A large number of North Atlantic right whales have been seen in
the Gulf of Maine in recent days, leading right whale
researchers at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
to believe they have identified a wintering ground and
potentially a breeding ground for this endangered species. The
NEFSC's aerial survey team saw 44 individual right whales on
December 3 in the Jordan Basin area, located about 70 miles
south of Bar Harbor, Maine. Weather permitting, the team
regularly surveys the waters from Maine to Long Island and
offshore 150 miles to the Hague Line (the U.S.-Canadian border),
an area about 25,000 nautical square miles. "We're excited
because seeing 44 right whales together in the Gulf of Maine is
a record for the winter months, when daily observations of 3 or
5 animals are much more common," said Tim Cole, who heads the
team. "Right whales are baleen whales, and in the winter spend a
lot of time diving for food deep in the water column. Seeing so
many of them at the surface when we are fly