NOAA SCIENTISTS LEARN FROM RIGHT WHALE RESCUE ATTEMPT AT SEA

June 27, 2001 — Marine scientists off the coast of Massachusetts have spent the past several weeks attempting a daring rescue of a rare North Atlantic right whale. The 45-foot male was severely injured and entangled in heavy line. Bad weather hampered the rescue attempt. (Click on NOAA image for larger view of injured right whale. Click here for a tiff image, which is a large file at 180 dpi.)

Dr.Teri Rowles, of NOAA Fisheries, who heads the nation's marine mammal health and stranding response program and is the managing vet for the operation, said the whale's injury is worse than first thought. "The wound is deeper and wider. There is a lot more cyamid (whale parasites) coverage in the area, and we felt like the wound was much worse at this point."

(Click here to see video of right whale rescue attempt. You'll need Real Player to view it.)

As a last-ditch effort, the scientists tried something that's never been done before—sedate a 50-ton whale to surgically remove the line. The sedative appeared to have no effect. Scientists were able to cut off excess line and readjust a tracking buoy.

Dr. Rowles said lessons were learned from the rescue attempts. "What we learned that might help whales in the future—and may help us again with this whale—is ways to deliver sedation. We got two shots in, two sedative doses in. Unfortunately, the drug did not have an effect on this animal, so we will go back and look again at the types of drugs that we might use in the future.

Larry Dunn, staff veterinarian at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, said trying to sedate the whale was a very difficult task. "We don't know how much this animal weighs. Everything is a guesstimate at this point. This is the equivalent to going out trying to sedate a dinosaur. We don't know what it weighs, but we know it's awful big."

Fog forced scientists to cut short the day's effort. Everything possible was done to help the whale. Scientists do agree that a wealth of information was gathered—information that will greatly enhance any future efforts.

NOAA scientists estimate there are some 300 right whales left—among the most endangered mammals on the planet—making any future rescues important to the survival of the species.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Fisheries

NOAA's Atlantic Marine Center

Center for Coastal Studies

New England Aquarium

Media Contacts:
Teri Frady, NOAA Fisheries, (508) 495-2239/ (508) 509-5860 or Scott Smullen, NOAA, (202) 482-6090

 

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