Slow Down for Whales

Humpback whales are the most common whale seen in New Jersey’s waters. The Atlantic Ocean humpback whale population has been increasing in recent years and they were federally delisted as Endangered in 2016. More humpback whales have been observed overwintering in our nearshore waters, likely due to factors related to climate change, increased food abundance, and improved water quality.  

But all whales face certain challenges along New Jersey’s coast. Those challenges include the potential for vessel strikes, stranding and gear entanglement. NJ Fish & Wildlife, in cooperation with NOAA and its stranding response partners, strives to respond to all whale stranding and mortality events. Completing a necropsy (animal autopsy) is a priority for each stranding to help determine the cause of death. 

If you come across a stranded marine mammal in New Jersey, remain a safe and legal distance from the animal and immediately contact the NOAA Fisheries 24-hour Stranding Hotline at (866) 755-6622 to report its location.

NOAA Fisheries administers vessel speed reduction zones which include both mandatory (Seasonal Management Areas) and voluntary (Slow Zones) speed reduction areas for vessels to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries to critically endangered North Atlantic right whales that result from collisions with vessels. In addition to protecting North Atlantic right whales, Slow Zones provide added protection to all large whales and marine mammals.  

In the Seasonal Management Areas, all vessels 65 feet or longer must travel at 10 knots to reduce the threat of vessel collisions. Voluntary Slow Zones are triggered when 3 or more right whales are recorded in an area. In these areas, all vessels are encouraged to travel less than 10 knots. 

All boaters from Maine to Virginia, or interested parties, can sign up for email or text notifications about the latest Right Whale Slow Zones. 

Fisheries, Sharks and Migratory Species in New Jersey Waters

Fishing for sharks is regulated by the New Jersey and federal regulations. Cooperative conservation partnerships between NOAA Fisheries and New Jersey was formalized by entering into agreements under section 6 of the Endangered Species Act.

Beyond the threatened and endangered species, federal regulations prohibit targeting any prohibited species. That means that anglers must release any prohibited shark immediately, without removing it from the water and in a manner that maximizes its chances of survival.

For example, Sand Tiger Sharks are a prohibited species, therefore posing for pictures on the beach with this species or any other species on the prohibited list would be a violation of federal regulations.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJ DEP) signed a Cooperative Agreement in 2004 which was amended November 7, 2012. establishes and maintains an "adequate and active" program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species.

New Jersey's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

• Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus):
  » New York Bight Distinct Population Segment (DPS)
  » Chesapeake Bay DPS
  » Carolina DPS
  » South Atlantic DPS
• Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
• Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
• Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
• Kemp's ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
• Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
• North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
• Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

Threatened

•  Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus):
  » Gulf of Maine DPS
• Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
• Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)

Additional information on the regulations regarding these species can be found at fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/atlantic-highly-migratory-species

NOAA Considering Listing Atlantic Sturgeon as Endangered or Threatened

In a press release from NOAA's Fisheries Service last week, we learned that NOAA will consider listing Atlantic sturgeon as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The agency received a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council in October 2009 requesting that the species be listed throughout its range.

NOAA has been evaluating the need to list the species since 2007, when a formal status review was completed for the species by a team of biologists from NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That review, which identified five Atlantic sturgeon populations off the U.S. East Coast, found that the most significant threats to the species' continued survival were unintended catch, vessel strikes, poor water quality, lack of regulatory mechanisms for protecting the fish, and dredging.

It also recommended that specific sturgeon populations centered in the New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay and off the Carolinas should be listed, but made no particular recommendation on listing those in the Gulf of Maine and in the Atlantic south of the Carolinas. NOAA is soliciting any new information about the status of these populations that may have been developed since the review was concluded in 2007.

Atlantic sturgeon are large, slow-growing, late-maturing, long-lived, estuary-dependent fish that are born and spawn in fresh water, and spend the majority of their lives in salt water. Historically, their range included most major estuary and river systems from Labrador to Florida. Atlantic sturgeon populations have been found in 35 U.S. rivers, and spawning is believed to occur in at least 20 of these. Historic catch records indicate that these fish were once abundant. The first major U.S. commercial fishery for them developed in the late 19th century, when demand grew for sturgeon caviar. The commercial fishery collapsed in 1901 when landings declined to about 10 percent of the peak.

Catching the fish was prohibited in 1998 by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and it is currently illegal to fish for, catch or keep Atlantic sturgeon from U.S. waters. An endangered species listing would increase protection for the sturgeon by making it illegal to "take" (harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect, or attempt to do those things) the species, in addition to the current prohibition on catching it. Similar prohibitions usually extend to threatened species.