Right whale population increases, but many are still being killed, injured

October 22nd, 2024

an adult right whale and a calf, photographed from above — Right whale Juno (Catalog #1612) and calf sighted off Cane Island, SC, on Nov. 28, 2023. The calf was later injured by a boat propeller and died. (Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by United States Army) Corps of Engineers)

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WABE and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

The population of North Atlantic right whales increased slightly in 2023, according to the latest estimate from scientists, released Tuesday – rare good news for the critically endangered whales that give birth off Georgia’s coast. But the species is still in trouble.

The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, which releases population numbers for the prior year each fall, estimates there were 372 of the whales in 2023, continuing a three-year trend of minor population increases. Scientists say that’s encouraging after years of steep declines.

But numbers show that right whales are in the midst of a bad year. Nine have died in 2024 so far, and human activities have injured at least 13.

“It highlights the vulnerability of this species that, with so few individual animals, with so few reproductive females, it really doesn’t take much – a few more mortalities, a few more injuries that prevent reproduction to turn that population estimate down again,” said Heather Pettis, a research scientist at the New England Aquarium, which tracks the whale population.

A graph showing right whale population numbers, with a recent modest improvement following a steep decline — The North Atlantic right whale population has increased slightly for several years, after years of steep declines. (New England Aquarium/North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium)

The leading causes of right whale death and injury are fishing lines and boat strikes. Whale scientists and advocates are pushing for tighter regulations to protect them. A federal rule enhancing vessel speed restrictions has been introduced, and discussions and research are ongoing on measures to reduce use of the kind of fishing lines that pose the greatest risks to right whales.

But many advocates said those efforts aren’t moving quickly enough.

“You just let the whales answer that question,” said Philip Hamilton, who maintains the New England Aquarium’s whale identification database.

“Just let the whales tell that story, and it’s saying that we need to do more to protect them.”

Right whales have returned from the brink of extinction before, after whaling was banned in the 1930s. And the population scientists said the species has shown it can adapt to changing ocean conditions, including the current warming. Right whales have shifted their feeding grounds multiple times in recent years, likely in response to the changing conditions.

“If we can remove those stressors that we have pretty direct and timely control over, there’s no doubt the whales can recover,” Pettis said. “We’ve seen them do it in the past.”

North Atlantic right whales are expected to return to the waters off Georgia’s coast beginning next month as they begin their annual calving season.