The content describes sightings of various North Atlantic right whales and their calves along the southeast coast, including off the coasts of Georgia and Florida. The whales include individuals like Catalog No. 1810 “Swerve,” Butterfly, Skittle, Wolf, Juno, Braces, Fenway, Halo, Palmetto, Dog-Ear, Marilyn Monroe, Half Note, and Horton, among others. The sightings were made by teams from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission under NOAA permit No. 26919. The aerial surveys for these whales were funded by various organizations including NOAA Fisheries, the Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard, Navy, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Some of these right whales were observed at a significant distance from the shoreline, such as off Jekyll Island or Cumberland Island in Georgia, while others were seen closer to popular beaches like Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida. The sightings also record information such as the age of the whales and their reproduction history, with some having given birth multiple times in previous calving seasons. Additionally, there are instances where newborn calves were not expected to survive, highlighting the challenges facing the endangered North Atlantic right whale population. The data collected from these sightings contributes to ongoing research efforts aimed at understanding and conserving these majestic marine mammals.
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