6 minute read
Last of the Right Whales
A documentary premiering in Savannah on July 12, at Lucas Theater.
Contributed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Photos provided by HitPlay Productions
Advertisement
The veil separating life and death is borne by all species, yet it is far thinner and more tattered for some than for others. Rarely do we truly perceive the fact that some species are under pressures so great, that the loss of even one individual reverberates with devastating consequences on the population at large. Facing such a tipping point is the North Atlantic Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis, whose ongoing struggle for survival has inspired a breathtaking documentary by award-winning Canadian producer/director Nadine Pequeneza and her team at HitPlay Productions, aptly titled Last of the Right Whales.
The documentary follows the right whale migration across 1,000 miles of critical habitats including coastal Florida, Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence – culminating in 92 minutes of breathtaking cinematography of this elusive, 70-ton right whale, the film’s central character, as well as the people so deeply committed to saving them.
Migrating yearly from their breeding and calving grounds off the coasts of Georgia and Florida to their feeding grounds in coastal New England and Canada, these majestic whales travel through some of the most heavily industrialized ocean in the world. Its population now hovers around 336 individuals, a cataclysmic decline from tens of thousands in the early 1900’s, when originally hunted
Right whale #4615, a five-year-old male, entangled in rope and with visible wounds, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
for their oil-rich blubber during the time of whaling.
Though harpoons are no longer a threat to the species, this population, once rich in abundance, now faces very different humandriven threats a century later, namely entanglement in commercial fishing gear and unintended vessel strikes. Since 2017, a staggering 50 right whales have died or are presumed to have died in U.S. and Canadian waters, necessitating NOAA to declare these elevated mortalities an Unusual Mortality Event (UME). It was these multiple deaths, according to Pequeneza, that grabbed her attention.
“When I started researching this film, I had never heard of a North Atlantic right whale, let alone so many dying, seemingly inexplicably, all at once. When I learned it was us that was unintentionally killing them and that we could change our behavior to prevent those deaths, I had to tell this story.”
To Pequeneza and her team at HitPlay Productions, it was critical to tell this story – not only from the creative lens of a moviemaker – but from the lens of scientists, photographers, rescuers and fishermen – all of whom are collaborating to turn this crisis around. Partnering with key wildlife conservation groups including the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Canadian Wildlife Federation, Canadian Whale Institute, Oceans North, the New England Aquarium, and Oceana, Last of the Right Whales intends to attract an audience far beyond the conservation crowd.
Pequeneza is quick to point out that North Atlantic right whale has faced and surpassed an extinction crisis more than once before. However, both times help has come from man. “The first was when mankind ‘helped’ by banning hunting them in the 1930s and more recently when we slowed ocean traffic and moved shipping lanes in conjunction with the whale migration.”
But it is this third threat which potentially poses the most holistic threat of all – climate change – where warming water temperatures force right whales further north in search of food, putting them on a direct collision course with deadly ships and fishing gear.
According to Kathleen Collins, Marine Campaign Manager for IFAW, “Collisions with right whales are sadly far too common. Right whales are notoriously slow, often swimming just beneath the surface of the water. This makes them very difficult to spot and ultimately increases the probability of a vessel strike. This is why implementing seasonal speed restrictions in critical habitat areas is so important. Just like reducing speed limits on land – we need to do the same on the water.”
Oceana field representative Hermina Glass-Hill emphasized a recent report from Oceana that found that vessels are exceeding speed limits in key areas designed to protect this critically endangered species. This is particularly true in the southeast where noncompliance has become an ongoing problem. This includes noncompliance from both commercial as well as recreational boats. Recently, recreational boater speeding was cited as the cause of death of a few right whale calves. One tool that can help mitigate this issue is to expand the adoption of citizen science apps including Whale Alert www.whalealert.org. The app allows public whale sightings to be submitted which helps alert mariners in real-time and can help establish safer speed zones to further reduce the risks to right whales and other marine mammal species.
The other major threat to North Atlantic right whales, according to both Oceana and IFAW, comes from entanglement in the ropes used in the iconic fisheries of lobstering and crabbing. “Whales are migrating through industrial waterways incredibly dense with these thick, heavy lines. They are in many ways unavoidable. Once that animal becomes entangled, the effects can persist for months or even years. The weight and drag of this type of gear, often upwards of hundreds of pounds, affects the whale’s ability to swim or feed freely and severely impacts their ability to reproduce.”
Collins goes on to add a sobering fact – an alarming 85% of North Atlantic right whales show signs of being entangled at least once in their lifetimes. One solution she points out however, comes from the fishermen themselves – on-demand or “ropeless” fishing gear, an innovative technology that removes the need for vertical lines in the water, except during the moment of active retrieval, therefore dramatically reducing the risk of entanglement.
Regardless of the particular threat involved – from a single collision affecting one animal to an entanglement affecting a mother and calf, to the broader all-encompassing threat of climate change affecting the species. The cross-section of collaborators from scientists to filmmakers to fishermen to policymakers is hell-bent on facing one of the greatest conservation challenges of our time.
“Without a general public aware of the situation facing the species, success will prove elusive,” adds Pequeneza. “This is one of the many reasons I felt so compelled to tell this tale through this film.”
Naturalist and documentarian Cathy J. Sakas, president of the Tybee Island Marine Science Foundation, discovered the first neonate (mammal less than four weeks old) stranded on Little St. Simons Island off the Georgia Coast over 30 years ago in 1981. Ever since, her focus has been to educate about the issues surrounding North Atlantic right whales as they struggle to survive in an ever increasingly hostile environment. According to Sakas, “No one wants to kill a whale, but we all do every day with the choices we make. When we make the best choices for the whales, we make the best choices for all of us.”
Currently, Last of the Right Whales is being shown in various festivals and theatrical screenings across both Canada and the US with an accompanying campaign that includes a coastal tour that follows the actual migration of the whales along the eastern seaboard. These special screening events (locally in Savannah, Ga. at the Lucas Theatre on July 12th) feature expert panels alongside scientists, fishers, mariners, industry stakeholders, as well as policymakers. All this in conjunction with a yearlong impact campaign focused on reducing vessel strikes, reducing gear entanglement and raising public awareness.
“Right whales are magnificent, fascinating creatures," concludes Pequeneza. "There is still so much we don’t know about them. By sharing this film with audiences, we can engage people to help protect these great whales and their habitat so that the few remaining can bring this critically endangered species back from the brink of extinction.”
Surface Active Group of North Atlantic right whales from above.
