Spotless sea day

It's late summer of 2024 in the Maritimes. The weather is remarkably good for going out in the Bay of Fundy. On a regular sea day, we keep an eye out for marine predators, including red-necked phalaropes and basking sharks, but most importantly, critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. We navigate the tidal currents of the Bay, searching for these animals while stopping every quarter of an hour to collect data on oceanographic conditions—hence the equipment in this picture: a cage mounted with sensors to measure temperature, salinity, depth, and small living organisms (phytoplankton and zooplankton) in the water column. Our platform is an experienced yet freshly renovated lobster fishing boat. We've got everything we need to conduct our research, except that we haven't spotted a single North Atlantic right whale! This species has shifted its distribution northward to feed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence after climate-driven changes made the conditions in the Bay of Fundy unsuitable for its main prey, copepods (also part of the zooplankton). What is the point of continuing to return to a spotless sea? Hopefully, we can understand such changes and foresee what is next for the remaining 372 North Atlantic right whales.