
Rice's Whale
Balaenoptera ricei

Protected Status
Quick Facts

Rice's Whale. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
About the Species

Rice's Whale. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
Rice's whales are members of the baleen whale family Balaenopteridae. With likely fewer than 100 individuals remaining, Rice's whales are one of the most endangered whales in the world. Recovery of the species depends upon the protection of each remaining whale.
The Rice's whale has been consistently located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, along the continental shelf break between 100 and about 400 meters depth. They are the only resident baleen whale in the Gulf of Mexico and are most closely related to Bryde’s (pronounced “broodus”) whales. In 2021, scientists determined that the Rice’s whale was a unique species, genetically and morphologically distinct from Bryde’s whales.
Population Status
In 2019, NOAA Fisheries listed the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale as an endangered subspecies under the Endangered Species Act. In 2021, NOAA Fisheries revised the common and scientific name of the listed entity to Rice’s whale, Balaenoptera ricei, and classification to species to reflect the new scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of the species. Like all marine mammals, the Rice’s whale is also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and given its ESA listing, it is considered depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
When the comprehensive ESA status review was completed in 2016, the team of scientists conducting the ESA status review concluded that there were likely fewer than 100 individual Rice's whales throughout the Gulf, with 50 or fewer being mature individuals. NOAA Fisheries’ most recent abundance estimate from 2017–2018 surveys in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico is approximately 50 individual Rice's whales.
Protected Status
ESA Endangered
- Throughout Its Range
MMPA Protected
- Throughout Its Range
MMPA Depleted
- Throughout Its Range
CITES Appendix I
- Throughout Its Range
Appearance
Rice's whales, like Bryde’s whales, are smaller than sei whales. Unlike other rorquals, which have a single ridge on their rostrum, Bryde’s and Rice’s whales have three prominent ridges in front of their blowhole, though this feature can be difficult to observe at sea. Their body is sleek, and their pectoral fins are slender and pointed. Rice's whales are uniformly dark gray on top with a pale to pink belly. The head of a Rice's whale makes up about one quarter of its entire body length. The whale has a broad fluke, or tail, and a pointed and strongly hooked dorsal fin located about two-thirds of the way back on its body.
Like other baleen whales, Rice’s whales and Bryde’s whales engulf large amounts of water and strain it through baleen plates that hang inside their mouths to catch their prey. They have throat grooves that expand while feeding to increase the amount of seawater, and therefore prey, that they can engulf.
Behavior and Diet
Rice's whales are usually seen alone or in pairs, but may form larger, loose groups associated with feeding. Limited data suggest that Rice's whales spend the daytime diving near the seafloor bottom and spend the majority of their time at night within 50 feet of the water’s surface, similar to some Bryde’s whales.
Little is known about their foraging ecology and diet. However, data from a two Rice’s whales suggest they may mostly forage at or near the seafloor. This is in contrast to Bryde's whales that have been observed feeding in the water column and near the surface on small crustaceans and schooling fish such as anchovy, sardine, mackerel, and herring.
Baleen whales typically produce a variety of highly stereotyped, low-frequency tonal and broadband calls for communication purposes. NOAA Fisheries scientists are researching what call types the whales produce so that they can use special underwater sound recording instruments to learn more about where these whales go and when..
Where They Live
The historical distribution of Rice's whales may have once encompassed the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico. For the past 25 years, Rice’s whales in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico have been consistently located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico along the continental shelf between roughly 100 and 400 meters depth. A single Rice’s whale was observed in the western Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas, suggesting that their distribution may occasionally include waters elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA Fisheries scientists are conducting research to better understand the whales’ distribution, for example, if they utilize the western Gulf of Mexico and Mexican waters of the southern Gulf of Mexico, and how frequently they may occur in these other areas. The Rice's whale is one of the few types of baleen whales to prefer warmer, tropical waters and that does not make long-distance migrations. They remain in the Gulf of Mexico year-round.

Lifespan & Reproduction
Based on information from closely-related Bryde’s whales, Rice's whales are likely able to reproduce every two to three years, reach sexual maturity at age 9, and mate year-round. Based on data from closely related Bryde’s whales, Rice’s whales may be pregnant for 10 to 12 months, and calves may nurse up to 12 months.
Threats
The Rice's whale’s very small population size and limited distribution increase its vulnerability to threats. The most significant threats they face are energy exploration and development, oil spills and spill response, vessel strikes, ocean noise, ocean debris, aquaculture, and entanglement in fishing gear. With such a small population size, the death of a single whale due to any of these stressors could have devastating consequences for the population’s recovery.
Vessel Strikes
Vessel strikes can injure or kill Rice's whales. The northern Gulf of Mexico experiences a high amount of vessel traffic where several commercial shipping lanes cross through Rice’s whale habitat. In 2009, a female Rice's whale was found dead in Tampa Bay. A necropsy was performed and its death was determined to be the result of being struck by a vessel. NOAA Fisheries scientists are studying photos of living whales to evaluate their health which includes estimating how many show evidence of having survived vessel strikes.
Limited data suggest that Rice’s whales spend most of their time within about 50 feet of the water’s surface. The risk of vessel strikes is significant given the location of commercial shipping lanes and other transiting vessel traffic and the whale’s swimming behavior.
Ocean Noise
A variety of human activities in the Gulf of Mexico produce underwater noise. Shipping traffic and energy exploration and development activities, such as seismic airgun surveys to find oil and gas fields, create low frequency noise, which overlaps with the hearing range of Rice’s whales. It is likely that the Rice's whales rely on their hearing to perform critical life functions such as communication, navigation, finding a mate, locating prey, and predator avoidance. As ocean noise levels increase, the resulting habitat degradation and disruption to these life functions can result in adverse physical and behavioral effects to Rice's whales.
Energy Exploration and Development
The Gulf of Mexico is highly industrialized due to expansive oil energy exploration and production that requires seismic surveys, drilling rigs, platforms, cables, pipelines, and vessel support, and in the future, it may also have wind energy development. Habitat in the north-central and western Gulf of Mexico, which likely includes the Rice's whales’ historical range, has already been substantially modified by the presence of thousands of oil and gas platforms and underwater pipelines. These activities also increase risk of vessel strike from support vessels and add noise to the environment from vessel traffic and seismic surveys, as described above.
Oil Spills and Responses
Oil spills are a common occurrence in the Gulf of Mexico. Exposure to oil spills may cause severe illness or death of marine mammals. Oil can coat the baleen that the Rice's whales use to eat. This makes it difficult for them to feed and can cause them to swallow oil. Exposure to oil spills can also lead to lung and respiratory issues (through inhalation), increased vulnerability to other diseases and infections (through ingestion), and irritation of the skin or sensitive tissue in the whale’s eyes and mouths (through absorption). Additionally, exposure to oil spills can have reproductive impacts.
Chemicals used to respond to oil spills, called dispersants, may also be toxic to Rice’s whales. Whales continue to face threats from continued exposure to oil and dispersants in the environment long after the oil spill and spill response are considered over. Additionally, their prey is often killed or contaminated by the spill.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill negatively affected Rice's whales. While the Deepwater Horizon platform was located outside Rice's whale habitat, scientists estimate nearly half of the oil spill footprint overlapped with the whales’ habitat. As a result, it is estimated that their population decreased by 22 percent.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Interactions
Like all large whale species, Rice’s whales can become entangled in fishing and aquaculture gear, which can cause serious injuries and even death. Historically, two Rice's whales stranded, entangled with fishing gear. Since 2003, there have been no known serious injuries or mortalities of Rice's whales due to interactions with fisheries. However, their primary habitat overlaps with several commercial fisheries and their foraging behavior may place them at risk for becoming entangled in certain types of gear. Aquaculture activities have largely been absent from their known habitat; however, that may change in the future as this industry is beginning to expand. NOAA’s Aquaculture Program has identified the Gulf of Mexico as one of the first regions for focused evaluation to find Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. In areas where Bryde’s whales (close relatives of Rice’s whales) and aquaculture gear overlap (e.g., New Zealand), entanglements of whales in aquaculture gear have occurred and led to mortality. Aquaculture activities also increase risk of vessel strike from support vessels, add noise to the environment from vessel traffic, may affect water quality, and attract predators.
Ocean Debris
Rice's whales are also at risk from ocean debris. For example, in 2019 a male Rice's whale washed up along Sandy Key in the Florida Everglades with a hard piece of plastic in its stomach, which is thought to have contributed to its death. Plastic often ends up in the stomachs of marine wildlife, though it is often difficult to determine if it was indeed the cause of death for stranded animals.
Small Population Size and Limited Distribution
The Rice's whale’s very small population size and limited distribution increase its vulnerability to inbreeding (offspring may have traits that put the individual at risk), environmental change, decreased disease resistance, and habitat loss. Due to their limited distribution, these whales are vulnerable to catastrophic events that impact their core habitat, while even the loss of a single individual could prevent recovery due to the very small population size.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom | Animalia | Phylum | Chordata | Class | Mammalia | Order | Cetartiodactyla | Family | Balaenopteridae | Genus | Balaenoptera | Species | Ricei |
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Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/07/2023
What We Do
Conservation & Management
Our work to protect and recovery these whales includes:
- Developing recovery plan
- Reducing vessel strikes
- Addressing ocean noise
- Overseeing Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response
- Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events
Science
NOAA Fisheries continually conducts research to learn more about the biology, behavior, and ecology of Rice's whales to better inform management and policy decisions. Our work includes:
- Monitoring population abundance and distribution
- Stock assessments
- Investigating prey type, distribution, and energetics
- Identifying habitat requirements
- Investigating dive behavior and energy budgets
- Studying acoustics
- Assessing health
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In the Spotlight
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Management Overview
Rice’s whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA Fisheries listed the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale subspecies in 2019 as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 2021, we revised the common and scientific name to Rice’s whale, Balaenoptera ricei, and its classification to species to reflect the scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of the whales. This change to the species and common names does not affect its ESA listing status.
NOAA Fisheries Requests Public Comments on Petition to Establish a Mandatory 10-Knot Speed Limit and Other Vessel-Related Mitigation Measures to Protect Rice’s Whales
NOAA Fisheries announces receipt of a petition for rulemaking to establish a year-round 10-knot vessel speed limit and other vessel-related mitigation measures in the Rice’s whale “core” habitat area. We are requesting comments on the petition and will consider all comments and available information when determining whether to accept the petition and proceed with the suggested rulemaking.
- Notice of receipt of petition; request for comments. Submit written comments on or before July 6, 2023.
- Petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Healthy Gulf, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, and the New England Aquarium.
Recovery Planning and Implementation
Under the ESA, NOAA Fisheries is required to develop and implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of listed species. We are committed to the protection and recovery of the Rice’s whale, with the ultimate goal of helping this species recover from its very low population size. This would allow the species to be reclassified from endangered to threatened and ultimately be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species.
Recovery Outline
NOAA Fisheries has developed a recovery outline to serve as an interim guidance document to direct recovery efforts, including recovery planning, for the Rice’s whale until a full recovery plan is developed and approved. The recovery outline presents a preliminary strategy for recovery of the species and recommends high priority actions to stabilize and recover the species.
Recovery Planning Workshops
We conducted a series of virtual recovery planning workshop sessions for the Rice’s whale in October and November 2021. The purpose of the workshops was to gather information, facts, and perspectives on how to recover the Rice’s whale, including identifying potential recovery criteria and actions to address the threats to Rice’s whales. Participants included federal and state agencies, scientific experts, commercial fishery representatives, conservation partners, and non-governmental organizations. The sessions covered the following topics:
- October 18, 2021 – Introduction to Recovery Planning, Species and Threats Overview, ESA Section 7 Effects Analysis Overview, Discussion on Session Topic-Related Recovery Actions and Recovery Criteria
- November 1, 2021 – Climate Change and Renewable Energy, Prey, Entanglement and Fisheries Interactions, Threats Rankings, Discussion on Session Topic-Related Recovery Actions and Recovery Criteria
- November 10, 2021 – Environmental Pollutants and Disease/Health Indicators, Marine Debris, Threats Rankings, Discussion on Session Topic-Related Recovery Actions and Recovery Criteria
- November 16, 2021 – Anthropogenic Noise/Acoustic Habitat, Vessel Collisions, Threats Rankings, Discussion on Session Topic-Related Recovery Actions and Recovery Criteria
- November 18, 2021 – Workshop Recap: Threat Rankings, Recovery Criteria Review and Discussion, Next Steps
Conservation Efforts
Reducing Vessel Strikes
Collisions between whales and large vessels can injure or kill the whales and damage the vessels, but they often go unnoticed and unreported. The most effective way to reduce collision risk is to keep whales and vessels apart. When this is not possible, the next best thing is for vessels to slow down and keep a lookout for whales to reduce both the likelihood of collisions as well as the potential severity of impact if one occurs. In all but one instance when captains have self-reported a collision with a North Atlantic right whale, the crew reported they never saw a whale before the collision happened.
Learn more about reducing vessel strikes
Addressing Ocean Noise
Low-frequency underwater noise may threaten Rice’s whales by interrupting their normal behavior and driving them away from areas important to their survival, such as feeding areas. 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 2018, we revised technical guidance for assessing the effects of anthropogenic (human-caused) sound on marine mammal hearing.
Learn more about underwater noise and marine life
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
Rice's whales have been part of a previous 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
Educating the Public
NOAA Fisheries aims to increase public awareness and support for Rice's whale conservation through education, outreach, and public participation. We share information with the public about the status of Rice's whales, our research, and efforts to promote their recovery.
Key Actions and Documents
Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Air Force Eglin Gulf Testing and Training
Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) along Atlantic and Gulf Coasts (2018-2025)
Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (2013 -2018)
Incidental Take Authorization: Oil and Gas Industry Geophysical Survey Activity in the Atlantic Ocean
More Information
- Frequent Questions: Proposed Listing of the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s Whale as End…
- Incidental Take Authorizations Under the MMPA
- Marine Life in Distress
- Marine Life Viewing Guidelines
- Marine Mammal Protection
- Endangered Species Conservation
- Endangered and Threatened Species; Petition To Establish a Vessel Speed Restric…
Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/07/2023
Science Overview
NOAA Fisheries conducts various research activities on the biology, behavior, and ecology of the Rice's whale. The results of this research are used to inform management decisions for this species.
Trophic Interactions and Habitat Requirements of Gulf of Mexico Rice’s Whales
As part of the RESTORE Science Program-funded Gulf of Mexico Rice’s Whale Trophic Ecology Project, we worked with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Florida International University on a multi-year study to develop a comprehensive ecological understanding of the endangered Rice's whale. In 2018 and 2019, we collected data on the physical, oceanographic, and biological features that may influence Rice’s whale distribution in the Gulf of Mexico. We surveyed mostly within the species’ current core distribution area using a multifaceted approach to collect data.
More about trophic interactions and habitat requirements of Gulf of Mexico Rice's Whales
Stock Assessments
Information from marine mammal stock assessment reports are used to identify and evaluate the status of marine mammal populations and help to design and conduct appropriate conservation measures. Continuing data collection, analysis, and interpretation of Rice's whales is updated and incorporated into annual stock assessment reports.
Shipboard Studies
In addition to surveys supporting stock assessments, we also conduct research cruises to investigate the whales’ habitat preferences, feeding ecology, and to conduct photographic and genetic identification. This research is used to inform management actions that protect the Rice's whale.
Acoustic Science
Acoustics is the science of how sound is transmitted, and NOAA Fisheries works to understand the basic acoustic behavior of whales, dolphins, and fish; map the acoustic environment; and develop better methods to locate cetaceans
Learn more about acoustic science
More Information
Recent Science Blogs
Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/07/2023
Documents
Rice's Whale Recovery Outline
This document serves as an interim guidance document to direct recovery efforts for the Rice's…
Biological Opinion on the Federally Regulated Oil and Gas Program Activities in the Gulf of Mexico
Programmatic biological opinion on the Gulf of Mexico oil and Gas Program in federal waters…
Status Review of Bryde's Whales in the Gulf of Mexico Under the Endangered Species Act
This status review responds to a September 18, 2014 petition from the Natural Resources Defense…
Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/07/2023