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North Atlantic Right Whales

Scientific name: Eubalaena glacialis

Despite more than 60 years of protection from hunting, the North Atlantic right whale remains one of the most endangered species of the great whales. Right whales were named by whalers who believed they were the "right" whales to hunt—they swim slowly, hug the shoreline, produce a great deal of oil, and float when dead.

Today, entanglements, ship strikes, and low reproductive rates continue to threaten the population. Cooperation among conservationists, legislators, and recreational and commercial fishermen, along with more aggressive and targeted action on shipping and fishing gear regulations are necessary to protect the future of North Atlantic right whales. Focused attention on the species' feeding grounds in New England and calving grounds in the southeastern U.S. are of particular importance.

Threats from Fishing Gear

Entanglements are the second leading cause of death for right whales. Nearly three out of four of all living right whales bear scars from fishing gear. Gillnets, crab pots, and lobster traps can entangle whales' tails, heads, and flippers. Since 2004, twenty-three right whales have been entangled, resulting in at least four deaths and an undetermined number of serious injuries.

Ocean Conservancy participates in the North Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team— a group of scientists, fishermen, conservationists and government officials who develop strategies to reduce deaths of right whales, humpback whales, and fin whales in commercial fisheries. The goal is to reduce deaths by entanglement in fishing gear to insignificant levels approaching a zero rate. Unfortunately, there is still much to be done in pursuit of this goal, but recent years have seen the development of some hopeful leads.

Check out our graphic on the impacts of the lobster fishery.

Click for larger view.
The entanglement problem can be greatly reduced by using neutrally buoyant, or sinking line on lobster traps. Typically, lobster traps are connected with floating lines that can entangle the whales as they dive and return to the surface. Sinking line provides a whale-safer alternative to floating line by positioning groundlines along the ocean floor, reducing the risk of entanglement. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) published a rule requiring fishermen to convert their groundlines from floating line to sinking line by April 6, 2009.

When technical solutions are not available, closure of certain areas to particular types of fishing can also provide effective protection. In 2006, after the entanglement and death of a right whale calf in gillnet gear in the species' southeastern calving grounds, the agency closed that area to gillnetting for the rest of the calving period. The seasonal closure became permanent in 2007.

The next step is to reduce the risk of entanglement in buoy lines, the lines that connect fishing gear such as gillnets and lobster traps to the surface. For lobster gear, one way to reduce the number of buoy lines in the water is to reduce the number of traps set by each fisherman. Our goal is to reduce the number of traps set to achieve a reduction of buoy lines by 50 percent.

Threats from Vessel Strikes

A large number of shipping lanes and port entrances are located in the habitats and migratory pathways of right whales, making vessel strikes an imminent threat. Violent evidence of right whale deaths from ship strikes includes broken jaws and vertebrae and severe lacerations. Ship strikes are responsible for 29 percent of documented right whale deaths since 1970; between 1970 and 1999, ship strikes killed 16 right whales, causing government officials to initiate rulemaking to protect whales from further harm.

Ocean Conservancy works to reduce human-caused right whale collisions through routing changes and speed restrictions. We applaud advances made to reroute ships away from areas where right whales gather in the Bay of Fundy, the entrance to Boston Harbor, and port entrances in the Southeastern U.S. -- and efforts to increase education for commercial and recreational mariners. We have fought for rulemaking to slow down ships over 65 feet long to ten knots in areas and at times that right whales are most vulnerable to collisions. These rules became effective along the East Coast from Boston to Florida on December 9, 2008. Slower speeds will help reduce the occurrence of ship strikes by allowing ships and whales time to react and minimizing injuries to whales if a collision does occur.

Habitat and Diet

Western North Atlantic right whales are found along the East Coast of the United States and Canada. The animals migrate along the coast seasonally, but are found in three main critical habitats. The three critical habitats in U.S. waters include: the southeastern U.S., utilized during the winter months as the only known calving ground for the species; the Great South Channel, off of Massachusetts; and Cape Cod Bay.

Right whales are baleen whales, utilizing baleen rather than teeth for feeding. They swim through dense patches of tiny zooplankton with their mouths open, catching large quantities of the prey on their baleen plates. A single right whale can consume 4,000 pounds of food per day.

How You Can Help

Join the Ocean Action Network.
Contact the Ocean Conservancy for more information on how you can help protect North Atlantic right whales: outreach@oceanconservancy.org
Donate now to help Ocean Conservancy's efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales and all ocean wildlife

Related Resources

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