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Right whale deaths may far exceed estimates

BOSTON - Nearly twice as many right whales may be dying each year than researchers have previously estimated, and marine scientists called for emergency action to help prevent humans from accidentally killing the rare animal.

In an article published in the journal Science, researchers estimated that deaths of North Atlantic right whales may be underreported by as much as 83 percent annually. Only 350 of the animals are believed to exist.

There isn't time for proposed protections to slog through the federal rulemaking process, said Amy Knowlton, a New England Aquarium researcher and one of the article's 18 authors.

"We can't wait to deal with a bureaucratic maze," Knowlton said.

Federal regulators say emergency rules could be put in place six months earlier than the normal 18- to 24-month process but would not be permanent and would not save much time, since the final rules are close to completion. Rules also could do more harm than good without proper review and public comment, officials say.

The estimate of unreported whale deaths is based on a population model that considers the known death rates of male, female and juvenile right whales. Scientists don't presume a whale dead until it hasn't been seen for six years.

The Science article, citing the Endangered Species Act, called for emergency rules to protect against ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements, the two primary ways that humans kill right whales.

Proposed rules include slowing down ships in whale-heavy areas and reducing the amount of floating fishing line in the water. Gear and voluntary speed restrictions are already in place, but the new rules would significantly broaden requirements and improve their effectiveness, advocates say.

[Last modified July 24, 2005, 00:50:06]