News from Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National tellwagen … · 2017-07-26 · News from Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Winter 2008/2009 ... Gerry E.

News from Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Winter 2008/2009

The Endangered “Wolf”?

SSBanknotesBanknotestellwagentellwagen

• Wolffish Petition Filed ......................p.2

• Draft Management Plan Response ........p.3

• Currents: Sanctuary News ......p.4

• Tuna Gear Hooks Whales.........p.5

• Whale Tag Update ...p.6

• In Memoriam:Albert Avellar .........p.7

• History of Eastern Rig Draggers...........p.8

• Fishing for Marine Debris..................p.10

• Mola molaInvestigations .......p.11

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PublicationsTo obtain free copies of the sanctuarypublications, Stellwagen Banknotes (1-2times per year) and Stellwagen Soundings(summer only), please contact the sanc-tuary via phone at 781-545-8026, ext.201, by fax at 781-545-8036 or by e-mail at [email protected]. If youwould prefer to receive the publicationselectronically, please forward that inter-est and your e-mail address via any ofthe previously mentioned avenues.Please let us know if you would like us toforward your contact information on tothe sanctuary friends’ group StellwagenAlive and to the national nonprofit Na-tional Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Thesanctuary protects all personal informationand will not distribute contact dataoutside of NOAA.

Sanctuary StaffCraig MacDonald, Ph.D. Sanctuary SuperintendentBenjamin Cowie-Haskell Deputy SuperintendentDanielle Cholewiak, Ph.D. Postdoctoral ResearcherAlan Collette Program Support SpecialistRuthetta Halbower Office AssistantLeila Hatch, Ph.D. Marine EcologistMatthew Lawrence Maritime ArchaeologistDeborah Marx Maritime ArchaeologistAnne Smrcina Education CoordinatorElizabeth Stokes Administrative AssistantMichael Thompson GIS/Web SpecialistDavid Waldrip Operations CoordinatorBob Wallace Research Vessel CaptainNathalie Ward, Ph.D. External Affairs CoordinatorDavid Wiley, Ph.D. Research Coordinator

Currents

Address: Gerry E. StuddsStellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary 175 Edward Foster Road Scituate, MA 02066

Telephone: 781-545-8026

Fax: 781-545-8036

General e-mail: [email protected]

Web Site: http://stellwagen.noaa.gov

Stellwagen Banknotes EditorAnne Smrcina

STELLWAGEN

BANKNOTES

Winter

2008 - 2009

Currents

Two wolffish peerout from their den.

Photo Credit:Jonathan Bird, courtesy of CLF

Cover Photo Credit: Wolffish in the sanctuary by Peter Auster and Paul DonaldsonNational Undersea Research Center-UConn

The question may not truly be “who’s afraid of” but “should we be afraid for” the big,bad wolffish. This fearsome-looking creature, with large teeth and eel-like body, lurksamong boulders on the seafloor. But widespread destruction of its principal habitatareas, along with years of overharvesting, may threaten this fish with extinction. Arecent scientific petition from the Conservation Law Foundation and others to thefederal government seeks endangered species protection for the Atlantic wolffish. Ifthe petition succeeds, it will lead to the placement of this first New England marinefish on the endangered list.

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary hasgreat interest in this initiative. Not only does thesanctuary provide substantial habitat for thisspecies, but the wolffish’s image has become asymbol for the sanctuary. No sweet, cuddly ani-mal for us – rather, the blue-gray striped, fangedfish that chomps on clams, sea urchins and crabshas become our “poster child.” Historically, char-ter and party boat captains alike have sought thisgroundfish in sanctuary waters, making thewolffish one of the top-10 catches for recreationalfishermen.

Although the wolffish has gained popularity asboth a recreational and commercial catch, this fishhas no directed fishery management plan. Thedramatic decline in commercial landings regionally(95% between 1983 and 2007) has raised redflags. The wolffish was one of seven fish speciesin the sanctuary included on the Species of Con-cern List for the Endangered Species Act (a statusthat does not include conservation strategies). Ifadded to the endangered list, the government mustimplement a plan to protect and restore the speciesand its habitat.

The National Marine Fisheries Service will reviewthe petition, a process that may take more than ayear with periods for public comment. For moreinformation about the CLF petition, visit the orga-nization’s Web site at www.clf.org/wolffish. �

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf(fish)?

Interesting Information:

• Teeth shed and replaced annually;

large conical canine tusks; rounded

back molars; hard plates of rounded

crushing teeth in upper palate and lower

mouth.

• Generally solitary, but forms male-

female pairs in spring.

• Extremely large eggs, prolonged

incubation, and male egg brooding

behavior at nests hidden under rocks

and boulders.

Common Name: Atlantic wolffish

Scientific Name: Anarhichas lupusOther Names: Ocean catfish,

Ocean whitefish

Predators: Humans, gray seal, sea

raven (when small – red hake, cod,

haddock, goosefish, skates, spiny

dogfish)

Prey: Crustaceans (crabs, shrimps),

mollusks (scallops, clams, mussels,

snails), echinoderms (sea urchins,

sea stars, brittle stars, sand dollars)

Size: 1m (1.5m max)

Weight: 18kg (23.58 max)

Length: 98cm (age 22)

Age of Maturity in GOM: 6 years

Lifespan: 20 years or more

Atlantic Wolffish Fast Facts

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Despite a difficultto remember (and spell) name,Stellwagen Bank National MarineSanctuary can lay claim to a ded-icated and vocal band of support-ers and concerned citizens. TheMay release of our draft manage-ment plan attracted great interest,and generated a mountain of re-sponses. More than 24,000 com-ments were received at thesanctuary during the open com-ment period, which stretchedfrom May 6 to October 3, 2008.

Comments came from all 50states, two territories (Puerto Rico,Virgin Islands), and 46 foreign na-tions, including the United King-dom, Dominican Republic,Australia, Serbia, Indonesia, Ja-maica, Netherlands and Brazil. Al-though the greatest concentrationof responses came from Massa-chusetts, several other areasshowed high levels of interest, in-cluding California (where there arefour other national marine sanctu-aries), New York, Florida and

Texas, followed closely by Illinois,Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohioand Washington. Hundreds ofcomments generated in Min-nesota, Arizona and Colorado in-dicate that interest in our nationalmarine sanctuaries and the healthof ocean is not just a coastal issuebut concerns all Americans. Thesanctuary has posted all officialcomments on our Web site,stellwagen.noaa.gov.

Stellwagen Bank National MarineSanctuary staff members are nowreading all of the correspondenceand summarizing the comments.Upon completion of the reviewprocess, the management planteam will refine the plan, incorpo-rating new information and mak-ing changes as needed. OfficialNOAA responses to each identi-fied issue will appear in the finalmanagement plan along with acopy of each comment. Expectedrelease date for the final manage-ment plan is mid-to-late 2009.

Automatic Identification System Adds Right Whale AlertsThe Automatic Identification System (AIS) is in-tended to reduce the risk of collisions betweenships. But recently, sanctuary scientists realizedit could play another important role – whale con-servation. Not only can ship traffic in whale for-aging areas be quantified, but new capabilitiesallow the system to transmit immediate warningnotices to ships about locations of endangeredright whales.

The U.S. Coast Guard, tasked with ensuringvessel safety and national security, has de-ployed the first phase of a nationwide surveil-lance system to monitor the movements ofvessels at sea. AIS relies upon global position-ing systems, shipboard sensors and digitial VHFradio communication equipment. This interna-tionally agreed maritime navigation safety tech-nology allows a quick, voiceless exchange ofnavigation information among vessels andshoreside authorities.

AIS transmits information about a ship, includingname, call sign, type, draft, cargo, destination,and estimated time of arrival. Signals are re-ceived at antennae located along the coast andrelayed to a processing center. The data are

used to develop a detailed real-time view of shiptraffic in the region. Knowing who is out thereand exactly where they are located facilitatescommunication between vessels and helps pre-vent mishaps. The system also heightensawareness of vessels approaching U.S. portsand other sensitive areas.

The sanctuary and the U.S. Coast Guard wereinstrumental in making this system work suc-cessfully in the Boston region by installing an AISsignal tower at our Scituate building, and work-ing with the Cape Cod National Seashore’sProvincelands Visitor Center and Halibut PointState Park in Rockport for similar installations attheir sites. To increase public understanding ofthe system, the sanctuary is developing AIS ex-hibits for both locations.

Successful implementation of AIS in the Massa-chusetts Bay area proved invaluable to thesanctuary by giving us a better understanding ofyear-round vessel use without having to go outon the water. AIS data were also instrumental insupporting the sanctuary’s call for a shift in theBoston shipping lanes to an area with a lowerdensity of whales.

NOAA researchers working with the U.S. CoastGuard discovered that this system could beadapted for another purpose – broadcastingwhale alerts. When endangered right whales are

located by either sight (boat or plane observa-tions) or sound (acoustic buoys in the shippinglanes), immediate notices can be sent to nearbyships via AIS. Vessel captains can then take im-mediate action to post a lookout for the animalsto avoid hitting them. This provides an addedlevel of right whale protection when combinedwith the newly instituted speed zones (see page 4).

CurrentsSanctuary Attracts WidespreadNational Response to Draft Management Plan

Comments Compiled by State

Comments Compiled by Zip Code

Two months of AIS data illustrate the intense ship traffic through the sanctuary. Credit: SBNMS

Credit: SBNMS

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Office Status Conferred onNational Marine Sanctuaries On October 1, the National Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration (NOAA) an-nounced the official status of the nationalmarine sanctuaries as an office within theNational Ocean Service. Elevation from pro-gram to office recognizes the importance ofthe duties being undertaken by this specialpart of NOAA. “Our office is an integral partof NOAA’s mission and in many ways is theface of NOAA in our communities,” said DanBasta, director of the Office of National Ma-rine Sanctuaries. “Since the elevationprocess began eight years ago, the Office ofNational Marine Sanctuaries has becomeaccepted as a world leader in ocean con-servation.”

Sanctuary Joins Team in Developing MassachusettsOcean PlanThe Massachusetts Oceans Act of 2008 re-quires the eecretary of energy and environ-mental affairs to develop a comprehensiveocean management plan by the summer of2009, with final promulgation of that plan bythe end of that year. In an effort to bringknowledge gained from our managementplan review and to convey sanctuary inter-ests in the planning process, the sanctuaryhas become a partner organization.

NOAA Issues Ship Strike Reduction RuleA large portion of Stellwagen Bank NationalMarine Sanctuary is now a posted speedzone during special times of the year. A newmeasure to protect endangered North At-lantic right whales from ship strikes was an-nounced by NOAA on October 8 and wentinto effect December 9, 2008. The regula-tion requires large ships to reduce speedsto 10 knots in areas where this endangeredspecies feeds and reproduces, as well asalong migratory routes in between. Underthe rule, speed restrictions in northern feed-ing grounds are: Cape Cod Bay (which in-cludes the southwestern part of thesanctuary) from January 1 through May 15;off Race Point (which includes a large por-tion of the southern half of the sanctuary in-cluding the Boston shipping lanes) fromMarch 1 through April 30; and the GreatSouth Channel from April 1 through July 31.Speed restrictions for the southern calvinggrounds will run from November 15 throughApril 15, and the mid-Atlantic migratoryroute is covered from November 1 throughApril 30. For more information on the rule,visit the NOAA Fisheries Web site at:www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike.

NOAA Tide Gauge Installedon Sanctuary PierA new solar powered tide gauge was in-stalled on the sanctuary pier in Scituate Har-bor in November. The instrumentdemonstrates NOAA’s interest in more en-

ergy efficient technologies and uses a laserto more precisely measure tide height. Thetidal measurements from this gauge shouldbe of particular interest to local boaters andfishermen, as well as the research commu-nity, educators and coastal landowners. Toaccess this information, visit tidesandcur-rents.noaa.gov.

Tall Ships to Sail throughStellwagen Bank SanctuarySail Boston, the periodic celebration of tallships, occurs in 2009 from July 8-13. Thetall ships will be taking part in the AtlanticChallenge – a trans-Atlantic Ocean regattathat starts in Vigo, Spain, travels to Tenerifein the Canary Islands, on to Hamilton,Bermuda, Charleston, S.C. and thenBoston, Mass. After their Boston stopover,the ships will continue on to Halifax, NovaScotia and finish in Belfast, Northern Ireland.On their passages to and from Boston, theships will be sailing through StellwagenBank National Marine Sanctuary. For moreinformation on Sail Boston, visit their Website at www.sailboston.com.

Sanctuary Partners with ROV CompetitionThis coming year, the New England regionaland international Remotely Operated Vehi-cle (ROV) Competitions will be held at theMassachusetts Maritime Academy, with theStellwagen Bank sanctuary serving as a co-sponsor and sanctuary staff assisting asjudges. The Office of National Marine Sanc-tuaries has partnered with Marine AdvancedTechnology Education Center (MATE), or-ganizer of the competition, since the pro-gram’s inception eight years ago.

Sanctuary Video ReleasedA new five-minute video that covers sanc-tuary history, resources, uses and resourceconservation threats has been posted onthe sanctuary’s Web page atstellwagen.noaa.gov. The video incorpo-rates a wide range of images taken from theair, from ships and underwater. Associatedwith the video is a list of 10 things the pub-lic can do to help protect the sanctuary.

President Cites Sanctuary Research at Smithsonian DedicationWhen President George W. Bush dedicatedthe new Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithson-ian Institution, an important StellwagenBank sanctuary project was publicly recog-nized. “The great achievement, of course,is this new hall,” said the president. “It’sbuilt through a partnership between NOAAand the Smithsonian. It’s going to introducevisitors to all kinds of interesting things.”One of those interesting items is a 45-foot-long replica of a female northern right whale.The model in the museum was inspired by areal whale that had gotten entangled in fish-ing gear, but worked herself free. She wasgiven the name of “Phoenix” for her abilityto rise from adversity. In speaking about

other federal actions to protect whales likeher, the president said, “Based on a carefulstudy of where right whales and ships aremost likely to collide, we’ve rerouted theshipping lanes near Boston Harbor. The ac-tion reduced the danger to right whales likethe Phoenix by nearly 60 percent.” Thatstudy was initiated and led by the sanctu-ary’s research coordinator Dr. David Wiley,in collaboration with the NOAA FisheriesService, NOAA Office of General Counsel,several whale research organizations andthe U.S. Coast Guard

Sister Sanctuary Whale Watch Workshop In 2005, a sister sanctuary arrangement wasestablished to protect endangered hump-back whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in theNorth Atlantic. This is the first conservationmanagement action worldwide to protect anendangered migratory marine mammalspecies on both ends of its range – in itsnorthern feeding and nursery grounds inStellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuaryand its southern mating and calving groundsin the Marine Mammal Sanctuary of theDominican Republic. Based on years ofsightings, the two sanctuaries shareapproximately 900 individual hump-back whaless.

In 2007, a sister sanctuary workshop devel-oped a plan to enhance an ecosystem-based approach to cooperative sanctuarymanagement through capacity building, re-search, monitoring and education. One ac-tion resulting from that plan is a sistersanctuary whale watch Workshop to be heldin the Dominican Republic during June2009. Discussion topics will include bestpractices for the industry, needed scientificresearch, and innovative outreach and edu-cation, which can improve our understand-ing of humpback whale migration, habitatuse, behavior and human impacts. Formore information about the workshop, con-tact the sanctuary or check our Web site atstellwagen.noaa.gov.

Massasoit Community College Partnership ContinuesA special survey course on marine technol-ogy and careers, offered by Massasoit Com-munity College’s Marine Technology andTechnician Series and taught by sanctuarystaff for six weeks in September and Octo-ber, will be offered again this coming fall.The mini-course, offered free of charge,gave perspectives on present trends and fu-ture directions in marine research, monitor-ing and exploration. Staff discussed variouscareer opportunities and levels of trainingand education needed to successfully enterthe job market. Sessions were held at thesanctuary’s meeting annex in Scituate.Contact the sanctuary or Massasoit Com-munity College at 508-588-9100 ext. 1509(phone), www.massasoit.mass.edu (email)for more information.

Currents

5

HarassmentHarassment

Tuna Gear Hooks Whales Instead of FishEvery summer, fishermen travel to thesanctuary in search of the big fish; unfor-tunately they sometimes catch more thanthey bargained for. Instead of giantbluefin tuna, they have been hooking aneven larger animal – the humpback whale,which is an endangered species.

The sanctuary, NOAA’s Office for Law En-forcement (OLE) and the National MarineFisheries Service Northeast Regional Of-fice have been receiving an increasingnumber of reports of tuna fishing gearhooked on whales and tuna boats trollingthrough active whale feeding areas.Some of these events have been docu-mented with disturbing photographs.One such incident in 2007 was observedby hundreds of whale watchers, many ofwhom called the whale disentanglementhotline, overwhelming the system withcomplaints. In 2008, OLE was notifiedabout 12 incidents, three of which wentforward to prosecution.

“With the increase in small to mid-sizetuna over the last two years in the sanc-tuary, I’m not surprised interactions be-tween tuna fishermen and whales arealso increasing. I believe the majority ofhook-ups are accidental and no one feelsmore regret than the fisherman himself.That said, I believe more efforts to in-crease awareness among the tuna fleetfishing the sanctuary are in order,” saidBarry Gibson, recreational fishing repre-sentative on the sanctuary advisorycouncil.

By targeting humpbacks, which feed onthe same prey as bluefin tuna (generallyschooling sand lance and herring), thefishermen may be placing themselves injeopardy of prosecution under severallaws. All whales, dolphins and porpoisesin the sanctuary are federally protectedby the Marine Mammal Protection Act,and most large whales in the area are fur-ther protected under the EndangeredSpecies Act. Under these acts, it is ille-gal to “harass, hunt, capture or kill” anymarine mammal. Prohibited conduct in-cludes any “negligent or intentional actwhich results in the disturbing or molest-ing of marine mammals,” such as castingover the back of a whale or trollingthrough a bubble net or bubble cloud.

Direct violations of the Marine MammalProtection Act can be assessed maxi-mum penalties of $20,000 and one yearin jail. Tuna boats are not consideredfishing vessels with restricted maneuver-ability, an exemption that can apply totrawlers and gillnetters that enter whaleclose approach zones.

To decrease the number of incidents ofwhale harassment and hooking by tunafishing gear, the sanctuary, OLE and Fish-eries will develop an awareness cam-paign through notices in fishing andboating magazines, bait and tackleshops, and boater education programs.To report fishery law violations sevendays a week, 24 hours a day, anywherein the U.S., call 1-800-853-1964. �

Photos courtesy of Regina Asmutais-Silvia, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

Tips for Fishing and Boating Near Whales • See a Spout, Watch Out.

• Avoid Troubles, Steer Clear of Bubbles.

• Don’t Chase, Give the Whales Space.

For more tips and additional information, visit thesanctuary’s See A Spout education page on our Web site at stellwagen.noaa.gov/education.

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Tag Team Update

With 16 tagged whales and 97 hours of data, 2008 turnedout to be a very successful year for the whale tagging proj-ect. To accomplish these achievements, the sanctuaryled an impressive slate of research partners, includingDuke, Harvard, Penn State, University of New Hampshire,Whale Center of New England, Woods Hole Oceano-graphic Institution and the National Marine Fisheries Serv-ice. Each group aided sanctuary scientists by providingspecialized technical expertise, from tag engineering tosoftware programming and whale identification.

Using the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster as the mother ship al-lowed the sanctuary’s 50-foot research vessel Auk to ded-icate its time to mapping schools of prey fish in proximityto the tagged whales. In addition the Auk was used assupport for the tag boats, which are inflatables able tomake close approaches to the individual whales.

“One of this year’s special accomplishments was taggingmultiple animals in the same foraging group to investigatecooperative feeding,” said Dr. David Wiley, the sanctuary’sresearch coordinator and lead scientist for the project.The team was able to apply tags to two sets of pairedwhales – Colt and Isthmus, as well as Falcon and Han-cock. Scientists will be studying the underwater tracks

and vocalizations ofthese whales to bet-ter understand howwhales work togetherto catch prey.

“One other fact thatbecame glaringly ap-parent is that our whales spend about 60% oftheir time in the zone that would make themvulnerable to ship strikes,” noted Wiley. The re-searchers find that the greatest dangers are inthe top 15 meters (50 feet).

A related whale research project includes theinstallation of an array of acoustic buoys, or lis-tening posts, that span the sanctuary. Everythree months the pop-up buoys are swappedout and the data downloaded. This archive ofnatural and man-made noises may also assistscientists to better understand whale behaviorand help managers develop appropriate con-servation measures. “Our ultimate goal is totag whales within our acoustic array and see ifthese linked data sets can give us a more com-plete picture of how whales react to noise intheir environment,” said Wiley.

Media interest in the sanctuary’s research pro-gram continues to grow, with a number ofnewspapers covering the story. Two prominentconservation journals recently used photosfrom sanctuary research projects on their cov-ers. During the first week of February 2009,National Geographic’s “Wild Chronicles” tele-vision series will air an episode focused on thetagging project (check local PBS listings fordays and time). �

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster served as thebase of operations during the tagging research project. All photos on this page taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit #775-1875. Photo Credits: SBNMS

A non-invasive suction cup tag is placed on a humpback whale.

Sanctuary researcher Michael Thompsonobserves feeding humpback whales during a tagging mission.

Whales Tagged in 2008

Humpbacks• Cajun

• Cardhu • Colt

• Etch-A-Sketch • Falcon

• Hancock • Isthmus • Lavalier

• Milkweed • Moray

• Nile • Pepper • Perseid • Tectonic • Venom

One Unnamed Fin Whale

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The Whale WatcherAlbert Avellar,

Father of East Coast Whale Watching

This story was researched

and written by students of

the Boston University

Graduate Program in

Science Journalism

and sanctuary staff.

His shaven head, stern eyes and barrel chestmade him a perfect stereotype of a sailor andcaptain, and his ready laughter and unassum-ing manner made him an amiable host forpassengers on his vessel. From the youngage of 17- when he bought his first sailingvessel- to well into his 70s, Al Avellar relied onthe ocean to earn a living. On November 3,2008, at the age of 90, the father of EastCoast whale watching passed away, leaving afamily and a company that continue the tradi-tions he established.

“I grew up in Provincetown right here on CapeCod. I grew up during a tough period of theDepression, and I didn’t have a college edu-cation. I graduated from high school withoutwork and ended up being self-employed inthe boating business,” said Avellar, the manresponsible for founding East Coast whalewatching and owner of one of the most suc-cessful whale watching businesses onCape Cod.

Before starting his whale watching companyin 1975, Avellar owned a small sports fishingoperation in Provincetown, Mass. Even then.avid sports fishermen would take pause togander at a passing whale. Yet, Avellar knewthat frugal tourists in the 1960s would not payfor a ticket to see whales swimming by, since

few people even realized there were whales inthese waters.

“During the fishing trips, my passengerswould get all excited to see a whale,” Avellarremembered during an interview with a sanc-tuary intern a few years ago. “And when theygot off the boat, they would say, ‘Thanks cap-tain for showing us that whale.’ But theywould never buy a ticket to see a whale; it wasjust a bonus." According to Avellar, theknowledge of the proximity of whales did notattract tourists at first, but what sparkedinterest was the growth of environmentalconsciousness.

“It was in 1974 that you first started readingabout the rivers being dirty, about pollution,about how horrible the environment was andwhat a heck of a mess we were in. Peo-ple are becoming what I call mini-environ-mentalists,” Avellar said, “and they werebecoming aware of possible future extinc-tions, including whales. I said to myself,‘Geez, what a time to go. I’ve got the boat todo it, and it won’t cost me a nickel.’ I wantedto save whales.”

Whale watching actually began as right whalewatching, Avellar said. The right whale canreach a length of over 50 feet and a weight of50-70 tons, looking somewhat like a legless

hippopotamus with a severe case of acne.From the 1400s (and the early Basquewhalers), these marine mammals were merci-lessly hunted until the 1930s, when the inter-national community banned the killing of thisspecies. But, despite years of protection, thepopulation still stands at just under 400 indi-viduals, and their struggle is far from over.With a slow reproductive rate and a suscepti-bility to human-caused mortality due to shipstrikes and entanglement in fixed fishing gear,scientists fear that the population is growingslowly, if at all. Vessels, including whalewatching boats, are restricted under federaland Massachusetts law from approachingwithin 500 yards of a right whale, which, inci-dentally, does not provide much of a view.But in the early days, Avellar said , it was thisrare whale that people most wished to see on awhale watch.

“People wanted to see the right whales, butthere were so few of them. But we did findplenty of finback whales. We always sawfinners. I’d want to say the finback whale isthe ‘right’ whale. When you’re in the businesswe are, believe me, we’re so thankful to seeany whale. So I could very easily understandwhy the finback whale was the ‘right’ whale ifthere’re no right whales out there,” Avellarsaid with a roaring guffaw. “But I never did that.”

continued on page 8

Credit: SBNMS

Credit: Avellar fam

ily and

Provincetown Banner

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On April 15, 1975, Avellar, along with marine biologist Charles“Stormy” Mayo from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies,left Provincetown port with his first group of whale watchers, a boat-load of school children. Worried that he would not find any whales,he offered a case of beer as reward to any boater or fisherman whotold him the location of a whale. A half-mile out of port, he immedi-ately spotted a 60-foot finback whale named Oscar.

After an unbearably long three hours of following Oscar, a thirsty fish-erman informed him of a number of right whales on the southwestcorner of Stellwagen Bank. “We got out there, and to this day I claimthat there were 60 right whales,” Avellar said. His first official whalewatch was an unqualified success.

“At the beginning I only did it for a month, from the 15th of April to the15th of May. I was trying to save whales; I wasn’t trying to makemoney. My boat wasn’t doing anything else, so that was the perfecttime to take people out whale watching. And then, after awhile, I saw that we could try to save the whales and make moneydoing it, too.”

Even though Avellar recognized that whale watching could developinto a business, he still had an obstacle to overcome: a skepticalpublic doubted his ability to find a nearly extinct whale in the expan-sive ocean.

Avellar recalled: “Some guy read an article about us in the newspa-per and called one of the museums here in Massachusetts. Heasked, ‘What’s this about some boat down there on the Cape thatwill take you whale watching. Is it some kind of scam?’ The peopleat the museum said, ‘There aren’t any whales in Cape Cod Bay.’

“Well this guy, fortunately, didn’t stop there. He wasn’t so sure thatthese guys knew what they were talking about. So, he calls WoodsHole and talked to Bill Watkins. And that’s why I know the story at all,because Bill informed me. Bill told him, ‘Of course there are. Wetake the boat one day a week for research, and there are whales inCape Cod Bay. This guy’s doing a heck of a service.’ [Editor’s note:William Watkins, oceanographer emeritus at the Woods HoleOceanographic Institution, was a world-renowned specialist in marinemammal bioacoustics who passed away at the age of 78 in 2004. Hewas one of Avellar’s early whale watch charter customers.] So the guy, whoever it was, probably came on the boat.

“And you know what happens before that season is out?” Avellarasked with an ear-to-ear grin. “That museum began going out withme on trips! They got together a group and chartered my boat eachseason during those first few years.”

Avellar’s company, called the Dolphin Fleet of Provincetown, has ex-panded to three boats, specially designed for whale watching, andhas recorded its 33rd anniversary in the business. His son AaronAvellar ran the company for several years until his passing in 2000,and his stepson Steve Milliken, a sanctuary council member, is nowthe owner/operator. Over 150,000 people go on these whale watch-ing tours every year along with numerous whale researchers whohave been allowed to use these vessels for their observations. Thisyear, the Dolphin Fleet hosted interns from the Marine Mammal Sanctu-ary of the Dominican Republic, the sister sanctuary to Stellwagen Bank.

Commercially, whale watching has succeeded as an economic ven-ture in Massachusetts, but it has done more than that. Avellar and theDolphin Fleet set a trend of educating the public about whales, andthe industry he sparked has engendered broad public support for ef-forts to preserve and protect these great creatures.

“From the standpoint of sensitizing people to the fact that these arewonderful animals, in that sense, whale watching has helped to savethe whale,” noted Bill Watkins from his Woods Hole office severalyears ago. The millions of passengers over the years who have beenable to meet these leviathans up close have become a strong voicefor marine conservation efforts, including work that led to the desig-nation of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. �

The colonization and growth of North America was madepossible, in part, by the success of the fishing industryand the stalwart individuals who toiled at sea. New Eng-land fishermen embodied the resourcefulness, self-as-surance and tenacity of the New World, developing acultural identity that remains today. Fishermen and theirvessels have become American icons – symbols of na-tional pride over 300 years. The simple shallops of thePilgrims segued into the fishing schooners that plied theGrand Banks and Georges Bank. However, the last 100-years saw the greatest change in fishing technology sinceEuropeans arrived on the North American continent.

As the American fishing schooner reached its zenith dur-ing the first decades of the twentieth century, technolog-ical advances in gasoline and diesel engines remade NewEngland’s fisheries. The modification of wind-poweredschooners into engine-powered vessels occurred quicklybetween 1910 and 1930. Likewise, the introduction ofthe otter trawl to New England revolutionized fishingpractices. Ultimately, the packaging of these technolo-gies into the cost effective eastern rig dragger exponen-tially increased its impact.

The first eastern rig draggers were hybrid vessels that in-corporated the advancing technology into older hullforms. Ever frugal, many New England fishermenadapted their dory trawling schooners to otter trawl tech-nology. As opportunity arose, fishermen purchased ves-sels that had been specifically designed for the newtechnology – true eastern rig draggers. This new vesselconstituted a compromise between speed, cargo capac-ity, seaworthiness and towing power. As the hull form,

Eastern Rig Draggers:Icon of the New EnglandFishing Fleet

continued from page 7

Built in 1946, the Little Sandra isone of the last eastern rig draggersstill actively fishing the sanctuary’swaters as a side trawler.

power plant, fishing machinery and electron-ics were refined, eastern rig draggers be-came increasingly durable and seaworthy,resulting in greater vessel efficiency andcrew safety.

The eastern rig dragger is categorized as awooden-hulled, engine-powered fishing ves-sel that deploys, tows and recovers an ottertrawl net or dredge over the starboard or portside. A single structure at the vessel’s sterncontains the wheelhouse, captain’s bunk andbelow deck engineering space. The vessel’strawl winch is positioned between the wheelhouse and the fish hold hatch at amidships.

Once the concept of the eastern rig draggertook hold in New England, naval architectsand shipbuilders began a process of refiningthe vessels and scaling them to the desires oftheir owners. This process resulted in drag-gers that ranged in size from 40 feet to 120feet long with various bow and stern designs.Dragger design was plain, practical and func-tional. New England’s centers of eastern rigdragger construction were Essex County,Mass., and mid-coast Maine, with buildingsites found in well established shipyards andin fishermen’s backyards. The most prolificbuilders were Harvey F. Gamage of Bristol,Maine; Newbert and Wallace of Thomaston,Maine; and Dana Story of Essex, Mass. His-torical records indicate that over 500 woodeneastern rig draggers were built or convertedfrom schooners in New England between1919 and 1984.

The eastern rig dragger played a critical rolein demonstrating the efficiency and efficacyof the diesel engine and otter trawl. Easternrig draggers from ports surrounding thesanctuary such as Provincetown, Boston andGloucester supplied a bulk product that rev-olutionized how Americans purchased fish.The industrialization of fishing facilitated bythe increased efficiency of the eastern rigdragger led to factory-style processing andpackaging of a food that had previously beenhandled by fishmongers and their customerson a decentralized basis.

Today, approximately 14 eastern rig draggersare still actively fishing or afloat in New Eng-land. In nearly all cases, the fishing permitsassociated with the draggers have greatermonetary value than the vessels themselves.As these aged vessels sink or are scrapped,New England loses a part of its cultural her-itage. Currently, the Evelina M. Goulart at theEssex Shipbuilding Museum and the Roannat Mystic Seaport are the only eastern rigdraggers held in museum collections.

Archaeologists have located and investi-gated four eastern rig dragger shipwrecks inStellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.Preservation status varies between sites, withone vessel almost completely intact and sit-

ting upright on the seafloor, and another ex-isting as fragments of lower hull and durablemachinery. The shipwrecks encompass thevariety of sizes and hull styles that developed

over the decades. Historically reported ves-sel losses in Massachusetts Bay indicate thatover fifty eastern rig draggers sank within thesanctuary or its immediate vicinity. �

When sanctuary archaeologists investigated a shipwreck with the National Undersea Re-search Center at the University of Connecticut, they found the lower hull structure of an ap-proximately 100-foot-long wooden vessel. A large trawl winch and gallows frames indicatedthat the vessel was an eastern rig dragger. At the stern of the vessel connected to its pro-peller shaft was a large eight-cylinder Fairbanks-Morse model diesel engine. Archaeologistscompared the observed features and location of the archaeological site to the historicalrecord and determined that the vessel was likely the Joffre, designed by renowned naval ar-chitect Thomas F. McManus.

Arthur D. Story of Essex,Mass. launched the auxiliaryfishing schooner Joffre in1918. Originally built for themackerel seine fishery, theJoffre spent most of its work-ing life dory trawling for had-dock and halibut. In 1939, itsnew captain, Simon Theriault,converted the 105-foot-longJoffre into an eastern rig drag-ger to participate in the rap-idly developing Acadianredfish fishery.

After a routine 10-day fishingtrip to the offshore banks ofNova Scotia, the Joffre’s en-gine caught fire as it was re-turning to Gloucester, Mass.,on August 9, 1947. The firequickly engulfed the wheelhouse and engine spaces forcing the 10-man crew to abandonship into dories. Despite efforts to quench the blaze and tow the vessel to port, the Joffresank the next morning.

During its 29-year career, the Joffre’s crews landed over 15 million pounds of fish. The ves-sel serves as an archetypal example of the transition from sail to diesel power and the mech-anization of the industry. Individuals interested in walking the decks of a vessel similar tothe Joffre can visit the schooner L. A. Dunton at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Conn. Arthur D.Story built the L. A. Dunton in 1921 using the Joffre’s plans.

The Joffre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 16, 2009.

Case Study: Jof fre

Photo Credit: Atlantic Fisherman November 1943, Maine Maritime Museum

The end of the Joffre’s trawl winch has a gypsy head, which was usedto help handle the lines. Credit: NOAA/SBNMS and NURC-UConn

9

Maritime Heritage

10

There’s an unlikely catch being targeted byfishermen in the sanctuary lately - marine de-bris, particularly derelict fishing gear. A deckfull of battered lobster pots or tangled nettingmay not hold the cachet or economic value ofa school of cod or a giant bluefin tuna, butthese catches are significant. By removingmarine debris, fishermen are “greening” ourblue ocean world and making the sanctuary asafer place for marine life, fishermen and otherindividuals who use these waters.

Several marine debris programs are now un-derway in and around the sanctuary. Thesanctuary’s Sea Debris Initiative had its originsin 2007, when a Scituate fisherman, Frank Mi-rarchi, enlisted the sanctuary to help with theproblem of retrieval of ghost fishing gear. Cut-ting away the debris took valuable time awayfrom limited fishing hours, and, to make mat-ters worse, there was nowhere to dispose ofthe debris, other than throwing it back into thewater, creating a potential hazard for otherfishermen and marine life.

With funding from NOAA’s Marine Debris Pro-gram, sanctuary deputy superintendent BenCowie-Haskell initiated a pilot project that re-imburses commercial fishermen for their timein retrieving ghost gear and arranges for itsdisposal on shore. “This was a win-win situa-tion for all parties,” said Cowie-Haskell. “Not

only is the sanctuary being cleaned up, butparticipating fishermen are reducing their riskof lost fishing time or injury from derelictfishing gear.”

The Sea Debris Initiative is now active in Scit-uate and Provincetown, with fisherman DaveHaley serving as the Scituate coordinator ofthe project and Owen Nichols of the Province-town Center for Coastal Studies filling the co-ordinator role in his town. Commercialfishermen Frank Mirarchi of Scituate and LouisRibas of Provincetown are participating in theon-the-water marine debris removal efforts.

Converging with the sanctuary’s efforts was arecycling effort developed by Covanta EnergyCorp. entitled “Fishing for Energy.” The com-pany, in partnership with NOAA, the NationalFish and Wildlife Foundation and SchnitzerSteel Industries, provides cost-free dumpstersat key fishing ports.

On October 24, the project partners dedicatedthe newest recycling bin to the network onProvincetown’s MacMillan Wharf. Sevenother sites have been established by Covanta,including Scituate and New Bedford. The old,derelict or unusable fishing gear deposited inthese dumpsters is taken to the SchnitzerSteel facility in Johnston, R.I., where it isshredded and then transported to Covanta’selectricity-producing SEMASS Energy-from-Waste facility in Wareham, Mass. “This dump-ster is absolutely critical to breaking that trendof throwing gear overboard,” said Cowie-Haskell at the dumpster installation inProvincetown. “Old fishing gear doesn’t haveto be a problem, it can now be convertedinto energy.” �

Divers surfaceafter a shipwreckinvestigation.

Credit: MassGIS

Marine Debris

Fishermen Targetan Unlikely Catch

Cod swim in and aroundderelict fishing gear which threatens sea

life for years.Credit: SBNMS

Frank Mirarchi (left) and Ben Cowie-Haskell view derelict gear collected from the sanctuary. Credit: SBNMS.

Fishermen can now deposit derelict gear in a Covantarecycling bin on Provincetown’s MacMillian Wharf.Credit: SBNMS

SanctuarySweepStellwagen Sweep is a twoyear effort to reduce theamount of marine debris inthe sanctuary. The cooper-ative effort, organized by Stellwagen Alive,Friends of the National Marine Sanctuary, enliststhe efforts of the commercial fishing community,the Gloucester Harbormaster and Department ofPublic Works, the Mass. Division of MarineFisheries and the National Fish and WildlifeFoundation. For more information, visitwww.stellwagenalive.org

11

Very little is known about the ocean sunfish(scientific name Mola mola), even though it isthe heaviest bony fish in the world (with atop weight of one ton). Typically, ocean sun-fish that strand along the New England coastmeasure six to seven feet in length andweigh close to 700 pounds. Although thisspecies of fish prefers tropical or temperatewaters, it migrates into our cold and pro-ductive waters in the summer and fall to feedon jellyfish, ctenophores and other gelati-nous animals. But, just like our local sea tur-tles, ocean sunfish begin to strand (founddead or dying on shore) once the watertemperature drops below 50 degrees F.

The ocean sunfish’s unusual appearancemakes it easy to recognize. One large dor-sal fin and one large anal fin protrude from around, laterally flattened body. It has whatappears to be a shortened or truncated cau-dal (or tail) fin, but scientists have discoveredthat the ocean sunfish tail is really an exten-sion of the dorsal and anal fins. This struc-ture is called the clavus, and it appears toserve as a rudder. The dorsal and anal finsprovide most of the propulsion.

Observations in Stellwagen Bank NationalMarine Sanctuary and elsewhere along theNew England coast indicate that this fishspends a lot of time on its side at the sur-face, often drifting with the currents. Thisbody placement exposes the greatestamount of surface area to the sun, possiblyserving as a warming mechanism (“thermal

recharging”) in a cold-water environment,but also may make the animals more sus-ceptible to being struck by boats. The large,sail-like dorsal fin rises up out of the waterin a skulling motion, helping the animal moveslowly along the surface. In some sightings,ocean sunfish have appeared to becomemore alert when boats approached, rightingthemselves and even swimming over to in-vestigate the newcomers. Sanctuary diversbecame the study subjects of an ocean sun-fish on Stellwagen Bank. Despite their un-gainly appearance, these animals are goodswimmers, and some have been observedbreaching or jumping out of the water.

In addition to the damages noted in this ar-ticle’s introduction, the necropsies revealedthe following findings. The first of the fallocean sunfish necropsies was performed ona female that stranded at Linnell Landing inBrewster. This fish was close to seven feetin length and appeared to be in good healthas very few internal parasites were foundand the skin was over five centimeters thick.A thin layer of rough, dark gray skin sits ontop of a thick layer of connective tissue thatwraps around the entire body of the animal,encasing the internal organs and the muscletissue. One of the necropsy attendantslikened it to a coconut.

The Sagamore Beach stranding was also afemale. An interesting observation fromboth of the female specimens was that eachhad only one ovary. Most fish have two go-

nads – testes or ovaries, based on the ani-mal’s sex. Unusual parasites were collectedfrom this animal’s gills.

The third necropsy occurred at Lieutenant’sIsland in Wellfleet. This animal was almostsix feet in length and its sex was determinedto be male. Its condition was poor due to itsprolonged exposure to the elements (possi-bly several weeks).

The death of any ocean sunfish is an unfor-tunate event, but from adversity comes theopportunity to better study these animals.Necropsies allow scientists to collect tissueand skin samples that can be used for futureanalysis. The public is asked to report sight-ings of live or dead ocean sunfish to NEB-Shark, the New England Basking SharkProject. NEBShark is a community-sightingnetwork for both ocean sunfish and baskingsharks. Go to the NEBShark Web site atwww.nebshark.org to learn more about theprogram and how you can help in the studyof these amazing marine fish. �

This fall, three dead ocean sunfish werefound on Cape Cod area beaches.

The carcasses that washed ashore

were intact, but two ocean sunfish

had cuts through their dorsal fin

and one of these animals also

had body lacerations, indicating

possible vessel collision or fishing

entanglement. Researchers under-

took necropsies, the animal version of

human autopsies, to determine the cause of

death in each case and to learn more about

these mysterious fish, which can occasionally

be observed drifting in the surface waters of

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

(MARINE SCIENCE INVESTIGATION) Article contributed

by Carol “Krill” Carson, NECWA

Common Name: Ocean sunfish

Scientific Name: Mola molaPredators: sharks, bluefin tuna (orcas

and sea lions in the Pacific)

Prey: jellyfish, ctenophores, other gelatinous zoo-

plankton; secondary prey includes squid, sponges,

sea stars, eel grass, crustaceans, larval fish

Size: 6 to 7 feet

Weight: 700 lbs. ( 1 ton max)

Ocean Sunfish Fast Facts

MSI: Mola molaCredit: SBNMS

Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank

National Marine Sanctuary

175 Edward Foster Road

Scituate, Massachusetts 02066

http://stellwagen.noaa.gov

Sanctuary Highlighted in Prestigious JournalsDr. Leila Hatch, the sanctuary’s oceanacoustics specialist, was the lead author for“Characterizing the Relative Contributions ofLarge Vessels to Total Ocean Noise Fields: ACase Study Using the Gerry E. Studds Stell-wagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary,” thecover profile story for the November 2008issue of Environmental Management (Volume 42,No. 5). Sanctuary scientists Michael Thomp-son and Dr. David Wiley were among theseven co-authors on the article, along with staff from NOAA’sNortheast Fisheries Science Center, Cornell University and theUniversity of New Hampshire. The journal’s cover photo showshumpback whales near a large tanker traveling along the shippinglanes that pass through the sanctuary. The authors concluded intheir paper that noise produced by large commercial vessels wasat levels and within frequencies that warrant concern among man-agers regarding the ability of endangered whales to maintainacoustic contact within greater sanctuary waters. The researchmade use of a system of autonomous recording units in the sanc-tuary and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Automatic Identification Sys-tem to simultaneously track ship movements.

Divisions: K-4, 5-8, 9-12, Scientific Illustration, Computer Graphics

Jason OchoaFalmouth High SchoolFirst Place Graphic Arts

Winners from previous marine art contests are pictured here.

Sponsors:Massachusetts Marine EducatorsStellwagen Bank National Marine SanctuaryNew England AquariumStellwagen AliveWhale and DolphinConservation Society

Kate L.Southbrook AcademyFirst Place Grades K-4

2009 Marine

Art ContestGrades K-12

Deadline: April 1, 2009Theme: Amazing Ocean Creatures of

Stellwagen Bank National MarineSanctuary and the Gulf of Maine

Colleen FarrUpper Cape Cod Reg/Tech HSFirst Place Grades 9-12

Emma C.Brown SchoolFirst Place Grades 5-8

For more information, visit the sanctuary Web site at

stellwagen.noaa.gov or contact [email protected]

or call 781-545-8026 ext. 204.

The journal Conservation Biology bestowed asimilar honor on another research paper bythe sanctuary’s science team. This series ofthree photographs of a breaching whale andthe whale tagging team in the sanctuary filledthe cover of the summer 2008 issue ( Volume22, No. 2). The issue featured a contributedpaper entitled, “Effectiveness of VoluntaryConservation Agreements: Case Study ofEndangered Whales and Commercial WhaleWatching.” Lead author of that paper wassanctuary research coordinator Dr. David Wiley; co-authors repre-sented NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Interna-tional Fund for Animal Welfare. The paper reviewed establishedwhale watching guidelines developed by a government-research-industry consortium, and how actual in-the-field operations indi-cate a high degree of non-compliance with these voluntaryapproaches to conservation goals.