{"id":230209,"date":"2025-10-21T20:55:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/230209\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T20:55:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:55:11","slug":"north-atlantic-right-whale-population-grows-for-fourth-straight-year-but-recovery-still-far-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/230209\/","title":{"rendered":"North Atlantic right whale population grows for fourth straight year, but recovery still far off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

North Atlantic right whale mother, Caterpillar (#3503), right, surfaces with her first calf in April in Cape Cod Bay, Mass.CENTER FOR COASTAL STUDIES (NOAA PERMIT 25740-02)<\/p>\n

The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population reached 384 animals in 2024, a 2-per-cent increase from the previous year, according to the latest estimate<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The update, released Tuesday by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, shared at its annual meeting in New Bedford, Mass., marks the fourth consecutive year of slow growth for the species. More than 450 researchers, conservationists, government officials and industry representatives from the U.S. and Canada gathered for the two-day meeting to assess the status of one of the world\u2019s most endangered large whales.<\/p>\n

Entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes<\/a> are the leading threats to the species. While scientists welcome the positive trend, and the absence of any detected deaths so far in 2025, they say recovery depends on sustained management efforts<\/a> on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border \u2013 efforts that face mounting challenges from regulatory delays.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith small population increases year to year, we still need strong protective measures for continued growth,\u201d said Heather Pettis of the New England Aquarium, who chairs the consortium. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to take our foot off the gas when it comes to management and conservation efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2024 estimate, calculated by aquarium scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), includes a margin of error that puts the population somewhere between 375 and 394 whales, up from last year\u2019s recalculated range of 373 to 380.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Philip Hamilton, a senior scientist at the aquarium, said the modest growth follows a decade of decline triggered by climate-driven changes in feeding habitat<\/a> that left whales vulnerable in unprotected areas and led to an \u201cunusual mortality event\u201d<\/a> that began in 2017 and continues today. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt took approximately a decade for both whales and managers to adapt,\u201d Mr. Hamilton said. The current growth rate matches what the population achieved in the 1980s and 90s before the decline.<\/p>\n

The fact that four known mothers gave birth this year at four-year intervals \u2013 when whales are healthy, they can reproduce every three to four years beginning at about age 10 \u2013 suggests some whales are successfully adapting. \u201cThey\u2019re doing their part, and we have to continue to do ours,\u201d Mr. Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

Among this year\u2019s 11 calves are the offspring of whales whose life histories illustrate both resilience and vulnerability.<\/p>\n

Grand Teton (#1145<\/a>), at least 44 years old, gave birth to her ninth calf in January, one of only a handful of females to do so. <\/p>\n

Caterpillar (#3503<\/a>) gave birth to her first calf at age 20 \u2013 more than a decade later than normal. She was struck by a vessel at age two, leaving a large scar on her flank. <\/p>\n

A severe marine heat wave nicknamed \u2018the Blob\u2019 has finally been explained<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2024 estimate includes 72 reproductive females, while the aquarium estimates another 45 females aged 10 to 20 could join their ranks. Four of those became first-time mothers at an average of 16 years of age, in the 2025 calving season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d like to see more first-time moms at younger ages, which says they\u2019re healthy enough to carry a pregnancy to term,\u201d Prof. Pettis said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamilton said the mothers<\/a> carry an enormous burden, travelling the eastern seaboard and crossing a gamut of danger. \u201cThe future of the species really is resting on their broad backs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Caterpillar (#3503), right, was struck by a vessel at age 2, leaving a large scar on her flank. Now 20, the first-time North Atlantic right whale mother surfaces with her calf, making the species’ distinctive V-shaped blow.Center for Coastal Studies\/Supplied<\/p>\n

Coming off a difficult 2024 that saw five right whale deaths, 16 entanglements and eight vessel strikes, this year has brought welcome relief: one new entanglement without attached fishing gear and one vessel strike detected so far.<\/p>\n

But scientists caution that reduced detection doesn\u2019t necessarily mean fewer injuries. \u201cDetecting entanglements requires two things to align: people to be looking and whales to be present in those times and locations where they\u2019re looking,\u201d Mr. Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

Half of last year\u2019s entanglements weren\u2019t detected until the latter half of the year, including four in December. \u201cThe news is definitely better than last year,\u201d Mr. Hamilton said. \u201cWe just don\u2019t know what the final story will look like once the year is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adoption of whale-safe fishing gear lags in race to save endangered animals<\/a><\/p>\n

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has yet to release its whale-safe gear strategy<\/a>, originally scheduled for the spring. <\/p>\n

In the U.S., a government shutdown<\/a> has suspended NOAA\u2019s fisheries monitoring, stock assessment and survey work since Oct. 1. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, congressional legislation prevents NOAA Fisheries from implementing additional right whale protection measures until 2029 \u2013 a decision that effectively froze new regulations during a critical period for recovery. <\/p>\n

The U.S. also withdrew<\/a> its proposal to amend vessel speed rules in January after pushback from mariners and lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Prof. Pettis emphasized that protecting a species whose range spans two countries requires sustained collaboration. \u201cYou cannot protect the animal in one country and not the other,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite the positive trajectory, Mr. Hamilton stressed that the population remains critically vulnerable. \u201cThere are fewer right whales alive today than are going to be people at this conference,\u201d he said. \u201cI am so relieved that the numbers are going up slowly, but that relief does not make me feel any less urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story is part of a series produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center\u2019s Ocean Reporting Network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: North Atlantic right whale mother, Caterpillar (#3503), right, surfaces with her first calf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,66,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-230209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-science","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}