Picture an esteemed town council, if you will, except that instead of a gathering of the wisest members of the community, it's a sea of rare whales as far as the eye can see.
No one knows when the meeting will end, but everyone involved has to be protected until it's over.
The Massachusetts Environmental Police said Friday that 60 to 70 North Atlantic Right whales were in lower Cape Cod Bay right at that moment. That gathering is important because the latest estimates say there are fewer than 350 of this species left on the planet.
The Right whale as a whole has been battered by ship collisions, fishing nets, and separation between moms and calves because of shipping traffic.
To keep the precious whales safe, two Massachusetts Environmental Police patrol vessels and an Army Corp of Engineers vessel are on site to make sure ships pass the area without injuring an animal.
Oceanographers say the Right whales are important because they help keep the ocean floor clean. They got their name because whalers viewed them as the “right” whales to hunt due because they floated after dying, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- and that meant they were hunted nearly to extinction.
One of the whales in the current gathering is entangled in a net and the situation is being closely monitored. The Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) team has been working to free the whale since last Wednesday, although MAER Director Scott Landry confirmed to Bostom.com that #4545 was still entangled as of Sunday evening. She has a long piece of rope caught in her mouth, Boston.com reported.
Right whales are known to travel alone or in small groups and migrate seasonally to feed and mate in the spring, summer, and into fall, experts said. They can mostly be found in the waters near New England and further north into Canada.
