Large numbers of endangered right whales seen in Mass. Bay

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

An extraordinary large number of North Atlantic right whales are gorging themselves on tiny crustaceans in Massachusetts Bay this afternoon, a scene that may bode well for the leviathans long-term survival.

Aerial surveys done today by the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies determined that about 79 of the world's remaining 350 right whales -- 22 percent -- are feeding in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Cape Cod Bay. Meanwhile, a two-month-old underwater listening network in the bay, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has detected 219 right whale calls in the last 24 hours. (The Globe wrote about the whale-detection buoys on Monday.)

Scientists believe it's a banner year for the tiny crustaceans, called copepods, which are no bigger than a period at the end of a sentence. The tiny animals serve as the 50-ton whales' main source of protein.

"When you get that number of animals in one place at one time, it's so exciting," said Dave Wiley, research coordinator for the Stellwagen Bank sanctuary. He said research shows that whales' reproductive success is closely tied to how well they feed. And with so few of the whales remaining in the world, that means hope for the species' survival.

Federal officials urged ships in the area to proceed slowly and watch for the whales.