#whale week

[noaasanctuaries]

We’re splashing our way into Whale Week 2020! 🐋🐳🐬

National marine sanctuaries work closely with NOAA Fisheries and other partners to ensure the conservation of all whales protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Stay tuned this week to brush up on your whale facts! This beautiful humpback whale was seen swimming underwater in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. 

(Photo: Ed Lyman/NOAA under NOAA Permit #14682) 

[Image description: Humpback whale underwater]

[oceanblogger]

3 Dolphins that inhabit Hawaiian waters

(A Bottlenose dolphin leaps out of the water)

Spinner, Bottlenose & Spotted dolphins are typically seen in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian islands. 

Spinner dolphins are small and have long beaks. They often “spin” when they leap out of the water.

Spotted dolphins have a white tipped beak and their color has a spotted pattern when they are adults. 

Bottlenose dolphins are larger than the other two dolphins above, have a thick beak and are all gray in color. 

[noaasanctuaries]

It's the International Day of Women & Girls In Science AND it's Whale Week!

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar Vanessa ZoBell combines the best of both of these things. A Ph.D. student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, ZoBell uses acoustic monitoring to understand whether slower ships improve whale communication in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. 

(Photo courtesy of Vanessa ZoBell) 

[Image description: ZoBell crouching in front of a hydrophone on a boat.]

[noaasanctuaries]

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most critically endangered populations of large whales in the world -- there are likely only about 450 left in the wild.

Each year, right whales travel to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to feed, and give birth to young in the warm waters near Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary. To protect these whales, we're working closely with NOAA Fisheries and other partners to reduce human impacts, like collisions with vessels and entanglements in fishing gear. You can help protect right whales, too, by supporting your regional stranding network and by working to reduce marine debris!

This right whale is known as Scoop. He's an adult male who was first sighted in 1982 and has fathered at least 3 calves. Here, he's feeding near Atlantic white-sided dolphins -- images like these give a sense of just how big whales like Scoop are! 

(Photo: Allison Henry/NOAA, under MMPA Permit #17335)

[noaasanctuaries]

"ROAR!! Just kidding, I'm a whale." 

Although humpback whales are large, they only feed on krill and small fish. Photographer Douglas Croft snapped this photo of a humpback whale taking a big gulp of anchovies! Humpback whales and other whales flock to the nutrient-rich waters of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to feed. By winter, most humpback whales leave the sanctuary for warmer waters in Mexico, but some juveniles and non-breeding adults stick around a little longer to take advantage of the over-whale-mingly large feast.

(Photo: Douglas Croft)

[noaasanctuaries]

This Valentine's Day, show your love for the ocean by working to reduce marine debris! 

One of the biggest risks to humpback whales and other whales is entanglement by fishing gear and other debris. Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary leads the Hawaiian Islands Disentanglement Network, a community-based network that works to locate entangled whales and free them. In March 2017, the team removed more than 500 feet of electrical cable from this whale! 

You can help protect whales like this one by disposing of waste properly and participating in beach cleanups near you. Less trash in the ocean means less risks to these magnificent whales! 

(Photo: Ed Lyman/NOAA, under MMHSRP Permit #18786)

[noaasanctuaries]

When is a whale not a whale? 

When it's a whale shark! 

While whales are mammals, whale sharks are actually fish, named for their vast size. Like some whales, they are also filter feeders, chowing down on plankton. During the summer months, whale shares travel to Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico to find this favorite food. 

(Photo: Kevin Lino/NOAA)

[noaasanctuaries]

We're continuing to leap through Whale Week with these Pacific white-sided dolphins! 

For fifteen years, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and Point Blue Conservation Science have been collaborating to understand how whales, dolphins, and other marine creatures use sanctuary habitats. Data from the Applied California Current Ecosystem Studies (ACCESS) have been used to help ensure the safety of these wonderful animals. For example, sanctuary managers use the data to reduce the overlap of whales and ships transiting to and from the ports of San Francisco Bay. 

(Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS)