NJIT biologist awarded $680,000 federal grant to save North Atlantic right whale

NJIT biologist Brooke Flammang joins a national conservation effort to advance whale tracking technology to aid in the recovery of one of the world’s most endangered large whale species

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Brooke Flammang, a biologist at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), has been awarded nearly $680,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of a growing nationwide effort to save the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis).

NOAA Fisheries recently unveiled a more than $9 million initiative funded by the Inflation Reduction Act to support a coalition of universities, nonprofits and scientific organizations engaged in the recovery of the species, which has seen its numbers dwindle to roughly 360 individuals today due to factors ranging from climate-driven changes to its habitat, to fishing gear entanglements and vessel strikes.

As part of the collaborative effort, Flammang's Fluid Loco Lab at NJIT will spearhead the development of non-invasive tag attachment technology to offer near real-time tracking of the species, inspired by the way certain marine life attaches to whales for their survival. The advances could improve our understanding of changes in the whales’ reproduction, distribution patterns and habitat use that have coincided with rising temperatures in its key ocean habitats in recent decades, such as the Gulf of Maine, which has warmed faster than 99% of the global ocean, according to NOAA.

“Previous studies on right whale distribution have used suction cup tags that stay on for short periods of time and need to be retrieved to download the data. Predictions based on those data on where whales will be throughout the year are no longer accurate because of the changing ocean climate causing movement of the whales’ food sources,” said Flammang, an associate professor whose NOAA-funded research will include the use of satellite telemetry for improved tracking of the whales. “The possibility of near real-time monitoring would be game-changing for conservation and regulation policy decisions.”

Flammang's project builds on nearly a decade of research and development of novel tagging technology that mimics the passive forces of suction and friction that power the suction disks of remoras, or sucker fish, which are well known for hitchhiking long distances on the bodies of whales under intense drag forces.

The technology has already surpassed the fish’s notable adhesion ability in some cases, previously demonstrating up to 60% greater hold than what living remoras are able to produce on shark skin. The non-harmful tagging approach could give researchers greater capabilities for long-term monitoring of the whale, which has been protected under the Endangered Species Act since the 1970s.

Approximately $2.8 million from the initiative has been earmarked for monitoring and modeling efforts, which will include researchers from Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research and Duke University’s Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, in addition to Flammang’s Fluid Loco Lab.

Another estimated $6.9 million will support a collaboration between the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and fishing industry partners in the development of on-demand (or “ropeless”) fishing gear technology that prevents fishing gear entanglements.

NOAA Fisheries declared an Unusual Mortality Event for the North Atlantic right whale in 2017, attributing 142 whale deaths to entanglement and vessel strikes since that time. Overall, the organization estimates that more than 85% of right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once in their lifetime.

The new wave of grant support comes as part of a broader $82 million in funding for North Atlantic right whale recovery efforts from the Inflation Reduction Act, unveiled by the Biden-Harris Administration in September 2023.

“North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction with approximately 360 individuals remaining, including fewer than 70 reproductively active females,” said Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Janet Coit in a statement. “It’s imperative we advance our collective actions to help recover this species, and these partnerships will help the science and conservation community do just that.”

For more, visit NOAA's Inflation Reduction Act website.