ABSTRACT
A number of scientists, most notably William Watkins and William Schevill of Woods Hole, have been studying the whales in the Georges Bank area for many years. They have found a rich pattern of cetacean life related to conditions on Georges Bank. Georges Bank supports three kinds of predators: cetaceans; birds; and humans. The bank is a large, relatively shallow area off the coast of New England and an extremely rich fishing ground. Deep water upwellings on the south side of the bank bring plankton and small fish to the surface. Here the fishing boats congregate, along with marine life that feeds on the fish. Georges Bank is an extremely rich fishing ground for seabirds; some species utilize the area for feeding grounds, others for wintering grounds, and some for feeding and resting during migration. The red phalarope, for example, is a species that breeds in northern waters and migrates along the Georges Bank shelf edge.
