(birds squawking) (gentle music) - [Gregory] Rhode Island, known by many as the ocean state, may be the smallest state in the US, but its waters tell a story deeper than most.

Along its coastline, the state contains bountiful shoreline and marine ecosystems that are integral to the New England region.

From the rich salt marshes that harbor hunting ground for wading birds and other animals, to rocky shores where the rigid coastline provides habitat for countless species of aquatic animals.

In this often overlooked region in southern New England, mammals, fish, and countless other creatures call the ocean home.

Within these waters, a story unfolds.

During times of the year when most beachgoers call it for the season.

(gentle music) Fall and winter in New England can be frigid, turbulent and deadly.

The wild animals of land, sea, and air must battle the elements and persevere.

And just as tough are the people who work every day to help wildlife in crisis.

During this time of year, wildlife need us more than ever.

A time when we face New England's tides of change.

(water splashing) (inspirational music) (birds squawking) (inspirational music continues) (inspirational music continues) (inspirational music continues) Rhode Island is part of the southern New England coastline.

This vibrant region composed of the mainland as well as many areas in the outer lands can be a rapidly changing place.

At one moment, weather conditions can seem calm and peaceful, the next, ferocious and violent.

The ocean has a way of reflecting the environment and can be the best and the worst that New England and the Atlantic seaboard has to offer.

Every year when fall begins to arrive in the northeast, beautiful fall foliage can be seen throughout.

Underwater, a different transition occurs.

Eelgrass Meadows, once full and thick, start to die back, readying themselves for the cold embrace of winter.

- As the fall rolls in that water temperature starts to cool.

Things like sea grass are plants and in the winter, just like in your garden, there's less light.

We see less growth.

The macro algae begins to slowly retreat just like the grass in your yard.

- [Gregory] Different species of fish also notice the change in the seasons and some begin their migration south.

Stripe bass participate in the fall run, moving in schools down the coastline.

To many fishermen, this is a harbinger of fall and colder weather.

Stripe bass spend much of their time chasing another fish species.

One of the most important organisms in North America, the Menhaden.

(vibrant music) Menhaden may seem ordinary, but these bony schooling fish are crucial for marine ecosystems.

The once mighty schools that are off the northeast have vastly decreased due to overfishing.

- About 70% of the menhaden fishery is a reduction fishery which turns menhaden into other products which might be for aquaculture farms, for supplements.

Menhaden has fewer older fish than it would in an unfished state.

And one way of changing that is to reduce harvest enough that we see some more of those older fish who then are better at reproducing and creating more younger fish.

- [Gregory] Menhaden are filter feeders, swimming through the water with open mouths and consuming algae and plankton.

This helps keep the water clean.

Almost all bony fish species have a lateral line, a sensory organ along the fish's body that helps them move together as one.

This comes in handy when dodging predators such as this striped bass.

The menhaden almost creating a perfect distance from the predatory fish.

Unfortunately for them, there are other significantly larger predators to contend with.

(water splashing) The humpback whale.

These large ocean mammals are known for their legendary breaches and can be found worldwide.

From the tropical blue waters of the South Pacific to the colder and often more green waters of New England and the northeast.

- Humpback whales off the northeast United States will travel down to the Caribbean or to as far as Cape Fairday to breed, and that can be between 3,000 to over 6,000 miles round trip.

- [Gregory] The region provides many pit stops for whales where they feed on smaller organisms such as menhaden, who gather in massive schools during the fall migration.

The fish can be quick and tricky to capture, being much more maneuverable than a whale.

(water bubbling) (vibrant music) Moving in unison, the menhaden skirt around a young humpback who's attempting to grab a meal.

(water splashing) To counteract this, the humpback whale uses its powerful tail to give itself a huge burst of speed, (vibrant music continues) so much so, that it lunges out of the water.

The whale's large mouth capturing tons of tasty fish.

These pit stops are essential.

Each year, humpback whales in the Atlantic off the Americas migrate from Greenland all the way to Cuba as they travel to their breeding grounds.

(vibrant music continues) By the time the humpbacks leave, New England has begun to set into a deep freeze.

December has arrived.

Much of Rhode Island and the Southern New England region has begun to change drastically.

(rushing wind) During the right conditions, salt marshes freeze and snow drastically changes the appearance of the environment.

Because of the temperature shift, winds make for rough seas.

The ocean is violent.

(waves crashing) (waves continue crashing) By this time, many of the bird species present in summer, such as shorebirds are long gone, and others perish as the food supply dwindles.

But some species have arrived from farther north.

For them, these harsh conditions are just another day in the life.

(brant squawking) Brant, a species of goose that migrates south from the Arctic are among the animals able to brave these conditions.

Even in sub-zero temperatures, these birds persist.

(water splashing) (vibrant music) They often share the rocky shore with other waterfowl, common eider and harum ducks are just a few of the species that can be seen in winter.

Many of these birds are diving ducks plunging into the water, foraging for food.

(vibrant music continues) Red-breasted mergansers spend most of their time hunting and searching for fish, (vibrant music continues) diving headfirst into the water chasing prey.

(vibrant music continues) (wings flapping) These ducks better move fast because they have some major competition.

(vibrant music ending) Seals are among the most common marine mammals in the world, and Rhode Island has several different species that could be found in its waters.

(water bubbling) In the winter, many of the rock out crops around Narragansett Bay can be found with harbor seal sunning themselves.

Harbor seals are often found within inshore environments.

They have the widest distribution of any seal and can be found around the world.

(gentle music) Gray seals are often found offshore.

Block Island's Sandy Point is an ideal environment for these roatan maritime mammals.

Like the harbor seals, most of the time they could be seen sunning themselves, this time on the sand.

When seals are hungry, they clumsily traverse from their resting place into the ocean.

Suddenly, this clumsy creature becomes almost angelic as it swims with ease.

Its body perfectly evolved for cutting through the water.

(majestic music) When not hunting, some seals can become mischievous.

The herd is made up of some younger seals who don't seem to know that now is not the time to play.

(water splashing) Meanwhile, farther away from the main herd is a smaller grouping of seals.

These are this year's gray seal pups.

Because they're so much smaller, the young seals will often spend much of their time away from the often bullish adults doing their favorite activity, sleep.

(gentle music) One seal has decided that nap time is over.

Shuffling around in the sand and outta the divot these babies have created, this young pup is on the move, but he has a long way to go.

(gentle music continues) Bit by bit, the young pup navigates toward the ocean.

Even as he gets there, he begins to regret his decision.

(water splashing) The water sure is cold, (water splashing) but he's hungry, so now's the time.

(water splashing) (gentle music continues) Better late than never.

Many pups are born on Block Island and the seal population here is growing.

Unfortunately, seals still have their fair share of challenges.

Entanglements, respiratory infections, and human related causes lead to injuries and mortalities to the seal population.

In the 1800's and early 1900's, gray seals were hunted heavily for oil, meat and pelts.

By the mid 20th century, they were locally extricated from much of Southern New England.

But with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, seal populations have rebounded, but work is still needed to protect these charismatic marine mammals.

The Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue team responds to seal rescues throughout the region, and they have created a vast network of nonprofits and environmental organizations that help retrieve seals so that veterinarians at the aquarium may help rehabilitate injured or sick individuals.

Sarah Callen is the manager for this program and works tirelessly to rescue and rehabilitate seals each year.

As winter progresses and seals begin to amass and have pups on Block Island, Sarah prepares for the inevitable rescue.

Meanwhile, back on Block Island volunteer first responders have just received a call from Sarah.

A sick seal pup has been spotted on the shore.

- Looking at a weanling that's not doing well on the beach.

He's flipped himself over and you can see the unusual breathing.

Next ferry leaves at 10:30, which I doubt we'll be able to get to the 10:30 ferry.

And if we can't get to the 10:30 ferry, she's gonna see if the Coast Guard can assist.

(solemn music) (light footsteps) (UTV engine humming) - [Gregory] The seal is near Sandy Point, and in order to transport the young pup safely, the team takes a UTV to transport the seal crate.

(UTV engine rumbling) Weakened and dehydrated, this young seal pup has a respiratory infection and can barely move.

(distant chatter) - Bill, we're gonna put the blanket in here.

I'm gonna go grab the towel just in case we need it.

- Yeah.

- [Gregory] Careful not to touch the seal, the rescuers gently guide him to the crate.

- Watch that corner.

(solemn music continues) Watch the tail.

He's not gonna turn around I don't think.

You never know.

He's lost his white coat, so he's old enough to be on his own, but he may not have gotten enough food and that's why he's so lethargic.

So he'll head over to Mystic and they will see what they can do for him.

(tie zipping) - [Gregory] Once secure, it's back into the UTV.

That is, until.

(UTV engine sputtering) Fortunately, this is where the volunteer and collaboration approach to this work comes in handy.

(UTV engine roaring) - Woo hoo!

- With a few fixes and adjustments, the UTV is back on the move.

- [Attendant] Bill, how did you do it?

(UTV engine humming) - [Gregory] From the UTV, the seal is then loaded onto the truck where he's taken to the port in New Shore.

The Coast Guard has arrived and they've graciously volunteered to speedily get the seal back to the mainland.

With the seal in bad shape, it's important they get him back to the rescue center in Mystic as quickly as possible.

(boat motor humming) Back at Point Judith, Mystic Aquarium personnel, including Sarah Callen, welcome the rescue team where they begin their trek to Mystic.

- I want know if I could pass it down to you.

- Absolutely.

(gentle music) - [Gregory] The seal is kept securely in the truck for its commute to the animal hospital.

(gentle music continues) (truck engine rumbling) When Sarah rolls in, the team makes the seal's transition as quick and quietly as possible in order to inhibit any stress.

(urgent music) The seal is given an iv, he's dangerously dehydrated.

(workers speaking quietly) This is a crucial part of the process.

Since the seal is so young, it should not be this thin, and it's crucial for the team to figure out the ailment.

- You tell them.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, quite critical, but bright, responsive.

Mouth is a little bit pale, lungs sound quite harsh, and he's breathing really rapidly, so we'll just keep a close eye on him.

Thank you everyone.

- Yes.

Yeah.

(hands slapping) (urgent music continues) - [Gregory] This has been a long day for the seal and now it's important that he gets his rest, but this little one is not the only animal that needed rescuing.

Elsewhere in the clinic are many animals currently being rehabilitated.

Everything from sea turtles, to fish, to seals.

Sarah and the team constantly monitor them, checking their vitals and tracking their strength as they prepare them to be released back into the wild.

Seal pups are even given plush animals to help keep them calm during their stay.

As some of the youngest patients continue their recovery, others have already spent months in rehabilitation and are finally strong enough to return home.

Two older seals are now ready to go and are being transported to a nearby beach on the Connecticut Rhode Island border.

- Feeling very excited for this release.

This is a seal that came into our care on New Year's Eve and it was a dependent pup.

So this seal needed a lot of around the clock care.

It was pretty amazing getting to see how small she was and underweight when she came in, and in just a few short weeks after that care, is ready for success out there in the big ocean.

- [Gregory] These events can draw quite a crowd, and Sarah and the team often find themselves with many onlookers at these seal releases.

Many collaborators, including the Atlantic Shark Institute, are present as well.

Since many of the seals are fitted with tags that the institute has helped to secure.

Once the crate has been set up, it's time for release, but sometimes it doesn't go quite as smoothly as you might expect.

(gentle music) This seal seems determined to go back to the crate, and who could blame him after all those snacks and the warm place to rest that the Mystic team has provided over the last few months.

- He's like, you guys didn't give me breakfast yet.

- [Gregory] With a gentle nudge, the seal begins to make its way back to the ocean.

Returning to the stretch of coastline he calls home.

- So, our second seal took a little bit longer to adjust to this new surroundings, but he finally made his way back after he did a loop to say these goodbyes to everybody on his way back to the water.

That's gonna be really great to not only learn more about where this animal goes, but what's going on with the population and how the environmental changes might be impacting them and other species in the area.

- [Gregory] Because of the combined efforts of the collaborating organizations, seal populations have continued to rebound, but there are other marine mammals that still have a long way to go before their numbers can be considered healthy.

In the vast waters of our oceans, one of the rarest whales on earth is still fighting for survival.

(vibrant music) Right whales are among the largest animals ever to live.

Slow moving, powerful, and once tragically labeled the right whale to hunt because of the large amounts of oil they produce and their tendency to float after being killed.

There are three species of right whale worldwide.

In the southern hemisphere, populations are recovering.

But here, off New England, the story is very different.

Because of its range, it's known as the North Atlantic right whale.

(water splashing) With only around 380 individuals remaining and fewer than 70 breeding females, every single whale matters.

Ship strikes, fishing gear entanglements, and a changing ocean have pushed this species to the edge.

Each year, north Atlantic right whales migrate thousands of miles from calving grounds off the southeastern United States, to feeding grounds here in New England and Atlantic Canada.

They pass through the waters off Rhode Island, often near Block Island, and many continue north into Cape Cod Bay.

At the northern edge of this shared coastline in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a world renowned team is working to understand and protect these whales.

The Center for Coastal Studies has spent decades studying North Atlantic right whales.

Led by scientists like Dr.

Daniel Palacios and Christy Hudak, their research goes beyond the whales themselves.

While they could be found in the office and labs working on their research, everyone's favorite time is spent doing field days.

(truck engine humming) It's just after sunrise, the team prepares to head out.

(gentle music) - [Worker] I got the (indistinct).

(equipment tumbling) - [Gregory] Their vessel, a 38 foot former tuna fishing boat now serves a very different purpose, finding whales and contributing to this important research.

(enlightening music) Biologists scan the horizon, searching for the faintest sign a blow, a ripple, a shadow beneath the surface.

At the same time, the team samples zooplankton using specialized equipment to collect at different depths because where there is food, there may be whales.

- We lower it down to 19 meters in the water column and then we pull the net out of the water and then next, what we're gonna do is just filter that out and clean the whole net and extract just what we found in the water.

It's gonna contain all the collection.

- You can see it's discolored.

That's from all the phytoplankton that's in the water.

So this used to be a clear net.

Not anymore.

- [Gregory] The data here is integral for ongoing studies that the CCS is currently working on.

- So depending on where we are in the bay right now we're in station six M. We may get different types of zooplankton, so it really helps us inform because the whales clearly have a preference for the larger, more lipid rich zooplankton the whales may be feeding on.

- [Gregory] Looking for whales can take time, even days.

But finally, the team hears what they've been waiting for, a lead.

- [Radio Operator] Hi, this is Myriad.

We have this mother calf right here, but I think there's another one located Southwest and diving for a long period, period, over.

- Good copy, large number of whales diving.

Awesome.

- [Gregory] The team moves quickly, this time with some semblance of where the whales might be.

Scanning at the top, one of the biologists has something in their sight.

- [Researcher] There's two whales there.

Oh, that's the mother calf.

- Two whale, Christy.

- It's Keloski backing calf.

- [Researcher] This is Keloski backing her calf.

- [Radio Operator] We gonna do it, (indistinct).

We wanna go ahead and do the drill work as well.

We can do it on this one.

- [Gregory] There, a mother, her calf, and another adult feeding nearby.

They move slowly, methodically, filtering thousands of tiny organisms from the water.

The mother always stays near her calf who cannot hold its breath for nearly as long.

The mother whales guide their offspring to feeding areas where they both filter feed together and dive.

The captain slowly follows the whales, but behind the team, someone seems to be just as curious in them as they are in the whales.

(indistinct chatter) - What are they doing?

- Wow, this is so cool.

- Does this happen often?

- Every once in a while.

- [Researcher] Not for us.

This is so cool.

- [Gregory] With the data they need, the team heads back to P-Town where they start the next stage of their study.

- This is our 333 micrometer filter, and the mesh here approximates to ensure the right whale baling.

And so, what we get in our net is what the right whales are gonna get as we're going through the same water.

So we're gonna take a sub sample and then, sure it doesn't stick.

Okay, so they're all right in there.

- Oh, this one's gonna be fun.

Courting them out, taking out some jellyfish medusa, and then I'll count the cuppa pies as we go along.

- [Gregory] This plankton research by the Center for Coastal Studies is vital in helping scientists understand the quality of habitat for right whales in New England waters during the winter and spring months.

At the same time, many whales have begun their migration out of the bay.

A clear sign that the seasons in New England are changing.

By April, the wind has begun to change.

The light shines brighter, the leaves slowly return to the trees.

Osprey have returned to the skies above New England as they chase a readily available food source, the river herring.

Spring is here, (gentle music) (trickling water) but our story isn't done yet, for there's one more animal that is returning to his home.

The pup that was saved by the Block Island Maritime Institute and Mystic Aquarium volunteers is now back on the Coast Guard boat.

This time he's headed back to Block Island.

Rocky the seal is transported back to where he was found, where like the last release, a small crowd of volunteers and onlookers is gathered.

While once a thin pup, the seal that emerges out of the carrier is now more of a plump teenager.

He eagerly hauls himself over the rocks and back to the water, the waters he calls home along the ocean state, Rhode Island's wild coast.

(vibrant music) (vibrant music continues) (vibrant music continues) (vibrant music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues)