At second look, Monica questioned her initial assumption. The whale was rolled up on its side, yet there was no visible wound. The red-tinged water around the whale’s belly and tail flukes was breaking up quickly due to the turbulence of the white water created by the thrashing. Somehow, the whale’s movement seemed more rhythmic and purposeful than just a spasmodic reaction to great pain. Then the whale dropped below the water’s surface. Three and a half minutes had passed since Monica had first spotted the lone whale. Suddenly, the whale resurfaced without any thrashing. An object about one quarter the length of the adult appeared alongside it. There was no longer just one whale but two – a mother and her newly born calf!

The drama associated with invigorating new life was not yet over. The approximately twelve-foot, one ton calf was listless, and its tail flukes appeared to be curled under. The mother again dipped from the surface and when she reappeared the calf was draped limply over her back. The calf then rolled off its mother’s back and began to swim. Over the next fifteen minutes, the calf stayed within a half body’s length of its mother making frequent body contact and rolling. A few times, the pair surfaced with the calf positioned near its mother’s flippers, which is where nursing would take place. The water was too murky to observe any actual suckling, but the crew was encouraged. After twenty minutes, the plane needed to move on.

Despite thousands of hours of flights to monitor right whales in their calving grounds off the coasts of Georgia and northern Florida, no human had ever seen the birth of a North Atlantic right whale, the most endangered large whale in the Atlantic. In a population of less than 400, every new right whale calf is a cause for celebration in the effort to battle their extinction. Beyond the trauma of giving birth, motherhood in the world of right whales is highly demanding and requires a maternal dedication that is awe-inspiring.

Here are a few of the facts:

• Late each autumn, pregnant females swim over 1000 miles from New England waters to their calving grounds near the Florida/Georgia border. The maternal strategy to have newborn calves with little blubber enter the world in the much warmer waters to the south.
• Right whale mothers essentially fast for four months while they are at the calving grounds and on the migration each way. Once out of New England waters, their preferred food of animal plankton is too low in density to make feeding worthwhile.
• Calves are still hungry and must nurse on their near cottage cheese-like milk of their mothers to gain the hundreds of pounds that they gain weekly. Scientists postulate that over the course of the late pregnancy and a year of nursing, right whale mothers can lose 10 – 30% of their average 50 ton weight or anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds.

Later photo analysis by New England Aquarium researcher Heather Pettis revealed that the mother was called “Cat’s Paw”, a namesake for a small white scar that the whale has on its shoulder.

The photos were taken in the winter of 2005 and have just been published in the scientific journal Aquatic Mammals. The delay in the release to the mass media is an unfortunate necessity for scientists who must first publish in academic venues.

If you have ever been accused of having an overactive imagination or are secretly a turtle nerd, we know that many members of the public do see turtles in their everyday lives. To give that turtle talent an outlet, the Aquarium is running an online photo contest for your unorthodox images of the lovable reptiles. The winner and two friends will have the opportunity to meet and feed Myrtle, the Aquarium’s 560-pound green sea turtle. This up-close encounter will be part of a special behind-the-scenes tour of how the Aquarium cares for both its resident and rescued sea turtles. Two runners-up will receive four packs of tickets to both the Aquarium and the Simons IMAX Theatre.

The contest is part of new program being launched for December school vacation called “Turtles Uncovered – Get Beneath the Shell.” The program highlights the Aquarium’s outstanding collection of sea turtles from its 250-pound loggerhead sea turtles to its vitally important rescue work with hypothermic sea turtles found on Cape Cod.

The ad campaign also includes online video animations that feature iconic wintry images of a snowman, cup of cocoa, and snow-covered car morphing into sea turtles. To view all of the print and video images, visit the Mullen website.

The Aquarium’s winter marketing effort is the creation of Mullen, the Boston-based advertising agency. The visually clever and engaging turtle campaign is in the same spirit as Mullen’s work promoting the Aquarium’s shark program earlier this year. This past summer, Boston taxis were topped with shark fins, print ads showed shark teeth adorning the Hatch Shell, and there was even an online video of a shark following a Duck Boat down the freshwater Charles River.

“The campaign creates an element of surprise around the familiar and likeable sea turtle,” said Drayton Martin, senior vice president and group account director at Mullen. “We’re trying to get people to pause a moment and think that there may be more to learn about these popular and intriguing sea creatures. We want them to smile when they see the ads and consider a trip to the Aquarium to view the turtles in new and different ways.”

“Mullen’s ‘Where do you see turtles’ campaign is eye-catching and engaging. Their creative is just brilliant,” said Jane Wolfson, the Aquarium’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “We are excited to use this advertising campaign as another way to connect Bostonians and visitors to the Aquarium’s efforts to make sea life part of all of our daily lives.”

The Aquarium will accept submissions of “turtle” photographs through January 9th.

On Dec. 9, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will mandate that ships slow down to 10 knots within 20 miles of East Coast ports during the season when right whales are migrating to and from the calving grounds in the southeast U.S. With fewer than 400 remaining, North Atlantic right whales are considered among the most endangered large whale species in the world. Since 2001, 12 right whales have been struck and killed by vessels along the Atlantic coast. Right whales are particularly vulnerable to vessel strikes as they are slow swimming and spend much time near the water’s surface. This regulation will impose seasonal speed restrictions throughout the right whale’s range from the Gulf of Maine to Florida.

For the last 10 years, the New England Aquarium’s North Atlantic right whale team and other protection groups have been working with the federal government to pass this mandatory speed limit despite concerns from the shipping industry and resistance from the Bush administration.

“At long last, the ocean is going to be a little bit safer for right whales – cause for celebration amongst the many of us who have worked for the past decade to see this rule enacted,” said Amy Knowlton of the Aquarium’s right whale research team.

“The passage of the ship strike reduction rule is the culmination of years of dedicated work by a variety of groups – scientists, policy experts, conservationists, state and federal governments, and the shipping industry itself and is based on solid scientific data,” Knowlton said.

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.

“We’re really excited about this,” said Kerry Lagueux, an associate scientist for the Aquarium’s research department and a geographer who uses mapping technology to help identify potential conflicts between right whales, ships, and fishing gear entanglements.

Aquarium researchers are using Automatic Identification System technology, a transmitter system that sends data from vessels to a receiver they carry on their survey plane. This system has enabled researchers in the Southeast to collect data on ship speeds, vessel types, and port destinations in order to evaluate how vessels have responded to right whale information in the past. It will now be used to monitor their actions in response to this new regulation.

Right whales’ primary calving grounds are in and the nearshore waters of Georgia and northern Florida from Dec. to March each year. The first sighting of a mother and calf this year was earlier – in late November about six miles off Hilton Head Island, S.C. Other pairs were sighted last week in Georgia and Florida.

New England Aquarium and participating Right Whale Consortium scientists have created the world’s most extensive data base of all of known right whales. Accessible to the public via the Aquarium website, the catalog of over 45,000 photographed sightings allows scientists to identify whales by their callosities – or roughened skin patches on top of their head and to also monitor the level of vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements. Scientists can then track their whereabouts, births, death and other information.

The catalog includes photos from three aerial survey teams which sweep calving grounds in coastal waters along Florida and Georgia from December to March. The Aquarium scientists work closely with NOAA, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and Georgia and Florida state environmental officials to protect and monitor whales along the Southeast coast.

In August and September, Aquarium scientists conduct vessel surveys in the feeding and nursing area of Canada’s Bay of Fundy to take photos and collect skin samples from the whales which give them genetic identification such as genotype, sex, potential paternity, and genetic ability to respond to disease.

With changes made to shipping lanes in Canada, Aquarium scientists are also seeing progress in protecting whales. This new vessel strike rule takes it one step further.

“To think that right whales will be able to migrate along the coast and avoid the now slow moving, oncoming ships that they come across routinely gives me tremendous hope that we are one step closer to giving this species a chance of avoiding extinction,” Knowlton said.

In early July, a guest diver lost his wedding ring while petting a 560-pound sea turtle named Myrtle. Bob Pirrmann, associate creative director with Boston-area ad agency Mullen and a certified recreational diver, was enjoying a rare public dive in the Aquarium’s famous Caribbean coral reef exhibit. Filled with giant sea turtles, large sharks, electric green moray eels and more than 700 other marine creatures, the Aquarium’s Giant Ocean Tank is a biologically rich and dense space.

Pirrmann was a part of a group of Mullen staff taking part in an Aquarium launch celebration for the summer exhibit “Sharks & Rays.” Mullen had created an award-winning marketing campaign for the new exhibit that playfully inserted iconic images of sharks among classic Boston landmarks. Some images included a shark fin peeking from the water behind a rowing shell on the freshwater Charles River, shark teeth decorating the arch of the Hatch Shell amphitheater, and a brass shark fin added to the end of the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Gardens.

Pirrmann initially assumed his ring was lost forever. Aquarium assistant curator Dan Laughlin notified the Aquarium’s divers about the missing gold band and thought it might be found during routine cleaning procedures throughout the massive space. Three months passed, and Pirrmann even purchased another ring.

This past Sunday, Mike Whyte, a part-time diver for the Aquarium since 2001, was vacuuming food debris from several inches of sand near the bottom of the tank. As he worked through some delicate finger corals, he noticed an unusual shape. Divers are used to finding shark teeth or even items sometimes dropped by visitors, such as baby pacifiers. Whyte first thought the round object was a coin. Upon closer inspection, the Attleboro resident thought, “Ooooh, I know what this is!” He put the band on his own finger, finished his cleaning dive and returned the ring to Laughlin. Whyte also noted the irony that the cherished wedding ring had settled among the finger corals.

The innovative, new space will be called the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center in honor of a lead gift of over $3 million from the Boston-based foundation which has a strong focus on children. The grand opening is scheduled for next summer so as to coincide with and celebrate the Aquarium’s 40th anniversary.

As the Aquarium’s newest signature exhibit, the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center is designed to provide up-close visitor interaction with at least two species from the pinniped family. That includes seals and sea lions. The exhibit will most likely open with northern fur seals and will later include California sea lions. The open air but covered exhibit space will feature shallow pools and large decks where Aquarium visitors will be able to meet these impressive and very popular animals face to face. Young visitors will learn how the Aquarium’s marine mammal trainers help keep the seals and sea lions healthy through exercise, a sound diet, play and good hygiene, including brushing their teeth.

Engaging children and motivating them to become and stay fit is also one of the principal goals of the new exhibit. Ongoing programs called the New Balance Foundation “Get Your Feet Wet” programs will promote childhood fitness and activity by connecting kids to some of the most charismatic and athletic animals in the natural world.

“The New Balance Foundation is committed to encouraging childhood fitness and activity, and there is no better way to connect children to nature and the outdoors than through animals,” said Anne Davis, Managing Trustee of the New Balance Foundation. “Our partnership with the New England Aquarium through the new marine mammal center will help kids get moving and active through exposure to some of the most engaging sea creatures on the planet.”

The ten month construction project is confined to the back of the Aquarium and will have no impact on visitors’ experiences during that time. Along with the construction of the marine mammal center, the entire harbor-side plaza is being rebuilt. The publicly accessible Harborwalk on Central Wharf’s perimeter will be elevated and resurfaced. Several small utility buildings have been relocated to open up the public space and create great new views of Boston Harbor. Pedestrians will also be able to peek into the marine mammal exhibit through the glass walls that will surround the new center.

Aquarium President Bud Ris noted, “The New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center is an exciting and strong next step in the implementation of the Aquarium’s strategic action plan. We are rebuilding the Aquarium. This past winter, we completely renovated our spectacular penguin exhibit, and the new marine mammal center will provide visitors a unique and meaningful experience. Visionary community partners like the New Balance Foundation have been instrumental in helping us shape the next generations of healthy kids and a healthy planet.”

About the New Balance Foundation

The New Balance Foundation is a charitable foundation established in 1981 and funded by New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. The Foundation’s mission is to support effective charitable organizations which perform humanitarian services for the betterment of our children and our local community.

About the New England Aquarium

Located on the Boston waterfront, the New England Aquarium is one of the most prominent and popular aquariums in the United States. Hosting more than 1.3 million visitors each year, the Aquarium is a leading ocean conservation organization with research scientists working around the globe yet is also a major public education resource in New England.

Such leadership and generosity were not exercised by a global superpower or an affluent developed country but by the tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati (pronounced Keer -a- boss). With less than 100,000 people and with most of their land less than six meters above sea level, Kiribati is likely to have the world’s first global climate change refugees. Kiribati is located about halfway between Hawaii and Australia.

This oceanic international park was nearly a decade in the making in partnership with the New England Aquarium of Boston. Dr. Greg Stone first suggested the idea of a marine protected area to the Kiribati government in the late 1990’s and has helped guide the development of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) since 2000. Kiribati and the Aquarium developed PIPA over several years of joint scientific research with funding and technical assistance from Conservation International.

In the early 1980’s, Benchley wrote the bestseller, The Girl of the Sea of Cortez, which is the lyrical tale of a young woman who has a special love and unique understanding of the ocean. Each day, the protagonist paddled her boat into the open sea, anchored over a submerged volcano, and dove in the rich waters above a seamount. Over time, she learned a mythical secret.

Expedition leader Greg Stone, who had been a close friend of the author for decades, clearly remembers Benchley’s inspiration for the book after he had returned from a diving trip to the Sea of Cortez. “Peter was so enthused about what he had seen. The marine life was overwhelming. He had even hitched a ride on a giant manta ray. The entire experience became the basis for The Girl of the Sea of Cortez, which was really a fable and a dramatic literary departure for Peter. But it was his favorite of all the books that he had written. On that voyage, he really touched the ocean in an intimate way.”

A quarter century later, Stone is returning as a scientist to the literary inspiration of Benchley’s novel. But in a poignant closing of one of life’s circles, Stone has invited Benchley’s widow, Wendy, to join the expedition. Science does not often meet the arts, but the coincidence of leading an ocean expedition to the remote site and inspiration for a great friend’s novel was too much for Stone to ignore. Since her husband’s death, Wendy has been active furthering her husband’s legacy as an ardent ocean conservationist, particularly for sharks.

From September 11 to 17th, the expedition will explore and document the rich diversity of marine life of the El Bajo Seamount located between the Baja Peninsula and the Mexican mainland. Expedition members will use a small research submarine that can dive to 1500 feet to investigate the little-known deep water life along the steep sides of these underwater mountains. Divers will also closely examine the seamount’s summit which rises to just sixty feet below the water’s surface.

Seamounts are ecologically vital habitats where the whole web of ocean life seems to converge. For marine scientists, seamounts are biodiversity hotspots. In the open ocean, a seamount can be an oasis of rich, unique and complex marine life. They have not been extensively studied and are facing greater human exploitation.

Much of the Sea of Cortez is remote and rich with marine life. Pacific grey whales use it as a winter nursery for their calves. Hammerhead sharks gather there in huge numbers. The foundation for the area’s rich food web are sardines and anchovies. They attract giant schools of tuna and all kinds of sport fish that have set many world records.

The Sea of Cortez has a haunting beauty that has long intoxicated its human visitors. Before Benchley’s novel, John Steinbeck cruised its waters in 1940 and wrote the popular A Log from the Sea of Cortez. The expedition’s members hope to have a similar literary inspiration and hope to post daily on an expedition blog that will be available at www.neaq.org.

Also on the expedition will be Brian Skerry of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, who is one of the most accomplished underwater photographers in the world. Skerry will capture the images while Stone will write the narrative for a future National Geographic article on the ocean’s underwater mountains.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) conserves one of the Earth’s last intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, consisting of eight coral atolls and two submerged reef systems in a nearly uninhabited region of abundant marine and bird life. The 410,500-square-kilometer (158,453-square-mile) protected area also includes underwater mountains and other deep-sea habitat.

Kiribati first declared the creation of PIPA at the 2006 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Brazil. On Jan. 30, 2008, Kiribati adopted formal regulations for PIPA that more than doubled the original size to make it the largest marine protected area on Earth.

Kiribati and the New England Aquarium (NEAq) developed PIPA over several years of joint scientific research, with funding and technical assistance from Conservation International’s (CI) Global Conservation Fund and Pacific Islands Program. The CI support for PIPA is part of the Coral Reef Initiative in the South Pacific (CRISP).

“Kiribati has taken an inspirational step in increasing the size of PIPA well beyond the original eight atolls and globally important seabird, fish and coral reef communities,” said Greg Stone, the NEAq vice-president of global marine programs. “The new boundary includes extensive seamount and deep sea habitat, tuna spawning grounds, and as yet unsurveyed submerged reef systems.”

Located near the equator in the Central Pacific between Hawaii and Fiji, the Phoenix Islands form an archipelago several hundred miles long. They are part of the Republic of Kiribati, which comprises three distinct island groups (Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands and Line Islands) with a total of 33 islands to make it the largest atoll nation in the world.
“The creation of this amazing marine protected area by a small island nation in the Pacific represents a commitment of historic proportions; and all of this by a country that is under serious threat from sea-level rise attributed to global warming,” said CI President Russell A. Mittermeier. “The Republic of Kiribati has now set a standard for other countries in the Pacific and elsewhere in the world. We are proud to be associated with this effort that helps the people of Kiribati, and we call on governments and private conservation groups everywhere to support Kiribati in its efforts and make similar commitments to protect their own natural systems.”

The Phoenix Islands were featured in a major article in National Geographic in February 2004.

Three NEAq-led research expeditions since 2000 found great marine biodiversity, including more than 120 species of coral and 520 species of fish, some new to science. Some of the most important seabird nesting populations in the Pacific, as well as healthy fish populations and the presence of sea turtles and other species, demonstrated the pristine nature of the area and its importance as a migration route.

Protecting the Phoenix Islands means restricting commercial fishing in the area, resulting in a loss of revenue that the Kiribati government would normally receive from issuing foreign commercial fishing licenses. NEAq and CI are helping Kiribati design an endowment system that will cover the core recurring management costs of PIPA and compensate the government for the foregone commercial fishing license revenues. The plan allows for subsistence fishing by resident communities and other sustainable economic development in designated zones of the protected area.

Keeping oceans and marine ecosystems intact and healthy allows them to better resist the impacts of climate change and continue their natural role of sequestering atmospheric carbon that causes global warming.