The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is one of the most endangered large whale species in the world, with less than 400 individuals remaining, and with fewer than 100 breeding females left (as of 2020). This makes North Atlantic right whales Critically Endangered!

Since 2017, right whales have experienced an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event (UME), with 46 individual right whales dead or seriously injured. This represents more than 10% of the population, which is a significant impact on such a critically endangered species where deaths are outpacing births.

Although North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, substantial mortality of right whales is still continuing today and is restricting recovery of the population in the North Atlantic Ocean. Some of the most significant sources of mortality, injuries and stress to right whales include:

1. Collisions with ships: A right whale’s habitat and migration routes are close to major ports along the Atlantic seaboard and often overlap with shipping lanes, making the whales vulnerable to collisions with ships. Also, faster ships today, and slow right whales foreshadow a deadly encounter. Every year, up to 20,000 whales die globally because of lethal collisions with vessels.

2. Entanglement in commercial fishing gear, especially with lobster traps and line: Fishing rope is much stronger now than it was prior to the 1990s. This means less gear is lost, but stronger rope makes it more difficult for entangled whales to break free. Scientists have determined that at least 83 percent of all North Atlantic Right Whales have been entangled in fishing gear to lead to their death.

3. Global Warming: New research finds climate change is having an impact on how large whale species, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, use habitats in the warming Gulf of Maine, showing that right whales' use of Cape Cod Bay has shifted significantly over the last 20 years.

4. Underwater Noise Pollution from Ships and Industrial Projects: Researchers are currently trying to better understand how noise in ocean waters is affecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale. While scientists believe that increased ocean noise such as shipping sounds, oil and gas activities and even environmental factors like loud wind and rain can make it difficult for whales to communicate, we still need better research to understand noise impacts on North Atlantic right whales. For example, Scientists estimate that critically endangered North Atlantic right whales have lost 63 to 67 percent of their communication space in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massashusetts due to noise created by passing commercial and industrial ships.

Population Status

According to NOAA Fisheries: North Atlantic right whales have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since the 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.

The Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Loves the Jersey Shore Too!

It seems North Atlantic right whales enjoy the coastal waters of the Jersey Shore to migrate and pass through on their way to Canada or the Gulf of Maine in the summer to feed and forage; or to migrate to breeding & calving grounds off of Florida and Georgia in the winter.

Sometimes during the winter, non-breeding right whales can be observed along the Jersey Shore to feed on juvenile and adult copepods (Calanus finmarchicus), small crustaceans approximately the size of a grain of rice. At times, they can also be found feeding on other zooplankton including smaller copepods, barnacle larvae and planktonic snails. Most likely, right whales follow the patterns of ocean currents and the topography of the sea floor to find and forage for food.

There have been recent right whale activity acoustically detected by buoys in the last several years either off the coast of Atlantic City, near the mouth of Delaware Bay, or near the entrance to New York Harbor. Sometimes right whale activity is detected in these locations by a slocum glider from Rutgers University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

A sad, but common story about the life Of Right Whales that took place, in part, along the Jersey Shore!

On October 16th, wildlife biologists with the New England Aquarium had identified the whale from its individual fluke pattern as identification number 4680. The last known sighting of 4680 was during the summer on July 7, 2020, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. At that time the young whale was gear-free. 

What happened to 4680?  He was a 4-year-old male who probably made the worst mistake of his life. He went diving for food where there were heavy lines and buoys in place from a pot fishery to catch lobsters, crabs or other shellfish. Now he was badly entangled in those fishing lines and could starve to death due to being restricted by the gear. He might be suffering from physical trauma and systemic infections. 

The young right whale 4680, was the son of a 19-year-old female known as Dragon (#3180). Dragon was an important reproducing female. She was entering what would be the prime of her reproductive life. She would help to increase the population of endangered right whales. Females of this species can have as many as nine calves in a lifetime. 

Dragon had given birth to her first calf in 2008, but sadly that calf died for unknown reasons the same week it was first spotted by the New England Aquarium's right whale team. Although her second calf seemed to be doing well and was last seen feeding somewhere off the waters of New England, her third calf, born in 2016, was 4680 and now he was entangled in fishing gear and near death off the Jersey Shore. 

But help for this young whale would not come easy. It took several days for a crew of marine wildlife biologists to find the whale and further document its entanglement and injuries. Several days of stormy and windy weather prevented a rescue crew into the air to locate the 4680.

By October 20, 2020, Dragon’s son went missing. A team from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society searched the New York Bight and a team from the Center for Coastal Studies searched the area south of Nantucket. Neither team had spotted 4680.

Sadly, Dragon would never know what happened to her son. Earlier in the year, on February 24, 2020, Dragon was also spotted entangled in fishing gear. A buoy and rope were trapped in her mouth about 45 miles off Nantucket. From an aerial survey, Dragon’s mouth was photographed agape with orange cyamids (whale lice) and a buoy and rope tangled around her mouth. She did not appear to be feeding. Dragon was emaciated, her skin tone was unusually light, and she had patches of whale lice - all indicators of a long-term weakened condition. The entangled fishing gear was blocking her mouth, preventing Dragon from feeding and causing her condition to deteriorate rapidly. Before help could arrive, Dragon went missing and was never seen again.

Both Dragon and her calf 4680 were severely entangled whales who went missing in the enormous ocean before help could arrive. Both mother and son were not expected to survive their life-threatening injuries. Most likely they had died as many others before them did. The leading cause of death today for Northern right whales is entanglement in fishing gear. 

What Can Be Done To Protect Northern Right Whales Along The Jersey Shore?

Give Right Whales Room!!

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the United States, including New Jersey. If you are a fishermen or a captain of a ship, please give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking all fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales and remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements. Commercial fishermen should use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths. 

Spread the Word!

All boaters, or interested parties, can sign up for email notifications  and selecting "Right Whale Slow Zones" under the Regional New England/Mid-Atlantic subscription topics. You can also follow NOAA on Facebook (@NOAAFisheriesNEMA) and Twitter (@NOAAFish_GARFO)  for announcements.

Watch the NOAA video on Right Whale Slow Zones.   

Right Whales are loving, caring, and intelligent marine mammals. They deserve our respect and help to save this species from becoming extinct due to human activities!

Can Offshore Wind Turbines Along the Jersey Shore and Right Whales Coexist?

Yes! Here’s How:

A March 5, 2019 blog written by Priscilla Brooks for the Conservation Law Foundation outlined several ways that offshore wind turbines and whales can live together. It will not be easy, but it can be done to put proper steps in place for the protection of whales while trying to mitigate the effects of global warming with people’s need for increasing amounts of energy to fuel our technology demand.

CLF and their partners developed a set of best practices to guide the development of offshore wind energy in the lease areas off the Atlantic coast. For right whales to survive, these best practices are crucial for developers to follow. They balance necessary protections for wildlife with the imperative for renewable energy.

1. Choose the right location

New offshore wind projects shouldn’t be built in right whale critical habitat, which is designated under the Endangered Species Act, until scientific studies show that these facilities will not jeopardize right whales or negatively impact their habitat. Research should also inform the development of comprehensive mitigation measures to avoid harming right whales or their habitat. In addition, developers should take into account whales’ foraging, calving, and migratory routes when deciding where to construct a facility.

2. Restrict construction time

Even before construction begins, the surveying technology developers use to make final decisions about turbine installation can be loud enough to harm whales, including by affecting their feeding, breeding, and migratory habits. After the surveying ends, pile driving – when holes are bored into the ocean floor to hold the turbine bases – begins. Neither activity should happen during high-risk times for whales, whether it’s their calving season in Florida waters or when they are migrating and feeding in New England waters. Both surveying and pile driving should only happen during daylight hours and with good visibility so that developers can stop the activity immediately if a whale is spotted.

3. Monitor for whales

To make sure that construction doesn’t happen when whales are in the area, developers need to monitor for them in the first place. There should be, at minimum, observers approved by the federal government’s Protected Species Observers program. Underwater acoustic monitoring devices, which can detect whale sounds, and aerial surveys should also be used.

4. Set speed limits

All ships going to and from the wind farm during construction and operation should not go faster than 10 knots during times of the year when right whales are most likely to be or actually are present. Under specific scenarios, ships can go faster, but the baseline should be 10 knots or less.

5. Reduce underwater noise

Construction will cause increased ocean noise, which can interfere with whales’ ability to navigate and communicate. Developers should use the best materials, installation methods, and technology available to reduce such disruptive underwater noise.

6. Commit to scientific research and long-term monitoring

Because they’ll be out on the water, developers have an exciting opportunity to be a part of scientific research and monitoring of right whales. Because this is a new industry, it is important to study what effect wind farms are having on marine life — and how the two can better coexist. Developers should coordinate with marine experts and make their findings public.

7. Contribute to conservation

Finally, developers should commit to protecting right whales more broadly than just making sure that their own projects don’t harm them. Developers can support other conservation efforts including, for example, efforts to reduce unintentional entanglement in fishing gear, one of the biggest threats to right whales.