IS IT RIGHT?
Did you know that Georgia has an official marine
mammal? That’s right, or, more precisely, it’s
the right whale. This endangered species was
first spotted off the Georgia coast in 1980. The
sighting, by photographers of the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources, led to an
expedition to the area by the New England
Aquarium. A group of Delta Airlines pilots from
Atlanta headed the expedition and confirmed the
area to be a previously unknown calving ground
for the right whale.The right whale’s
encounter with man has led to its population
being decimated almost to extinction. First
there were the whalers, who considered the whale
just right for killing, hence its name. The
whales swam slowly, they didn’t sink when dead,
and their thick fat layer provided a good yield
of oil.
Early in the 20th century, the plight of the
right whale was recognized and the first attempt
to protect it from whalers came from the League
of Nations in 1935.
Protection from whalers wasn’t enough. Slow
swimming whales and fast ships do not, a good
combination, make. Right whales were being
killed in collisions with ships. If the
collisions weren’t bad enough, they were also
becoming entangled in fishing gear, with fatal
results.
If the 20th century saw the right whale
become almost extinct, the 21st century may
witness its comeback. In 2001 there were
thirty-one right whale calves spotted – that’s
the largest number of calves since 1980 when
such record keeping began. 2005 wasn’t exactly a
slack year – by July, twenty eight mother-calf
pairs had been identified.
Man was responsible for the decline of the
right whale; perhaps, man can assist in its
comeback. A small, but promising step was the
1985 resolution of the Georgia General Assembly
that designated the right whale as the official
state marine mammal. |
