Right whale Juno (Catalog #1612) and calf sighted off Cane Island, SC, on November 28, 2023 CREDIT: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by United States Army
Corps of Engineers
BOSTON – Conservationists and right whale enthusiasts received some much-welcomed good news at the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium’s annual meeting, as the Consortium’s annual population estimate for the embattled marine mammals shows a slight increase in their numbers in recent years.
Produced in collaboration by scientists with the New England Aquarium and NOAA, participating scientists reached an estimate of 372 right whales, including 12 calves, in 2023.
The findings, released at the Consortium’s annual meeting in Provincetown, show a positive trend from 2020 when the species hit a low of 358 at the back end of seven straight years of decline.
A graph of the right whale population over time, created by the New England Aquarium and the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium
Despite the positive news, experts say much more work is needed to protect the whales.
So far, in 2024, there have been five whale deaths as a result of vessel strikes and entanglements and four other lost calves, the highest annual mortality since 2019 and one that may dampen next year’s estimate, while frequent sightings of the whales in the vicinity of the unprotected New York shipping lane has raised concerns for their safety.
“To see the population estimate increasing gives us hope that what felt like a free fall over the past decade may be behind us,” said Heather Pettis, research scientist and chair of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
“While we still have a great deal of work to do to ensure that this species not only recovers but thrives,” she said, “it feels really good to be able to share a little bit of positive news.”
Right whale Catalog #1950 photographed in the Bay of Fundy in August 2006,
where she was observed with her third
calf. CREDIT: New England Aquarium, taken under DFO Canada SARA permit.
As the Consortium prepares a comprehensive report on the species to be released in 2025, Whale advocates and conservationists continue to push for increased vessel speed restrictions and other measures to protect the critically endangered species.
By, Matthew Tomlinson, CapeCod.com.
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