WHALES ARE A BIG CONCERN TO THE NAVY AND NOAA

Aside from hump backs, sie, fin and right whales, the Cuvier’s Beaked Whale is common to the U.S. Eastern seaboard.  However, sightings of Cuvier’s Beaked Whales in the New York Bight are rare.  They are more plentiful further north and east of Montauk where they have been studied by NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer Research vessel last Autumn in the underwater deep exploration of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.   No doubt, the Navy is as concerned about whales as its sister agency.

A NAVY MISSION TO HELP PROTECT MARINE MAMMALS

THE NAVY’S LIVING MARINE RESOURCE IS COMMITTED TO MARINE MAMMAL PRESERVATION

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As the Maine lobster population migrates north into Canadian waters, an alarming five-foot long Lion’s Mane Jellyfish was discovered on a Maine beach earlier this month.   Since 2015, these giants of the Arctic have occasionally appeared along the Maine coastline; however, their dimension has never been as large as the monsters we are seeing today.

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS ON THE LOOKOUT

A researcher connected to the Gulf Of Maine Research Institute, Dr. Nick Record, began to log the unusual sightings during that summer of 2015.  He posted his request to recruit anyone who came upon the Lion manes to enter the data on his Bigelow Lab for Ocean Sciences weblog and send photographs for verification.  Citizen scientists were responsive to his call.

Fast-forward to 2020, Dr. Record was interviewed earlier this week by the local Boston television station to shed light on the dozens of sightings in Maine and around Massachusetts Bay this month.

Admittedly, Dr. Record and his associates cannot offer a valid reason for the unusual jellyfish migration behavior.  He states that there is no good historic data yet to develop predictive models.  Once again, this year, his group needs to track the species everyone is seeing as he builds a library of jellyfish sightings.  Even without data, New England beach-goers overwhelmingly say that climate change is real and it is here.

Craig Gilvarg, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has also weighed in on the world’s largest species of jellyfish, named Cyanea capillata.   He corresponds on their Facebook page, “Their bell-shaped bodies alone can stretch as wide as 8 feet. If they live in plankton-rich waters their tentacles can grow to be as long as blue whales, which often span nearly 90 feet.”

Lion mane jellyfish are abundant and common to the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans.   They are related to coral and anemones, not fish.  Jellyfish are faring better than coral as the oceans become more acetic with climate change.  Lion mane bodies are 98 percent water.  Lion mane jellyfish use their tentacles to capture small fish although their main diet is zooplankton.  This species is thought to be at least 500 million years old that dates them back to dinosaurs.

Lion Mane Jellyfish should not be confused with the Lion Fish.  Lion Fish are not accustomed to cold water climates as they are most commonly found in Cuba and Florida.   Lion Fish are also poisonous with barbs.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) research vessel, Ocean Explorer, has recently conducted science data gathering of the Lion Mane Jellyfish.  In 2019, the crew descended into the deep underwater environs of Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.  Seafloor mapping and exploration will continue this summer.

THE JELLYFISH IMAGE THAT BLEW UP SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter handle UberFacts shared an image of a Lion mane approximately five times the size of a diver next to it on October 25th, 2015.  Within the hour, there were more than two thousand retweets.  The photo caption read, “In 1870, a Lion’s Mane Jellyfish washed up onto Massachusetts bay with tentacles measuring 120 feet (73 meters) making it larger than a blue whale.”  Naturally, it caught the attention of the marine biology community.  It wasn’t long before the Assistant Director of Science for the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Dr. Craig McClain, to write that he knew the picture had been doctored.  He found the same photo without the diver next to it.  Sensationalism won out as the Lion mane is now prominently in the public eye.

HOW DO JELLYFISH MOVE AND MIGRATE

Researchers are collecting data to determine if Jellyfish migration is purposeful or accidental.  The marine scientific community does not offer a genetic or learned mechanism as a reason for jellyfish to move over the ocean like salmon or whales who return to the same location annually to spawn.  Jellyfish commonly float in currents, but they do swim by contracting their bell-shaped body.

Jellyfish models have been the cornerstone of robotic propulsion.  Only recently, a study at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute discovered their propulsion to be extremely efficient as they experimented with jellyfish-inspired robots that could pulsate through the oceans to measure temperature and salinity with limited use of energy.

As of today’s post, only the New England coastline has reported sightings and encounters.  With the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on professional sports, the betting industry might be interested on taking odds on the chances the Lion mane bloom will be coming to New York and New Jersey beaches?

TREATING THE STING OF A LION MANE JELLYFISH

New York and New Jersey ocean enthusiasts have lived with a variety of stinging jellyfish over the past four decades.  Portuguese Man-o-War have visited our shores and thankfully, the Box Jellyfish has not made its appearance to date. “If a beach-goer encounters a lions mane jellyfish, they should move slowly up current and away from the animal to avoid tentacle exposure.” Craig Gilvarg offers. “If stung, flush the tentacles away from the affected area with clean seawater thoroughly and don’t rub the area until the tentacles are gone.”   A sting is extremely painful, but not life-threatening.  There are people who are allergic to the venom, so all should be vigilant.

REPORT YOUR SIGHTING OF A LION’S MANE JELLYFISH

We suggest beach-goers, fishermen, swimmers, boaters and all Citizen Scientists be vigilant and immediately report to your local administrations.  If you like, you can report your discovery of the Lion Mane to Jellyfish.org sighting page.  Sightings along the Gulf of Maine should be reported here to Dr. Record’s page.  You can also contact us here at New York Harbor Channel.

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NYHC was monitoring ship traffic between Norfolk, Virginia and the New York Harbor as the USNS Comfort was making its way north.  We noticed an exorbitant number of ships in the 300 mile region.   Originally, we were entertained by the various support vessels that accompanied the hospital ship as it passed under the Verrazzano Bridge.  The colorful McAllister tugs, N.Y.P.D. Police boats, Welcome craft and Media boats were ever-present.  New Yorkers were in a celebratory mood with its’ arrival.

The U.S. Coast Guard Command Station, that regulates the flow of traffic into and out of the port of New York and New Jersey, establishes mandatory speed restrictions when whales frequent shipping lanes.  All members of the Sandy Hook Pilots Association adhere to the law.   However, on Monday morning, many additional craft filled the approach to welcome, support, and gawk at USNS Comfort.  The day was uplifting as the arrival of the Hospital ship painted a bright spot to the metropolitan New York area.  New York Harbor Channel was also caught up in the celebration as we feverishly produced articles and interviews of the event.  The hospital ship arrival was the news of the day.   USNS Comfort’s slow procession and arrival went flawlessly without a hitch.

New York Harbor Channel also regularly monitors the ocean mammal readings generated by the Melville Buoy that detects the presence of whales in the New York Bight.  Sadly, in the midst of an uplifting moment of hope for New York City, NYHC learned of the news of the beached whale just the next day.

The buoy readings are continuously monitored, recorded, and displayed through resources at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.  Without notice or alarm, the Melville Buoy detected no whale activity in the New York Bight.  Notice the void on March 30th here on this chart.

No one reacted.  There is no way of knowing when a ship strike occurs especially if the captain does not report it and/or if the whale is not tagged.  The U.S.C.G. reported spotting the whale floating nine miles off shore Monday night.  A New York State Environmental Conservation police officer found himself at the Far Rockaway Jacob Riis State Park beach on Tuesday morning, March 31st.  The call was for a beached whale.

NYHC spoke to Rachel Bosworth of Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) of Hampton Bays, N.Y. by phone yesterday.  AMCS is the local whale response organization and has been involved with dozens of whale standings or deaths along the south coast of Long Island from Montauk to the New York Bight.  Normally, they help coordinate extensive investigations in these matters; however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and New York State’s ‘stay at home” policy, the usual necropsy and investigation has been scratched for this incident.   The 2-5 year old, 28 foot Humpback whale quickly buried yesterday.

Although it cannot be officially stated or confirmed, once again, this whale death is suspected to be a result of a vessel strike.  Strikes are the number one cause of death along the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Paul Sieswerda’s organization, Gotham Whale, catalogs the whales who frequent the New York Bight.    On happier days, Paul’s associates are frequently out on the water on Far Rockaway’s Whale Watching boat, American Princess, identifying old friends or discovering new ones.  Today, we pause to think of the tragedy as Paul Sieswerda said, “although all of the nation is working through a pandemic, the world still turns and the perils of normal life continue for whales and we humans..”

AMCS frequently would ask one special member of the Shinnecock Nation to offer the customary Whale Memorial Ceremony.  But again, due to the Covid-19 situation, Shane Weeks was absent from today’s Far Rockaway beach burial.  If you are interested in taking a moment to hear the Indian chant for yourself in a moment of silence, you can observe it in our story that NYHC wrote less than a year ago for a beaching in the Hamptons.

There is little captains can do if they are unaware of Ship strikes; however, it is their responsibility to report such incidents so new laws and new technologies might save unsuspecting whales who get caught and confused by the noise of these ships.

Whales are returning to New York waters in ever growing numbers.  New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is also supporting efforts to ensure the health and success of its’ Rockaway Artificial Reef.  The reef’s main purpose is to repopulate this area to attract fish and crustaceans.  Ultimately, this means the return of the whale species that previously fed along the entire length of Long Island more than a century ago.

Let’s take pause to also remember the lives lost of our ocean mammal giants who are once again making New York waters their temporary home as they stop-off in the New York Bight during their north south migrations between Canada and the Caribbean.

As our unknown Humpback is now buried under the sand of Jacob Riis National Park, perhaps we might ask those in charge of data records to attach a name alongside the number.   It would be nice to give a name to this youngster who lost its life way too soon.

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