Scientific whale surveys are key to monitoring changes in when and where right whales are found. Changes include increased use of areas off Southern New England slated for wind energy development.
A recent review of North Atlantic right whale health assessment techniques highlights activities to improve monitoring and protection for this endangered species.
Proposed modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan address entanglements in fishing gear, one of two leading causes of right whale serious injury and death.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature changed its Red List Category for North Atlantic right whales from "endangered" to "critically endangered." There are about 400 individuals remaining, and likely fewer than 100 breeding females.
On June 25, 2020 we received a report of a floating North Atlantic right whale carcass off the coast of Elberon, New Jersey. We will update this web page as more information becomes available.
Allison Henry is a fisheries biologist with the large whale team at the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center. She flies in a plane over the Gulf of Maine collecting critical population data about the North Atlantic right whale.
