Northern Right Whale protection through location and removal of ghostnets and other marine debris from soft bottom seafloor sites in New England waters. .
Ron Huber, Director
Task Force Atlantis
418 Maine Street
Rockland, Maine 04841 USA
(207) 594-5717 coastwatch@acadia.net
Derek Jones, Director
Canadian Ocean Habitat Protection Society
Box 13, Newellton, Nova Scotia, BOW 1PO Canada
(902) 745-2950 email:
dkpjones@atcon.com
SUMMARY: We propose acquisition and deployment of 3 towed undersea video cameras and 3 "drop" video cameras to facilitate location and removal of accumulations of submerged marine fishing debris from soft bottom and other seafloor habitats known to be within the migratory path of the Northern Right Whale and other benthic-feeding cetaceans and organisms. The cameras will also be used to video-document the existing condition of the benthic environment at specified locations, as well as to carry out an informal census of vertebrates and invertebrates attracted to the cameras by bait and light within those specified areas. Also requested is funding to hire vessels to carry out individual survey trips.
BACKGROUND. The endangered Northern Right Whale is at risk of extinction due to a combination of factors, including but likely not limited to, lethal whaling in the 18th and 19th century and ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements during the 20th century and up to the present.
Following litigation undertaken by Max Strahan and others, and federal enforcement of marine mammal protection laws and endangered species regulations, efforts are now being undertaken to reduce the likelihood of Northern Right Whale death and injury from vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglement. However, little attention has been focused on whether Northern Right Whales and other cetaceans are interacting with with submerged marine debris, or "ghost nets", on the sea floor
Right whales, like humpback whales and other 'baleen' whales, are filter feeders. While faster swimming humpback whales commonly include herring and other more quickly moving prey in their diets, slower moving Northern Right Whales are limited to zooplankton in the water column and to benthic organisms filtered from mud scraped from soft bottom seafloors, such as are found in Cape Cod Bay, Nantucket Shoals, Bay of Fundy, and elsewhere in the Gulf of Maine and the Atlantic continental shelf region that fall within the northern Right Whales' migratory range.
PROPOSED ACTION: Recent research by NOAA in Hawaii has shown that marine debris tends to concentrate in certain locations, due to prevailing gear usages, currents, tides and seafloor topography. We propose to acquire 3 TOVs (Towed undersea video cameras) and 3 "drop cameras" to facilitate location and removal of accumulations of submerged marine fishing debris from soft bottom seafloor habitats known to be within the migratory path of the Northern Right Whale in the Gulf of Maine, and hard-bottom habitats used by groundfish and lobsters
TOWED VIDEO SEARCH. Under this proposal, a towed video system, such as the J. W. Fishers TOV-1, will be deployed over the side of a vessel, lowered to the bottom and then towed along pre-determined search areas within the Northern Right Whale migratory paths in areas with soft bottom habitats.
Ghostnet location proposal page 2 of 3
The torpedo-shaped TOV- 1 uses the boat's propulsion to move it through the water at a depth determined by the towing vessel's speed and guidance from the onboard video observer. High powered lights and a down-looking video camera give a 50 to 70 degree wide viewing area.
Using this system large areas can be searched and video taped while underway; the TOV runs' coordinates are plotted and time & GPS location-stamped by the onboard monitor observer . The locations of marine debris are noted, either while underway or after the runs, when the tapes are reviewed.
TOV Price: the JW Fishers TOV-1 is $4,295 for the standard model; options, such as a color camera, would increase the price. Most TOV's are within that price range.
DROP VIDEO SEARCH For areas where the locations of ghostnets and other marine debris are already noted, "drop cameras" will be deployed from vessels A typical drop video camera is the SDC Company's underwater video drop camera which comes in black and white and color video configurations. Price: Color $1450 + shipping. Black and white $950 + shipping. Most Drop videos are within that price range.
MARINE DEBRIS REMOVAL The most time consuming part of the process is locating the marine debris. Once this has been done, there are both public and private sector projects underway to carry out the debris removals.
NOAA, US Coast Guard and Waste Management Inc, have recently developed a removal process for use in Hawaiian waters. Under that process, the located marine debris is removed by the Coast Guard, which deploys divers from a buoy tender to attach grapples to the debris. Winched aboard the buoy tender, the debris is examined by researchers onboard, then deposited in WMI's custom designed ghostnet dumpster and taken ashore for landfill disposal.
The Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association has recently received a grant to remove marine debris from locations in Cape Cod Bay.
The acquisition and deployment of the above described undersea video equipment would greatly assist in the location and removal of marine debris from the seafloor. Removal of such debris will enhance the ability of northern right whales and other marine mammals to carry out benthic feeding, and will also improve seafloor habitats for other benthic marine life that lives on or in the benthic area.
Coastal Waters Project, a program of the 501(c)(3) non government organization Northern Appalachian Restoration Project, would own and operate one of the above TOV's and two of the drop videos.
Ghost net location proposal page 3 of 3
The second TOV and remaining two drop videos would be owned and operated by the Canadian Ocean Habitat Protection Society, a community-based NGO located on Cape Sable Island off the southern tip of Nova Scotia. The equipment would be made available, on a case by case basis, for other marine habitat inspection efforts within the waters off New England and Atlantic Canada.
In the summer of 1999, our two organizations carried out a joint examination of the seafloor off Cape Sable Island, using a remotely operated underwater vehicle. Due to swift currents, the vehicle had to be housed in a stabilizing cage. See still pictures from videos taken during that expedition at:
http://cohps.atlantisforce.org/galleries.html
Projected Budget $70,000
For more information contact:
Ron Huber, Director
Task Force Atlantis
418 Maine Street
Rockland Maine 04841
(207) 594-5717 coastwatch@acadia.net
Derek Jones, Director
Canadian Ocean Habitat Protection Society
Box 13, Newellton, Nova Scotia, BOW 1PO Canada
(902) 745-2950 email:
dkpjones@atcon.com