Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 21 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Global News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
A recent study has found that critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are feeding closer to the ocean’s surface at night, increasing their risk of being struck by boats.
asserted
whales → find → boats
The study, published earlier this month in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, documented nighttime surface feeding in North Atlantic right whales, providing new evidence that could be used to prevent deadly collisions between the whales and vessels.
uncertain
that → publish → whales
The paper’s lead author, Jay Kirkham, a PhD student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the research team worked with U.S.-based non-profit Ocean Alliance to tag 23 right whales in the Shediac Valley, an underwater valley in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
asserted
team → say → Lawrence
A portion of the North Atlantic right whale population, which is estimated to be approximately 384 whales, gathers to feed in the Shediac Valley each summer.
asserted
which → estimate → Valley
Kirkham said the tags recorded video footage along with data on how the whales moved and in which direction they swam.
asserted
they → say → data
He said he used video footage to record right whale feeding behaviour during the day.
asserted
he → say → day
“When a right whale opens its mouth, it’s kind of like a big parachute opening on the front of their face … and that just slows them down an awful lot,” he said.
asserted
he → open → them
“And so, they have to work harder, which they do by kicking their tail higher and faster.”
asserted
they → have → tail
Get daily National news
Kirkham said he used these observations to train a machine learning algorithm that could recognize a right whale feeding at night when he was unable to visually identify the behaviour.
uncertain
he → get → behaviour
This data revealed that whales are feeding within the same depth as large vessels at night, increasing the risk of collision, he said.
asserted
he → reveal → collision
While right whales typically feed close to the seafloor during the day, Kirkham said the whales follow their food — zooplankton — higher up in the water column at night.
asserted
whales → feed → night
“These big ships that go through the gulf, they extend into the water maybe 10, maybe 15 metres,” he said.
asserted
he → go → metres
He said collisions with vessels and entanglements in fishing gear are the leading causes of death in the population and this study may help inform conservation measures for the whales.
uncertain
study → say → whales
Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada currently oversee protection measures for the population.
asserted
Canada → oversee → population
In a statement to The Canadian Press, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said its measures focus on preventing whale entanglements in fishing gear and enforcing seasonal fishing closures.
asserted
measures → say → closures
The department said the study can help it develop “tailored management measures to protect North Atlantic right whales.”
asserted
it → say → whales
Transport Canada implements speed restrictions and enforces a vessel exclusion zone in the Shediac Valley during the summer to reduce the risk of collisions between boats and right whales in the area.
asserted
Canada → implement → area
However, Kirkham said that the whales he and his team tagged spent approximately 25 per cent of their feeding time outside of the vessel exclusion zone, exposing them to ship traffic.
asserted
he → say → traffic
In a statement to The Canadian Press, Transport Canada said it has a right whale surveillance program to help protect the whales from collisions by using both visual and audio detection tools.
asserted
it → say → tools
“Acoustic monitoring systems and other complementary technologies can support whale detection regardless of daylight conditions and help inform protective measures when whales are present,” the statement said.
asserted
statement → support → measures
The department also said it uses the latest scientific research, monitoring data and feedback from stakeholders to inform its protection measures.
asserted
it → say → measures
The Aporia
