Right Whales Increase

Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales have reproduced the largest number of calves since 2015, an encouraging sign for the highly endangered species (Eubalaena glacialis) Researchers spotted 17 calves swimming with their mothers between Florida and North Carolina this season. One calf was killed in a collision with a boat, a reminder of the continuing survival hazards the whales confront. The count is greater than the previous three years combined; in 2018 no calves were produced. The whales need to continue their current robust pace if their numbers are to increase from the estimated 360.

Conservationists think right whales are dying as deaths primarily caused by man are exceeding their rate of reproduction. The federal government is expected to issue new rules for fishing in areas inhabited by right whales to reduce deaths by entanglement. The changes were bitterly opposed by the fishing industry, but the final regulations should be issued by this summer. Their has been an improvement in compliance with speed limits imposed to limit collisions, but still lag for large commercial vessels at four ports in the the south. Right whales migrate along the east coast between their calving grounds off Florida and their summer feeding grounds off New England, traversing some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. [mother and calf, photo credit: AP}