Whale Gives ‘Warm Welcome’ To Officers Enforcing Their Protection

MASSACHUSETTS — A humpback whale gave Massachusetts Environmental Police officers a “warm welcome” while they were patrolling Stellwagen Bank Monday afternoon, officials wrote in a tweet alongside photos of the encounter.

The sighting came as Massachusetts Environmental Police carried out one of their year-round patrols during which they advise people on the water to use extreme caution, an Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs spokesperson told Patch.

Humpback whales are no longer considered endangered or threatened by the federal government and therefore are not protected by any specific Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries regulations, officials said.

However, since North Atlantic right whales—which are also seen in Massachussetts waters—are considered to be endangered, there are department fishing and vessel regulations in place for their protection, according to officials.

Additionally, the Marine Mammal Protection Act protects all species of whales, making it unlawful to take, injure, or harass any marine mammal in Massachusetts.

Division of Marine Fisheries regulations for the protection of North Atlantic right whales include those which limit participation in commercial fixed-gear fisheries that may entangle right whales, and those which regulate speed for vessels less than 65 feet long during certain times in certain areas, officials said.

They also prohibit vessels from coming within 500 feet of a surfacing right whale, according to officials.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are currently only 366 living North Atlantic right whales. They got their names from early commercial whalers who hunted them to the brink of extinction and dubbed them the “right” whales to hunt because they floated when they were killed, according to NOAA Fisheries.

North Atlantic right whales are now most threatened by entanglement in fishing gear and ship collisions, the World Wildlife Fund added.

These entanglement issues are being addressed by a partnership between The Division of Marine Fisheries, The Center for Coastal Studies, The National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, which operates a 24-hour entanglement reporting hotline and rapid response disentanglement network in Massachusetts, officials said.

“The partial or full removal of entangling gear has direct conservation benefits and reduces the potential for mortality and serious injury outcomes in animals that might otherwise have succumbed to complications from entanglement,” officials told Patch.

For more information about the NOAA guidelines Massachusetts Environmental Protection officers give to boaters when they come in contact with a whale, click here and here.