Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce the publication of the following article: Barratclough, Ashley, Paul D. Jepson, Philip K. Hamilton, Carolyn A. Miller, Kenady Wilson, and Michael J. Moore. "How much does a swimming, underweight, entangled right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) weigh? Calculating the weight at sea, to facilitate accurate dosing of sedatives to enable disentanglement." Marine Mammal Science (2014). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12132/full Summary Fishing gear entanglement represents a significant source of anthropogenic mortality in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). The current methods of photo identification and post-mortem examination of stranded carcasses, give a good indication of the prevalence of entanglements. Consistent monitoring of the trends in entanglements has demonstrated a rise in the number of North Atlantic right whales affected. The implications of this trend are of serious concern in an already endangered species. Disentanglement of whales from fishing gear is one potential mitigation option, however approaching a distressed whale is challenging. Sedation has facilitated the approach, however accurate sedative dosing is essential to prevent fatalities. Accurate body weight estimation is therefore required to calculate the correct dose. By examining the post-mortem data of whale morphometrics and performing a step wise linear regression analysis relating length and girth measurements, we established a formula to estimate the weight of North Atlantic right whales at sea. If you are interested but cannot access this article online lease email me at ashley_2486_b@yahoo.com for a pdf reprint. Best Wishes Ashley Barratclough