MRC's North Atlantic Right Whale Conservation Program: Right Whales Detected off Georgia

Visit our Program webpage for current information about
the North Atlantic Right Whale Program.

The Marine Resources Council's Right Whale Monitoring Program was established in 1995 to reduce human impacts to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Citizens on the east coast of Florida report land‑based sightings of right whales to our hotline (1‑888‑97‑WHALE). This information is passed on to local ship traffic to avoid ship strikes, which account for over one‑third of documented right whale deaths in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Right Whales Detected off Georgia

As more of an effort is being made to detect right whales through passive acoustics, the results are paying off. Until today, the furthest south a right whale was confirmed was a single female off South Carolina on Nov. 22nd. However, this morning an alert was sent to mariners stating that right whales have been acoustically detected off the coast of Georgia, southeast of Savannah about roughly 11 miles offshore! They're on their way! The aerial survey teams in south Georgia and north Florida have started their surveys. We'll be on standby to see what they find!