Protect Right Whales home page
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There are only an estimated 408 North Atlantic right whales left - down from an estimated 451 in 2016, making them one of the most endangered whales in the world.1,2

They are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act but unfortunately that protection isn't enough as they still face two major threats from humans; entanglement in fishing rope and being struck by ships. The death of just one of these whales each year could affect the future of the species3 but human-caused mortalities of North Atlantic right whales exceeded the Potential Biological Removal - the number of whales that can be killed without harming their populations in the long-term - by 650% from 1970-2009.4 There have been an average of 5.6 known deaths per year since 2010 and it's likely that a number of deaths go unseen.5 It's possible that only 1 out of 3 deaths are actually seen.6

In 2017 alone there were at least 17 deaths and only 5 births which is absolutely devastating for the species. This amount of deaths is unprecedented since the days of whaling and means that at least 4% of the entire population was killed in 2017. Of the known deaths in 2017, at least five were attributed to ship strikes while two were attributed to entanglements in fishing gear with the others being unknown.7 There were three known deaths in 2018,8,9,10 all of which were attributed to entanglement in fishing rope,11 and no new calves were seen in 2018.12 So far, there have been seven new calves sighted in 2019 which is very welcome news but it's still tied for the fourth lowest amount in 20 years and major threats to their survival remain so these whales need our help now more than ever.

We have created two fact sheets on the most common causes of death of North Atlantic right whales that also contain information on how to help stop the suffering and potential extinction of these amazing whales. We thank you for coming to our site and looking for ways to help, together we really can make a difference in their lives and prevent them from becoming extinct.

Sources:
1Right Whale Consortium Releases 2018 Report Card Update - Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life - https://www.andersoncabotcenterforoceanlife.org/blog/2018-right-whale-report-card/
2North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium 2017 Annual Report Card - Page 4 - https://www.narwc.org/uploads/1/1/6/6/116623219/2017_report_cardfinal.pdf
3NOAA Fisheries Service North Atlantic Right Whale 5-Year Review, August 2012 - page 16 - https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/17038
4Assessment of Management to Mitigate Anthropogenic Effects on Large Whales. Conservation Biology, 27: 121–133 - Table 2 - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01934.x/full
5NOAA Fisheries Service North Atlantic Right Whale 5-Year Review, August 2017 - page 17 - https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected/final_narw_5-year_review_2017.pdf
6Special Report: North Atlantic Right Whales in Crisis - Cape Cod Times - 3/24/2018 - http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20180324/special-report-north-atlantic-right-whales-in-crisis
7North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium 2017 Annual Report Card - Page 6 - https://www.narwc.org/uploads/1/1/6/6/116623219/2017_report_cardfinal.pdf
8Year’s first dead right whale a young female well-known in Cape waters - Cape Cod Times - 1/30/2018 - http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20180130/years-first-dead-right-whale-young-female-well-known-in-cape-waters
9North Atlantic Right Whale Found Dead Near Martha's Vineyard - 9/3/2018 - http://www.protectrightwhales.com/2018/9_3_marthas_vineyard_death
10North Atlantic Right Whale Found Dead Off Nantucket - 10/21/2018 - http://www.protectrightwhales.com/2018/10_21_nantucket_death
10Right Whale Consortium Releases 2018 Report Card Update - Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life - https://www.andersoncabotcenterforoceanlife.org/blog/2018-right-whale-report-card/
12Endangered right whales, on brink of extinction, could be facing "beginning of the end" - CBS - 3/27/2018 - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-atlantic-right-whales-calving-season-endangered-species-no-babies

Entanglement in Fishing Gear photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Ship Strike photo credit: Lisa Conger, NOAA