Buresh Blog: Hurricane season winding down... Right Whale spotted off Jacksonville coast

Nov. 25, 2019 — The 2019 hurricane season day by day updates + a season summary (Nov. 30): "Talking the Tropics With Mike".

It's that time of the year: travel.  The weather map looks busy through the weekend.  For updates on air travel, click * here *..... highway travel * here *.

As we turn our calendars to Dec. - after the first below avg. month of the year(!) - the averages at JIA:

Low / High - 1st: 47 / 70; 31st: 42 / 65 degrees

Rainfall: 2.80"

Sunrise / Sunset: 1st - 7:05am / 5:25pm; 31st - 7:22am / 5:36pm - lose 6 min. of daylight

Over the weekend - Sat., 11/23 there was a beautiful sighting of a North Atlantic Right Whale about 6 miles east of Mayport.  From the FWC:

Right whale calving season runs November 15 – April 15, the timeframe when right whales can be found off Florida and Georgia. These are the first sightings of the 2019-2020 calving season. The whale photographed is Catalog #3101 "Harmonia", a 19-year-old female and potential mother this season.

It is important to report right whale sightings to our hotline ASAP: 1-877-WHALE-HELP (1-877-942-5343)

We make every effort to record and document each right whale sighting and are more than happy to discuss sightings with the public. NOAA Fisheries maintains a website with right whale sightings, and we hope to add this sighting to our records as well.  Link to map * here *.

Each winter biologists conduct right whale research off Florida and Georgia. Aerial surveys to locate and photo-document right whales begin December 1. There are approximately 400 North Atlantic right whales left in the world and calving has been very low in recent years (only 12 births in the last three years). Therefore, each birth is immensely important. While we appreciate the public's enthusiasm and interest in right whales, we ask that you give these animals their space. Our potential mothers are fasting while in our waters and need to save as much energy as possible for raising and nursing their calves. The quiet bonding time between mother and calf is important for the newborn whales as well. It is against the law to be within 500 yards of a right whale. If you find yourself within 500 yards of a right whale, move away as soon as safely possible. This law includes vessels, aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

Our research institute (FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) posted about the start of right whale calving season. The "10 things you should know about right whales" is very informative.

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