NEWS BRIEFS: Clock ticking for northern right whale

Federal officials work to disentangle a northern right whale from fishing gear off the Florida coast. NOAA photo, 2008.

By Lindsay Street, Statehouse Report  | A migrating whale that cruises through South Carolina waters is being killed at 10 times the rate its population can sustain, largely due to vessel-strikes and commercial fishery entanglements, experts say.

And while South Carolina has avoided deaths, a wildlife advocate says that is down to luck, not policy.  The Nov. 27 edition of Charleston City Paper showcased a story about the threat endangered right whales face along the Eastern seaboard. A few days later, the Hilton Head Island Packet reported a sighting of the rare creature by a fisherman. 

Endangered right whales are migrating along the South Carolina coast now as they move from rich feeding grounds in northern waters to warmer breeding grounds near Florida. 

Caroline Bradner, land water and wildlife project manager with Coastal Conservation League of Charleston, said South Carolina needs to remain vigilant in an effort to protect the whales that were once prized for their blubber to fuel lamps prior to electricity and the incandescent light bulb. 

The right whale population is in such dire straits that it can only sustain three to five deaths per year, not the 30 that happened since 2017, the City Paper reported. 

NOAA’s list of right whale mortalities do not include any that happened in South Carolina, but that could change as the seas rise and warm — and it doesn’t mean that other marine wildlife like manatees aren’t threatened in waters here, Bradner said. 

In South Carolina waters, the only direct protection for whales are found in federal regulations lowering ship speeds as they come into harbors.. The state’s lack of seismic testing and offshore drilling is also a boon, Bradner said. But those two things could change. 

• Do more:  Earthjustice’s Andrea Treece says South Caroinians can do more to protect the right whale.
• Read: S.C. Republicans are among the GOP strongholds pushing back against offshore drilling. 

“We in South Carolina can’t do a whole lot about what’s happening in Canada and the Northeast where they are feeding,” Bradner said. “(But) we can be proactive in making sure that if whales are spending more time in South Carolina waters … then we would need to ensure they are finding a hospitable environment when they are here.”

Also in recent news:

Adopt pets for free.  Officials with area pet shelters say there’s a shelter-crowding emergency across the state, leading some shelters to consider euthanasia of healthy animals to make space.  The Charleston Animal Society is encouraging Lowcountry residents to adopt a pet during the holidays to ameliorate the threat. “Animal shelters across the state are asking people to open their hearts and their homes before it’s too late for hundreds of cats and dogs,” the organization said.  “Charleston Animal Society, the state’s first and oldest animal organization, is launching an emergency adoption campaign across the entire state through the organization’s No Kill South Carolina program.” 

How to adopt:  If you or someone you know are looking to adopt a pet, go to www.PickMeSC.com where No Kill South Carolina has compiled a list of shelters in crisis. All of the shelters listed are offering free or low-fee adoptions through January 1. 

Collaboration.  The Greenwood Genetic Center and the Medical University of South Carolina have signed an affiliation agreement with the goal of providing patients across South Carolina with accessible, high-quality, coordinated and cost-effective genetic services through a collaborative approach to providing medical care. According to a press release, the two entities have worked together informally on clinical consultations, provider education and research for more than a decade. This affiliation seeks to formalize and expand the depth and breadth of the relationship. 

Groundbreaking.  Mayor John Tecklenburg and city officials had a groundbreaking ceremony last week for the Low Battery Seawall project, which is supposed to improve flood protection for the peninsula.

New grads.  The Charleston School of Law will graduate 31 students during a 2 p.m. Dec. 15 winter commencement ceremony at Trident Technical College in North Charleston.   “One of the incredible things about this school, and something of which I am honored to be part, is that each student, graduate, faculty and staff member shows dedication to the founding motto, pro bono populi, which means ‘for the good of people,’” said President Ed Bell, an owner of Charleston Currents  “The dedication of time and effort toward the betterment of others throughout the community is a worthwhile proposition and something that will serve well in their lives, both as attorneys and in general.”

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