North Atlantic Right Whale

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. This means that North Atlantic right whales are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range. NOAA Fisheries is working to protect this species in many ways, with the goal that its population will increase.

Recovery Plan

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

Implementation

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

Learn about the Northeast U.S. Implementation Team

Critical Habitat Designation

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:

Reducing Vessel Strikes

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 ships 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:

Implementing Vessel Speed Restrictions for North Atlantic Right Whales

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 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 75 nautical miles of each other, we implement a short-term voluntary speed reduction area around those whales and do our best to get the word out to all vessels to use extra caution in these areas. Unfortunately, studies have found that these voluntary measures are not very effective in modifying vessel speed or direction of travel, and therefore likely do little to reduce vessel collisions.

Implementing a Mandatory Vessel Reporting System for 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 ship 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

Implementing Right Whale Sighting and Notice Systems

To reduce 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

Addressing Ocean Noise

Underwater noise threatens whale populations, interrupting their normal behavior and driving them away from areas important to their survival. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to intense underwater sound in some settings may cause some species of whales to strand and ultimately die. NOAA Fisheries is investigating all aspects of acoustic communication and hearing in marine animals, as well as the effects of sound on whale behavior and hearing. In 2016, we issued technical guidance for assessing the effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals’ hearing.

Learn more about ocean noise

Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events

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." To understand the health of marine mammal populations, scientists study unusual mortality events.

Get information on active and past UMEs

Get an overview of marine mammal UMEs

Reducing Entanglement in Fishing Gear

Entanglement in fishing gear is a primary cause of serious injury and death 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 types 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. 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, when entangled whales are reported anywhere along the 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. And 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 the Take Reduction Team’s efforts to reduce whale entanglements

Learn more about bycatch and fisheries interactions

Overseeing Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response

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

International Collaboration

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.

Read our January 2020 Leadership Message

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 aerial surveys (planes), directed shipboard surveys, underwater acoustic listening devices, habitat modeling, and anecdotal sightings reports. To better inform the public of the most recent right whale sightings, NOAA scientists maintain a database which displays real-time sightings on an interactive Google map. Our database 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 tracking device that will stay attached to right whales and not compromise the health of these animals. Right whales present a unique challenge to tagging efforts because they are social animals that often engage in physical contact with each other, putting tremendous stress on tags attached to their bodies.

Aerial Surveys

Scientists use small aircraft to spot North Atlantic right whales and photograph them to identify individuals and record their seasonal distribution. Understanding the whales’ migration patterns helps managers establish measures to reduce vessel strikes and limit the overlap between fisheries and whales. NOAA Fisheries and our partners also use small unmanned aircraft systems—commonly called “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.

Shipboard Studies

In addition to aerial surveys, we conduct research cruises 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.

The goals of many of our aerial and 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 most 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 from a plane or large research vessel (for example, if they’re engaged in deep dives or traveling while submerged). Sea state and weather also make it more complicated to spot individual right whales from a plane. 

Acoustic Science

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. 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.

Learn more about acoustic science

Stock Assessments

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.

Learn more about marine mammal stock assessments