.4
Northeastern United States. Right whales occur
seasonally in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays (peak
season: January through April), the Great South
Channel (peak season: April through June), and
Jeffreys Ledge (peak season: July through
mid-December). The first two areas are federally
designated critical habitats for right whales.
Stellwagen Bank (in Massachusetts Bay) and Jeffreys
Ledge are located in the federally designated Gerry
E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
In late winter-early spring, right whales arrive
in Cape Cod Bay. Springtime hydrographic conditions
in Cape Cod Bay concentrate copepods and other
zooplankton in dense patches on which the whales
feed. The majority of right whales leave Cape Cod Bay
by mid-May; however, whales remain throughout the
summer in some years.
In late spring and early summer, right whales in
the Great South Channel east of Cape Cod are found in
the greatest numbers. Hydrographic changes and
circulation pattern result in springtime blooms of
zooplankton, including right whale prey. Right whales
feed both at the surface and at depth depending on
where copepods are concentrated. In many years, right
whales usually congregate in the highest density
concentrations of the copepod on either the eastern
or western side of the Great South Channel.
Right whales generally migrate from the Great
South Channel region in June when copepod levels
decrease and water temperatures increase. Many of the
whales move north to the Bay of Fundy arriving in
mid-June. The remainder are likely scattered
throughout the Gulf of Maine or move onto the eastern
side of the Nova Scotian shelf. By mid-summer most of
the whales are in feeding areas in the lower Bay of
Fundy and on the Scotian Shelf. These areas are used
in early winter when the whales begin to migrate to
winter habitats along the eastern coast including the
southern calving grounds.
.5
Southeastern United States. The coastal waters of
the southeastern United States, especially the
shallow waters between Savannah, Georgia, and Cape
Canaveral, Florida, are right whale calving grounds
in the winter. Peak abundance and calving in this
region is from December through March, but the winter
calving season can begin as early as September and
end as late as mid-April. Mothers and newborn calves
tend to stay in the southeast region until spring
when they migrate northward.
