NOAA Marine Mammal Survey Finds Bowhead Numbers Up, 189 Gray Whales Dead On Pacific Coast Thru 7/18
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals project started in 1979 and has created a long-term data set for tracking changes of marine life in the Arctic. For the first time in its history, the 2019 survey will expand into Canadian waters to determine a new abundance estimate of the Western Arctic population of bowhead whales.
Bowhead whales are an endangered species and are a staple of subsistence life for Alaska Native communities. The last abundance estimate of the species estimated the population at 16,820. "If you compare that to the size at the end of commercial whaling which was in the mid 1900s, that population got down to about 1,000 or 3,000 animals," said Megan Ferguson, marine ecologist with NOAA. "So this population has really rebounded just over the course of the last 50 years or so."
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In May, NOAA declared an Unusual Mortality Event after large numbers of gray whales were found dead along the West Coast from Mexico to Alaska. As of July 18, NOAA says 189 dead gray whales have been found on the Pacific Coast, including 28 in Alaska. Experts have previously told Channel 2 News that most whales, especially those that are emaciated, sink when they are dead. That fact, in addition to the thousands of miles of sparsely populated coastline along Alaska suggest that the actual number of dead gray whales is significantly higher.
"The Northeastern Chukchi and the Eastern Chukchi Sea in general is an important feeding area for gray whale, and this year we're taking extra effort to collect data that can inform the unusual mortality event investigation," Ferguson said. "Specifically, we're taking more photographs of live whales as they're foraging, and we're also making sure to take pictures of any gray whale carcasses that we see."
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https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Gray-whale-die-off-bowhead-whale-population-estimate-focal-points-of-annual-NOAA-survey-513270951.html
