GMWSRS
Natural History Notes No. 1. L.D. Murison. 2003. Right
whales in the Bay of Fundy. Calves About! Watch Out! The Bay of Fundy is
a nursery area for North Atlantic right whales. (Printed
copies are available and the material is also found in watching
right whales) (PDF 
- size 385 KB)
GMWSRS
Natural History Notes No. 2. GMWSRS Natural History Notes No. 2. L.D. Murison. 2008. North Atlantic Right Whales and Fishing. Entanglements and Entrapments. (PDF - size 1455 KB)
Other
publications
Public
Education Programs - Grand Manan
Our
staff is dedicated to public education. We provide naturalist duties, lectures
and slide shows for island groups and institutions and other groups coming
to the island which include:
Please
contact us if you are interested in
these services for your groups coming to Grand Manan.
Co-operative
Programs
The
Harbour
Porpoise Release Program is our prime interest, a co-operative program
with the local herring weir fishers of Grand Manan and area.
Begun in 1991, the Harbour Porpoise Release Program was developed by the
Grand Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station to assist herring weir
operators safely remove harbour porpoises from
their weir without loosing the trapped herring. Porpoises swim into herring
weirs during the night but most do not swim out again. While they are inside
the weirs they are able to swim, breathe and eat. We work with weir operators
and remove the porpoise(s) from the weir in our small boats, allowing the
weir operators to harvest their herring catch. We have also developed protocols
to safely release large whales such as minkes, humpbacks and right whales.
We
are also involved in the Whale Emergency Network in the Bay
of Fundy. This team is primarily focused on right whales but is capable
of disentangling other species as the need arises. This is a co-operative
program with a number of groups including the Department of Fisheries and
Oceans, New Brunswick Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Campobello
Whale Rescue Centre, East Coast Ecosystems, New England Aquarium, Center
for Coastal Studies, local whale watch companies, interested residents
and the GMWSRS. During the winter some of our researchers who are
at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC, are involved in disentangling whales
- primarily young humpback whales.
We are part of an informal Maritime Marine Animal Network, a co-operative organization of a number of Maritime organizations including the New Brunswick Museum, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Marine Animal Response Society (MARS), the Atlantic Veterinary College, the Campobello Whale Rescue Team, the Canadian Whale Institute, the Whale Stewardship Program and others.
We
are also a member of the Fundy New Brunswick Community Action Partnership
Program Committee (FNBCC), working with other New Brunswick communities
on issues surrounding preparedness for environmental emergencies such as
oil spills. Our main focus is wildlife issues but our managing director
has developed the Community Action Partnership Plan (CAPP) Contingency
Plan for Grand Manan Island and has coordinated oil spill training sessions
for island residents.
We were also a member of the former Right Whale Recovery Plan and Implementation Team, the former Right Whale Recovery Strategy Team and are currently a member of the Right Whale Network, all dedicated to promoting the recovery of North Atlantic right whales. We were also a part of the Recovery Team committee, chaired by Dr. Moira Brown, to redesign the shipping lanes into the Port of Saint John to avoid the highest concentrations of right whales. We are a member and on the board of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
We also support and promote the Code of Ethics (or PDF - size 38 KB) for water-based tour operators in the Bay of Fundy and have developed brochures for whale watching companies and developed data collection protocols. We also developed the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Fishermen Working Near Whales (PDF - size 236 KB) which allows them to opt for various practices that may help reduce whale entanglements in fishing gear and promote safe boating practices around whales.
Information
Requests
We
also assist students with inquiries by providing a variety of information
which they can incorporate into their projects such as what Sarah Lehnert
and Marley Russell did for the District 16 Student Talent on Parade (STOP)
Fair. They were chosen from Croft Elementary School in Miramichi,
NB to participate in STOP. A bilingual project, "Making the World
a Better Place" promotes moving the shipping lanes in the Bay of Fundy
to reduce the risk of right whales being hit by vessels. The girls
also participated in the University of New Brunswick - Saint John Campus
Marine Biology Camp. Both girls were nine years old and Grade 4 students
at the time of the photo (May 1998). They were certainly on the right track.
With great co-operation from all sectors the shipping lanes were successfully
modified to avoid high concentrations of right whales. These changes
go into effect July1, 2003. Dr. Moira Brown of the Center for Coastal
Studies and the Canadian Whale Institute received a Gulf of Maine Visionary
Award in 2002 for her work as coordinator of the lane changes.
We
also provide guidance for crafts people when crafting new whale products.
We are then proud to sell these crafts in our gift
shop.
Looking for a Career
in Marine Mammal Science?
If you wish information on
pursuing a career in marine mammal science, an excellent document was prepared
a number of years ago entitled "Strategies
for Pursuing a Career in Marine Mammal Science". Although biased
toward the United States the information is still valuable for those living
elsewhere.
Looking for More
Marine Mammal Links?
Try the link page of the
Society
for Marine Mammalogy or Whale Net.
Solving
Mysteries
We
also help with small mysteries when we can. Strange fish, bones and
other found objects find their way to our door. Sometimes they are
easy to solve, sometimes it takes some detective work but usually someone
at the GMWSRS knows the answer or knows someone who will. Many people donate
their object to our museum for others to see. If the specimen is
rare it may be donated to the Atlantic Reference Centre in St. Andrews,
NB or the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, NB. The bone shown
here sometimes confuses those who find them since it is reminiscent of
a skull when seen from some angles but is actually.....?
