North Pacific Right Whale

Eastern and Western Populations

North Pacific right whales are considered to exist in two populations based on geographic distribution: eastern and western North Pacific. The range of eastern North Pacific right whales is believed to encompass the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea, while the western population ranges from near the Commander Islands, the coast of Kamchatka, along the Kuril Islands and in the Sea of Okhotsk.

There are few reliable estimates of the current number of North Pacific right whales, but it is thought to be in the low 100s. There may have been as many as 37,000 North Pacific right whales before commercial whaling drastically reduced populations in the 19th century.

Eastern Population

The eastern population of North Pacific right whales is one of the smallest large whale populations in U.S. waters. The eastern population may only have only 30 animals. After being hunted extensively in the nineteenth century, they were protected by international treaties in the 1930s and 1940s. Despite these protections, illegal Soviet whaling in U.S. waters during the 1960s decimated the already reduced population, and there have been no signs of recovery since. In fact, for many years, the whales were so rarely seen that sightings of individuals warranted publication.

Since 1996, North Pacific right whales have been found repeatedly in or near their Critical Habitat, a small area of the southeastern Bering Sea. Even though there have been substantial research efforts in this area in certain years, the entire photographic identification catalog of Bering Sea right whales (as of 2017) only includes 23 individuals, and the genetics archive contains only 21 individuals.

The population in the Bering Sea is thought to number only about 28 whales, with 20 males and eight females. The small number of females is of great concern, and relatively few calves and juveniles have been seen in the last few decades (one in 2002, two in 2004, and one in 2017). Even fewer whales have been seen in the Gulf of Alaska, with only a few individuals ever identified (in 2005, 2006, 2013, and 2017). During recent ship surveys in the Gulf of Alaska in 2009 and 2013, no right whales were seen, but at least three individuals were detected acoustically.

Dedicated aerial surveys, ship surveys, and satellite tagging research on North Pacific right whales in the Bering Sea have not been conducted since 2010 due to a lack of funding. The only current field research on North Pacific right whales consists of several acoustic recorders in the Bering Sea that can detect their occurrence.

Western Population

The area inhabited by North Pacific right whales from the western stock includes Russian and Japanese territorial and exclusive economic zone waters and some international waters, even in the center of the Sea of Okhotsk. As a result, surveys for whales have generally not been comprehensive. Therefore, information on distribution and abundance from the western stock is limited, and its status is currently unknown.

The only existing estimate of the western North Pacific right whale population comes from three Japanese minke whale sighting surveys in the Sea of Okhotsk conducted between 1989 and 1992. This estimate was 922 animals; however, biases were identified in the survey methodology, and the estimate should be considered unreliable given its low precision. The population estimate for the western stock is likely in the low hundreds.

In the western North Pacific, recent sightings of right whales have been reported. These include five observations of a total of ten animals in June 2012 in offshore waters some 290 miles southeast of Kamchatka, together with a pair of whales recorded in June 2013 east of the Kuril Islands. A breaching right whale was observed during a sightseeing cruise off the Shiretoko Peninsula of Japan in July 2013 making it the first confirmed sighting in the area for several decades and the first recorded in Hokkaido. In February 2015, a young right whale was found entangled in aquaculture gear at Namhae, South Korea and successfully released, making it the first record of this species in the Sea of Japan in 41 years. In October 2016, an entangled right whale was reported to have died while being disentangled in Volcano Bay, Hokkaido, Japan.

In the Spotlight

Management Overview

The North Pacific right whale has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1973 when it was listed as the "northern right whale." It was originally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, the precursor to the ESA, in June 1970. The species is also designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

North Pacific right whale. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

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Recovery Planning and Implementation

Recovery Action

Under the ESA, NOAA Fisheries is required to develop and implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of listed species. NOAA Fisheries appointed a recovery team to assist with the development and implementation of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Northern Right Whale (including both the North Atlantic and North Pacific right whales), which was distributed for public comment in February 1990. In December 1991, the Final Recovery Plan for the Northern Right Whale was approved. NOAA Fisheries reclassified Northern right whales into two species, North Atlantic right whales and North Pacific right whales, and each species has its own recovery plan. The North Pacific right whale plan was most recently revised in 2013, NOAA Fisheries announced the availability of the North Pacific Right Whale Recovery Plan.

The goal of the plan is to recover the species, with an interim goal of down-listing their status from "endangered" to "threatened."

The major actions recommended in the plan are:

• Reduce or eliminate injury or mortality caused by ship collision
• Reduce or eliminate injury and mortality caused by fisheries and fishing gear
• Protect habitats essential to the survival and recovery of the species
• Minimize effects of vessel disturbance
• Continue international ban on hunting and other directed takes
• Monitor the population size and trends in abundance of the species
• Maximize efforts to free entangled or stranded right whales and acquire scientific information from dead specimens

NOAA Fisheries initiated a 5-year review of the North Pacific right whale under the ESA. The review was completed in 2017 and concluded that due to insufficient data, a high demographic risk, and major risks that are not well understood, this species remains endangered.

Read the 5-year review document

Critical Habitat

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. 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.

In 2008, NOAA Fisheries designated critical habitat for the North Pacific right whale. In 2022, NOAA Fisheries initiated a review of the currently designated critical habitat to determine whether revision is warranted.

Learn more about the critical habitat designation for the North Pacific right whale

View the North Pacific right whale critical habitat map

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Conservation Efforts

Addressing Ocean Noise

Underwater noise threatens whale populations, interrupting their normal behavior and driving them away from areas important to their survival, such as feeding and breeding grounds. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to intense underwater sound in some settings may cause some 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 (human-caused) sound on marine mammal hearing.

Learn more about ocean noise

Overseeing Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response

We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states to respond to marine mammal strandings including all whales. When stranded animals are found alive, NOAA Fisheries and our partners assess the animal’s health and determine the best course of action. 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 attribute strandings 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

Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events

North Pacific right whales have never been part of a declared unusual mortality event. 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

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Regulatory History

Right whales were first protected by the 1931 Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which took effect in 1935. However, neither Japan nor the Soviet Union signed this agreement. In 1949, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling protected right whales from commercial whaling.

The North Pacific right whale has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 1973 when it was listed as the "northern right whale." It was originally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, the precursor to the ESA, in June 1970. The species is also designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1973.

In 2005, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list the North Pacific right whale (formerly the "northern right whale") under the ESA. In March 2008, we reclassified the endangered northern right whale as two separate, endangered species: North Pacific right whale (E. japonica) and North Atlantic right whale (E. glacialis). In April 2008, NOAA Fisheries issued a final rule to designate critical habitat for the North Pacific right whale.

Key Actions and Documents