including helping form the world's largest marine protected area in the Phoenix Islands. The Aquarium's mission also includes bycatch research and promoting ocean conservation with seafood consumers.

When I first came to the Aquarium, I was struck with the emotional connection that seems likely to inspire visitors to support conservation policy. I am reminded of that connection every day when I walk through the main building or go on a whale watch.

However, the more time I spend here the more I discover how the Aquarium's leadership, researchers and educators are focused on using every tool at their disposal to protect wildlife.

Reading her thoughts on zoos, I like to think that Dr. Goodall would approve of the work being done here, at the New England Aquarium.

Right Whale Journalism: Looking for Hope

This recent blog post from CNN is a great example of how the media tries to understand and present endangered species. The media narrative for these extremely vulnerable species seems to fall into two different categories:

1.) Species is recovering and on the way to total success.
2.) Species on the brink of extinction and nearly hopeless.

CNN's earlier coverage of the ship strike regulation leaned toward #2, while this recent post leans toward #1. Members of the New England Aquarium Right Whale Research Program are quoted in both articles, and the researchers consistently give realistic and direct appraisals of the state of North Atlantic right whales. However, those assessments are translated through two extreme lenses of hope and dispair. If a right whale is born, the species is on the road to recovery. If a right whale is found dead, the species is facing imminent collapse.

I definitely sympathize with the desire to present movement and progress to fuel interest in a nuanced and particularly difficult subject. However, I do hear from the researchers often, who are never consumed by either extreme, and continue their conservation work in a perpetual state of cautious optimism.

A great book to read to get the comprehensive story and achieve some perspective is The Urban Whale, a compilation of right whale history, research and conservation thinking.

P.S. Here's a cool video along these lines. It depicts the buoy tracking system for right whales.

Honoring President Anote Tong of Kiribati

This week, the Aquarium was honored to host President Anote Tong of the island nation of Kiribati (pronounced Keer - a - bos).

President Tong was on his way through the country on a visit that included engagements at the United Nations and meetings with foreign leaders. The Boston leg of the trip included a speaking engagement at Harvard, a visit to the New England Aquarium and an awards ceremony at which President Tong was presented the Aquarium's David B. Stone Award for his exceptional conservation efforts in the creation of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area.

The California-sized Phoenix Islands Protected Area was the result of cooperation between President Tong, Conservation International, the Coral Reef Initiative and the New England Aquarium.

Women in Science!

Penguin biologist Caitlin Hume with a rockhopper penguin. She'll be studying rockhoppers in Chile this fall.

There aren't enough women in science, but there are many extremely skilled women scientists working at the New England Aquarium. And they can't wait to share their scientific experiences with young women in the Boston area with the Aquarium's Women in Science Program.

The Aquarium's program is one of many efforts to involve women in the sciences, including programs from the National Science Foundation and WomeninScience.org. The Aquarium's biologists have a rich history of taking part in this effort and leading by example!

Update: The current set of programs is completely booked already! The organizers are deciding whether to plan more sessions ...

The Diving Has Begun!

The updates from the Sea of Cortez blog started getting exciting today with the first dive at the El Bajo seamount! Check out the first dive post and see more images in the gallery.

Sea of Cortez Blog Hits the Bigtime!

One of the things we've been working on at the Aquarium is getting the voices of the conservation experts who work here out into the internetz. The preeminent Boston news site (boston.com) seems to have noticed our efforts. They have a prominent link to the new Sea of Cortez blog, which is one of the most star-studded blogs we've run.



And, imagine, the team hasn't even gotten to the good stuff yet: diving in the DEEPSEE.