Debut for Whale Singing in New York Harbor

For the first time in waters surrounding New York City, the calls of endangered fin, humpback and North Atlantic right whales have been recorded by scientists with the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in alliance with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The project’s goals are to track the whales’ seasonal migration patterns and provide information to New York state policymakers who develop strategies and management plans to protectthese threatened mammals. Knowing the whales’ travel paths could help safeguard whales from commercial shipping to avoid collisions in New York waters. The study also will characterize New York water’s acoustic environment and examine whether underwater noises, including shipping, affect the whales.

Acoustic monitoring was initiated in spring 2008  with recorders being placed about 13 miles from the New York Harbor entrance and off the shores of Fire Island.  Chris Clark, director of the Bioacoustics Research Program:

Just miles from the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Carnegie Hall, the great whales are singing. These are some of the largest and rarest animals on this planet… It just goes to show us that there are many important and wonderful discoveries to be made about the living world right here, right in our back yards.

The NRDC has a rundown of the threats to whales, including chemical pollutants, fishing gear, loss of food due to climate change, collisions with ships and noise pollution. Scientists estimate that ship collisions might kill as many as 30 whales along the Northeastern seaboard each year.

09.16.08 » Cornell Chronicle: Whales heard for first time in waters around New York City

NRDC On Earth: Whale Songs in the City

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Bioacoustics Research Program at Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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