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Eubalaena glacialis
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world’s most endangered large whale species, with less than 400 individuals remaining. Two other species of right whales exist: the North Pacific right whale, which is found in the North Pacific Ocean, and the Southern right whale, which is found in the southern hemisphere. Right whales are baleen whales, feeding on copepods (tiny crustaceans) by straining huge volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates, which act like a sieve.
By the early 1890s, commercial whalers had hunted right whales in the Atlantic to the brink of extinction. Whaling is no longer a threat, but human interactions still present the greatest danger to this species. Entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes are the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale mortality. Increasing ocean noise levels from human activities are also a concern since the noise may interfere with right whale communication and increase their stress levels.
NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding the North Atlantic right whale population. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and recover these endangered whales. We engage our partners, including the fishing and shipping industries, as we develop regulations and management plans that foster healthy fisheries and reduce the risk of entanglements, slow down vessel traffic, and reduce ocean noise.
North Atlantic right whales have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1970. Researchers estimate there are fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales, with fewer than 100 breeding females left. The number of new calves born in recent years has been below average. Since 2017, right whales have experienced an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event (UME), with 46 individual right whales dead (n=32) or seriously injured (n=14). This represents more than 10% of the population, which is a significant impact on such a critically endangered species where deaths are outpacing births.
North Atlantic right whales have stocky black bodies with no dorsal fins, and their blow spouts are shaped like a “V.” Their tails are broad, deeply notched, and all black with a smooth trailing edge. Their bellies may be all black or have irregularly shaped white patches. Pectoral flippers are relatively short, broad, and paddle-shaped. Calves are about 14 feet at birth and adults can grow to lengths of 52 feet.
Their heads have knobby white patches of rough skin, called callosities, which appear white because of whale lice (cyamids) covering their otherwise black skin. Each right whale has a unique pattern of callosities that scientists use to identify individual whales, an invaluable tool in tracking population size and health. Aerial and ship-based surveys and the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium’s photo-identification database maintained by our partners at the New England Aquarium help track individuals over the years.
When viewing right whales, you might see these enormous creatures breaching and then crashing back down with a thunderous splash. You might also see them swimming along with their rostrum out of the water as they skim feed on dense patches of plankton. Right whales feed by opening their mouths while swimming slowly through large patches of copepods and other zooplankton. They filter out these tiny organisms from the water through their baleen, where the copepods become trapped in a tangle of hair-like material that acts like a sieve. Right whales feed anywhere from the water’s surface to the bottom of the water column.
Groups of right whales may be seen actively socializing at the water’s surface, known as surface-active groups, or SAGs. Mating and socializing occurs in SAGs, which are observed during all seasons and in all habitats.
Right whales communicate using low-frequency moans, groans, and pulses, which may maintain contact between individuals, communicate threats, signal aggression, or be used for other social reasons.
World map providing approximate representation of the North Atlantic right whale's range.
North Atlantic right whales primarily occur in Atlantic coastal waters on the continental shelf, although they also are known to travel far offshore, over deep water.
Right whales migrate seasonally and may travel alone or in small groups. In the spring, summer, and into fall, many of these whales can be found in waters off New England and further north into Canadian waters, where they feed and mate.
Each fall, some right whales travel more than 1,000 miles from these feeding grounds to the shallow, coastal waters of their calving grounds off of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida, though migration patterns vary.
NOAA Fisheries has designated two areas as critical habitat for North Atlantic right whales. These areas provide important feeding, nursery, and calving habitat:
Right whales can probably live for at least 70 years, but data on their average lifespan is limited since scientific monitoring of the species is fairly recent. Ear wax can be used to estimate age in right whales after they have died. Another way to determine life span is to look at groups of closely related species. There are indications that some species closely related to right whales may live more than 100 years. However, female North Atlantic right whales are now only living to around 45 years old and males only to around 65 years old. Such reduced lifespans are due to human-caused mortality, not old age.
In recent years, researchers have recorded more deaths among adult females than adult males, leading to a population with more males than females, a bias that is increasing over time. Females that undergo energetic stress from reproduction may be more susceptible than males to dying from chronic injuries such as those from entanglement or vessel strikes.
Female right whales become sexually mature at about age 10. They give birth to a single calf after a year-long pregnancy. Three years is considered a normal or healthy interval between right whale births. But now, on average, females are having calves every 6 to 10 years. Biologists believe that the additional stress caused by entanglement is one of the reasons that females are calving less often.
The changing climate, and more specifically oceanographic changes in the Northwest Atlantic, are key factors contributing to reduced reproduction and higher susceptibility to human-caused threats. Over the past decade, right whales have changed their distribution patterns, likely in response to changes in prey location and availability due to warming oceans. As their prey moved, the whales began spending more time in areas with fewer protections from vessel strikes and entanglements.
A dip in right whale births and lengthened calving intervals (from 3-5 years to 6-10 years) indicates that reproductively active females have struggled in recent years to find sufficient food resources to support pregnancy. As their environment changes, right whales will likely continue to modify their distribution and behavior to adapt, resulting in a more uncertain and unpredictable future for the species.
Vessel strikes are a major threat to right whales. Their habitat and migration routes are close to major ports along the Atlantic coastline and often overlap with shipping lanes, making right whales vulnerable to collisions with vessels. These collisions can cause broken bones and massive internal injuries or cuts from propellers. Vessels of nearly any size can injure or kill a right whale. The faster a vessel is traveling when it hits a whale, the higher the likelihood of serious injury or death.
Entanglement in fishing gear is one of the greatest threats to North Atlantic right whales. NOAA Fisheries and our partners estimate that over 85 percent of right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once. Fishing gear can cut into a whale’s body, cause serious injuries, and result in infections and mortality. Even if gear is shed or removed through disentanglement efforts, the time spent entangled can severely stress a whale, weaken it, prevent it from feeding, and sap the energy it needs to swim, feed, and reproduce. Chronic entanglements are one reason scientists think that female right whales are having fewer calves and are taking longer to have calves.
Ocean noise from human activities such as shipping, boating, construction, and energy exploration and development has increased in the Northwest Atlantic. Noise from these activities can interrupt the normal behavior of right whales and interfere with their communication. It may also reduce their ability to detect and avoid predators and human hazards, navigate, identify physical surroundings, find food, and find mates.
Kingdom | Animalia | Phylum | Chordata | Class | Mammalia | Order | Cetacea | Family | Balaenidae | Genus | Eubalaena | Species | glacialis |
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We are committed to the protection and recovery of the North Atlantic right whale through implementation of various conservation, regulatory, rescue, and enforcement measures. Our work includes:
We conduct various research activities on the biology, behavior, and ecology of the North Atlantic right whale. The results of this research are used to inform management decisions and enhance recovery efforts for this critically endangered species. Our work includes:
Please report all right whale sightings from Virginia to Maine at (866) 755-6622, and from Florida to North Carolina at 877-WHALE-HELP (877) 942-5343. Right whale sightings in any location may also be reported to the U.S. Coast Guard via channel 16 or through the Whale Alert app.
To protect right whales, NOAA Fisheries has regulations that prohibit approaching or remaining within 500 yards (1,500 feet) of a right whale—500 yards is the length of about five football fields. These regulations apply to vessels and aircraft (including drones), and to people using other watercraft such as surfboards, kayaks, and jet skis. Any vessel within 500 yards of a right whale must depart immediately at a safe, slow speed.
Call the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964 to report a federal marine resource violation. This hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days week for anyone in the United States.
Learn more about our marine life viewing guidelines
Report a sick, injured, entangled, stranded, or dead animal to make sure professional responders and scientists know about it and can take appropriate action. Numerous organizations around the country are trained and ready to respond. Never approach or try to save an injured or entangled animal yourself—it can be dangerous to both the animal and you.
Learn who you should contact when you encounter a stranded or injured marine animal >
Stay updated on right whale take reduction and other conservation measures. For accurate information, check your sources or confirm them by reviewing our news and announcements. Participate in public meetings and share your perspectives with Take Reduction Team members who represent your constituency.
The North Atlantic right whale is NOAA Fisheries' newest Species in the Spotlight. This initiative is a concerted, agency-wide effort to spotlight and save marine species that are among the most at risk of extinction in the near future.
North Atlantic right whales, which got their name from being the "right" whales to hunt because they floated when they were killed, have never recovered to pre-whaling numbers. These whales have been protected since 1935, when the international prohibition on whaling went into effect. North Atlantic right whales have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since it was enacted in 1973, and have been experiencing a steady population decline for nearly a decade. NOAA and our partners are continuing to prioritize stabilizing and preventing extinction of this species, and the Species in the Spotlight designation helps focus resources on these many efforts.
The majority of the Earth's oxygen is produced by marine phytoplankton. These tiny ocean inhabitants also help to absorb CO2, so healthy phytoplankton levels also help to combat climate change. When marine mammals such as right whales defecate at the surface, they provide essential nitrogen and phosphorus to those phytoplankton. Phytoplankton form the base of the food web in many ocean ecosystems, providing nutrition to zooplankton, small fish and invertebrates, and large fish, sea turtles, sea birds, and marine mammals, like North Atlantic right whales.
When whales die and their bodies sink, they also provide essential nutrient resources to the ocean floor ecosystems. Scavengers consume the soft tissue of a sunken carcass in a matter of months. Organic fragments, or detritus, enrich the sediments nearby for over a year, and the bones of the whale's skeleton can provide habitat for invertebrate communities for decades.
Better understanding North Atlantic right whale behavior and biology also provides us with information about changing ocean conditions, giving us insight into larger environmental issues that could have implications for human health.
Sometimes we don’t know how vital a species’ role is in maintaining this balance until it’s too late, and those unforeseen impacts can have a direct effect on our own existence. The Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act recognize that conserving species to ensure they fulfill their role in the broader ecosystem is to everyone’s benefit. A diverse environment is a healthier environment. It’s part of our responsibility as stewards of the nation’s living marine resources to make sure that we protect North Atlantic right whales for generations to come.
As the federal agency charged with recovering the North Atlantic right whale, we are committed to recovering the species by significantly reducing risks from entanglement and vessel strikes. The Marine Mammal Protection Act provides a structure, through the Take Reduction Process, for stakeholder voices to be heard and the opportunity for entanglement risk reduction innovation to come from the people who will be most affected by future regulatory action. Under the Endangered Species Act, we manage the threats that North Atlantic right whales face, including the risks of vessel strikes, to facilitate their recovery.
Learn more about NOAA's commitment to saving North Atlantic right whales
North Atlantic right whales face many threats, including climate change which may alter their migratory patterns and feeding areas, vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, and the impacts of ocean noise on their ability to communicate, find food, and navigate. Two of these threats, entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes, are the causes of the majority of the serious injuries and mortalities in the ongoing North Atlantic Right Whale Unusual Mortality Event.
Learn more about these threats
We are currently developing a Species in the Spotlight 5-Year Priority Actions plan that builds on the recovery plan and details the focused efforts that are needed from 2021–2025.
For information on our many efforts, including our recovery plan, implementation teams, critical habitat designations, vessel strike reduction, fishing gear entanglement reduction, and stranding responses, to help North Atlantic right whales recover, visit our conservation and management page.
The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium is dedicated to the conservation and recovery of the North Atlantic right whale. Its 200 members represent research and conservation organizations, shipping and fishing industries, technical experts, U.S. and Canadian government agencies, and state and provincial authorities. The Consortium has made substantial contributions to the efforts to protect and recover these whales.
Right whales are protected under both the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They have been listed as endangered under the ESA since 1970 and are in danger of extinction throughout all of their range. NOAA Fisheries is working to recover this species in many ways.
Under the ESA, NOAA Fisheries is required to develop and implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of listed species. The ultimate goal of the North Atlantic right whale plan is to recover the species, with an interim goal of down-listing its status from endangered to threatened.
The major actions recommended in the plan are:
Read the recovery plan for the North Atlantic right whale
The ESA authorizes NOAA Fisheries to appoint recovery teams to assist with the development and implementation of recovery plans. Two regional North Atlantic right whale recovery plan implementation teams were established to assist with issues related to the status and conservation of right whales
Learn more about the Southeast U.S. Implementation Team
Once a species is listed under the ESA, NOAA Fisheries evaluates and identifies whether any areas meet the definition of critical habitat. Those areas may be designated as critical habitat through a rulemaking process. The designation of an area as critical habitat does not create a closed area, marine protected area, refuge, wilderness reserve, preservation, or other conservation area; nor does the designation affect land ownership. Rather, federal agencies that undertake, fund, or permit activities that may affect these designated critical habitat areas are required to consult with NOAA Fisheries to ensure that their actions do not adversely modify or destroy designated critical habitat. NOAA Fisheries designated critical habitat for the North Atlantic right whale in 1994 (59 FR 28805) and revised the designation in 2016 (81 FR 4838). Critical habitat for the North Atlantic right whale includes two areas—a foraging area in the Northeast and a calving area in the Southeast:
The most common vessel-related threats to right whales are blunt force trauma and propeller cuts. Collisions between whales and large vessels often go unnoticed and unreported, even though whales can be injured or killed and vessels can sustain damage.
Reducing vessel speeds where whales are present, developing recommended shipping lanes outside of specific ports, making mariners aware when whales are around, and implementing a 500-yard “no-approach” safety zone around right whales are among the measures we use to reduce these threats.
Specifically, we have taken both regulatory and non-regulatory steps to reduce the threat of vessel collisions to North Atlantic right whales, including:
The most effective way to reduce collision risk is to keep whales and vessels apart. If that is not possible, the next best option is for vessels to slow down and keep a lookout. There are several areas, known as Seasonal Management Areas, along the U.S. East Coast where most vessels 65 feet or longer must slow to 10 knots or less during times of the year when right whales are likely to be in the area. The idea behind the 10-knot limit is that the more slowly a vessel goes, the more time the whale has to get out of the way, and a strike at that speed is less likely to be fatal. We have fined companies for violating these speed reductions.
Outside of these areas, if three or more right whales are sighted within close proximity to each other, we implement a short-term voluntary speed reduction area around those whales called a Dynamic Management Area (or DMA) and do our best to get the word out to all vessels to reduce their speed in these areas. In the Northeast, we also implement analogous Right Whale Slow Zones when right whales are detected by acoustic receivers. Unfortunately, studies have found that these voluntary measures are not sufficiently effective in modifying vessel speed or direction of travel, and therefore likely do little to reduce vessel collisions.
Learn more about reducing vessel strikes to North Atlantic right whales
To further reduce the number of vessel strikes, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Coast Guard developed and implemented a mandatory vessel reporting system for North Atlantic right whales. When large vessels enter one of two key right whale habitats—one off the U.S. northeast coast and one off the U.S. southeast coast—they must report to a shore-based station. In return, the vessel receives a message about right whales, their vulnerability to vessel strikes, precautionary measures to avoid hitting a whale, and locations of recent sightings.
Learn more about the mandatory ship reporting system for North Atlantic right whales
To reduce vessel collisions with right whales, mariners are urged to use caution and proceed at safe speeds in areas where right whales occur. NOAA Fisheries and our partners developed an interactive mapping application that provides real-time information on North Atlantic right whale sightings along the East Coast of the United States.
Learn more about reducing vessel strikes to North Atlantic right whales
Underwater noise threatens marine animal populations, interrupting their normal behavior and driving them away from areas important to their survival. NOAA Fisheries is investigating all aspects of acoustic communication and hearing in marine animals, including the effects of sound on whale behavior and hearing. In 2016, we issued technical guidance or assessing the effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals’ hearing.
There is an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event for North Atlantic Right Whale. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, an unusual mortality event is defined as "a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response." Scientists carefully study unusual mortality events, to determine the cause of these events and better understand the health of marine mammal populations.
Get information on active and past UMEs
Get an overview of marine mammal UMEs
Entanglement in fishing gear is a primary cause of serious injury and mortality for many whale species, including the North Atlantic right whale. With the help of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team—a group of advisors consisting of fishermen, scientists, and state and federal officials—we have developed management measures to reduce whale entanglements. We require commercial fishermen to use certain gear modifications that are less harmful to North Atlantic right whales, and have established areas where fishing cannot take place during certain times when North Atlantic right whales are present. Specifically, we have taken both regulatory and non-regulatory steps to reduce the threat of entanglement to North Atlantic right whales, including:
We are currently developing management measures to reduce the number and strength of buoy lines in the water column in an effort to further reduce the risk of entanglement in fishing gear. In addition, we are actively working with fishermen to test ropeless fishing gear systems which we anticipate will provide future options to prevent large whale entanglement.
In addition, when entangled whales are reported anywhere along the U.S. East Coast, the NOAA-funded Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network is called upon to try to help. The network is made up of emergency responders from 20 public and private organizations who have extensive training in how to disentangle large whales and increase their odds of surviving. The Network has successfully disentangled close to 30 North Atlantic right whales over the years. Examining gear removed from entangled animals is one of the key ways for us to determine whether regulations are working and fishing gear modifications are effective.
Learn more about ropeless gear
Learn more about the Take Reduction Team's efforts to reduce whale entanglements
Learn more about bycatch and fisheries interactions
We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states to respond to marine mammal strandings. When stranded animals are found alive, NOAA Fisheries and our partners assess the animal’s health. When stranded animals are found dead, our scientists work to understand and investigate the cause of death. Although the cause often remains unknown, scientists can sometimes identify strandings due to disease, harmful algal blooms, vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglements, pollution exposure, and underwater noise. Some strandings can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare
Learn more about the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program
NOAA Fisheries is actively collaborating with Canada through ongoing bilateral negotiations on the science and management gaps that are impeding the recovery of North Atlantic right whales in both Canadian and U.S. waters.
NOAA Fisheries conducts various research activities on the biology, behavior, and ecology of the North Atlantic right whale. The results of this research are used to inform management decisions and enhance recovery efforts for this endangered species.
We use a variety of methods to determine where right whales are located, including surveys with boats and planes, underwater acoustic listening devices, habitat modeling, and citizen science sighting reports. To better inform the public of the most recent right whale sightings, NOAA scientists maintain a database that displays real-time sightings on an interactive map. These data, along with those maintained by our partners at the New England Aquarium, includes more than 40 years of reliable sightings data, spanning the entire range of the species from Canada through Florida.
NOAA is working hard to develop a tag that will stay attached to right whales without compromising the health of these animals given their precarious state and poor condition. Right whales are especially challenging to keep long term tags attached since they often engage in physical contact with each other, putting tremendous stress on tags attached to their bodies. They also lack a dorsal fin which is a commonly used attachment point in other species.
Scientists use small aircraft to spot North Atlantic right whales and photograph them to identify individuals and record their seasonal distribution. Understanding the whales’ distribution patterns helps managers establish measures to reduce vessel strikes and fisheries interactions. NOAA Fisheries and our partners also use small unmanned aircraft systems (drones) to assess individual right whale size and body condition, as well as taking breath samples to analyze factors such as genetics and stress hormones.
North Atlantic right whale mother and calf as seen from a research drone called a hexacopter. Hexacopters allow researchers to conduct right whale photo identification and photogrammetry studies. Photogrammetry techniques allow scientists to get body measurements from aerial photographs. Photo: NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center/Lisa Conger and Elizabeth Josephson.
In addition to aerial surveys, we conduct vessel surveys that investigate the whales’ habitat preferences and feeding ecology, as well as collect photographic and genetic identification. Information from this research can be used to inform management actions that protect the North Atlantic right whale.
As with our aerial surveys, the goals of many shipboard surveys are to photograph as many individual right whales as possible, so we concentrate on places where we are most likely to find them at the surface, aggregating to feed or engage in social behaviors. This helps us accurately estimate the population size and monitor population trends. The photographs and other data collected (time, date, location, behavior) are used by researchers to investigate things like body condition, behavior, and life history. Over time, these data can also reflect changes in distribution.
If the whales aren’t feeding or socializing at the surface, their behavior can make them hard to spot (for example, if they’re engaged in deep dives or traveling while submerged). Sea state and weather also make it more challenging to spot whales.
Acoustics is the science of how sound is transmitted. This research involves increasing our understanding of the basic acoustic behavior of whales, dolphins, and fish; mapping the acoustic environment; and developing better methods using autonomous gliders and passive acoustic arrays to locate cetaceans.
We use underwater microphones to listen for right whale calls. This is another way to learn more about where and when these whales are present in different areas (at least during times they are vocalizing) where visual surveys are not likely to be effective. For example, acoustic detections have shown that at least some right whales can be detected year-round in locations we thought were once only seasonally used.
Other research is focused on the acoustic environment of cetaceans, including North Atlantic right whales.
Learn more about acoustic science
Determining the size of the North Atlantic right whale population—and whether it is increasing or decreasing from year to year—helps resource managers assess the success of the conservation measures enacted. Our scientists collect population information on right whales from various sources and present the data in an annual stock assessment report.
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