EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

sufficient quantity, quality and availability to support individual growth, reproduction and
development, as well as overall population growth, and passage conditions to allow for
migration, resting and foraging. Water quality has declined in recent years due to agricultural
run-off, urban development resulting in additional treated water discharge, industrial
development and oil spills. The primary prey of southern residents, salmon, has also declined
due to overfishing and reproductive impairment associated with loss of spawning habitat. The
constant presence of whale-watching vessels and growing anthropogenic noise background has
raised concerns about the health of areas of growth and reproduction as well.
North Atlantic right whale
Description of the species
All North Atlantic right whales compose a single population. Although not all individuals
undergo the same migratory pattern, no subpopulation structuring has been identified.
Distribution
Right whales occur in sub-polar to temperate waters in all major ocean basins in the world, with
a clear migratory pattern of high latitudes in summer and lower latitudes in winter (Cummings
1985, Rice 1998, Perry et al. 1999). The historical range of North Atlantic right whales extended
as far south as Florida and northwestern Africa, and as far north as Labrador, southern
Greenland, Iceland, and Norway (Reeves et al. 1978, Cummings 1985, Rice 1998). Most
sightings in the western North Atlantic are concentrated within five primary habitats or high-use
areas: coastal waters of the southeastern US, Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bays, the Great South
Channel, the Bay of Fundy, and the Scotian Shelf (Winn et al. 1986). In 1994, the first three of
these areas were designated as critical habitat for the North Atlantic right whale.
North Atlantic right whales have been observed from the mid-Atlantic Bight northward through
the Gulf of Maine year-round, but are primarily found along the northeast US during summer
and Florida during winter, with migratory routes in between. In New England, peak abundance
of North Atlantic right whales in feeding areas occurs in Cape Cod Bay beginning in late winter.
In early spring (Late February to April), peak North Atlantic right whale abundance occurs in
Jordan and Wilkinson basins to the Great South Channel (Kenney et al. 1995, Nichols et al.
2008, Pace III and Merrick 2008). In late June and July, North Atlantic right whale distribution
gradually shifts to the northern edge of Georges Bank. In late summer (August) and fall, much
of the population is found in waters in the Bay of Fundy, the western Gulf of Maine and around
Roseway Basin (Winn et al. 1986, Kenney et al. 1995, Kenney et al. 2001, Pace III and Merrick
2008). However, year-to-year variation in space and time are known and likely result from
patchy prey distribution (Nichols et al. 2008). Variation in the abundance and development of
suitable food patches appears to modify the general patterns of movement by reducing peak
numbers, stay durations and specific locales (Brown et al. 2001, Kenney 2001). In particular,
large changes in the typical pattern of food abundance will dramatically change the general
pattern of North Atlantic right whale habitat use (Kenney 2001).
Migration and movement
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