Minimizing Vessel Strikes to Endangered Right Whales: A Crash Course in Conservation Science and Policy November 23, 2009

The North Atlantic right whale is considered one of the most endangered of all large whales: Only about 400 individuals remain. Species recovery is, in part, contingent on reducing vessel-strike mortality. Dr. Moira Brown will explain how our science-based conservation program resulted in two implementations specifically designed to minimize the risk of lethal vessel strikes of right whales without unduly compromising vessel navigation and safety.

Moira Brown is a senior scientist in the Edgerton Research Lab at the New England Aquarium. She was a co-chair of the Canadian North Atlantic Right Whale Implementation Team and lead author on the Canadian Recovery Strategy for North Atlantic Right whales in Atlantic Canadian waters. Her research interests include population biology, genetics and demographic studies of right whales. Her conservation work is most recently focused on the issue of right whales and ship collisions in Canadian waters, and continues to be focused on the human-related threats faced by right whales and the identification of conservation measures to reduce the effect of human activities on their numbers.

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