A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale has been found dead on a remote barrier island off Virginia’s Eastern Shore, marking the 43rd confirmed mortality in an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event that continues to threaten the species with extinction.
According to NOAA Fisheries, the carcass was reported February 10 by the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. The New England Aquarium later confirmed the whale as a 3-year-old female — the 2023 calf of right whale #3293, known as “Porcia.”
The whale was discovered in a remote stretch of shoreline with limited access, complicating recovery efforts. Biologists with The Nature Conservancy located the carcass, and an aerial survey team from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute — funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — documented the scene from the air. NOAA Fisheries is now coordinating with Marine Mammal Stranding Network partners to examine and necropsy the whale as conditions allow. Officials said towing the animal to another location is not feasible due to the characteristics of the stranding site.
Officials with the Nature Conservancy, Oceana and NOAA would not reveal which barrier island the whale was located on.
The death adds to mounting concern along the Atlantic coast, including Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where right whales migrate seasonally through coastal waters. Since 2017, the species has been under a federally declared Unusual Mortality Event. The event currently includes 170 whales — 43 confirmed dead, 40 seriously injured, and 87 suffering sublethal injuries or illness.
NOAA says the primary causes of death and injury remain entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes in both U.S. and Canadian waters — long-standing threats to the species’ recovery.
North Atlantic right whales are among the world’s most endangered large whales, with an estimated population of fewer than 400 individuals. Female mortality is particularly concerning because of the species’ slow reproduction rate; females typically give birth only once every several years.
Federal officials say further updates will be provided once a necropsy is completed and more details become available.
