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Coast Guards Cutter and crew, The Metompkin. From this time until July 4, 1996, the scientists

were able to monitor her movements. Because the data did not follow the normal patterns of the

migration of the Right Whales in this area, the researchers had assumed that either Metompkin

had died, or the transmitter fell off and was then taken away to the middle of the Atlantic by the

forces of the Gulf Stream. The most gratifying part of this whale's survival happened on August

6, 1996. She was spotted in The Bay of Fundy near Maine, and not only was she free of all of her

fishing gear, but she also had a new born calf with her! It is true that the teams were unable to

free all of the ropes from her with their bare hands, but it is true that the little they were able to

do might have been just what saved her life, and the life of her young. Also, the more researchers

are able to experiment with attaching transmitters for tracking, the more they are able to learn

about how they will be able to increase the population of this species so that it can grace the

oceans again.^{6 9}

There are other groups of people who watch over these whales by helping free them,

protecting their southern calving grounds, helping them avoid collisions with ships, and fighting

to save their existence in any way possible. These groups of people include the Georgia

Department of Natural Resources, The U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Marine

Fisheries Service, the Florida Department of Environmental protection, and the Port Authority to

name a few. The Center for Coastal studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts has also aided in

freeing many whales from entanglement.^{7 0}It is very important for these types of groups to exist

because, as one professor says, "John Hayning, a marine biologist at the Natural History

Museum of Los Angeles County, estimates there are about 25 reproductive age females in the

North Atlantic. Given these numbers, say researchers, it is clear small efforts to save one can

69 _{http://whale.wheelock.edu/books/MetompkinStory/metompkin_chapter5.html.} 70 _{http://www.learner.org/jnorth/search/RightWhale_notes1.html.}