Oct. 24 (UPI) — Right whale populations continue to decline steadily, according to a preview of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium’s annual report card on the status of the endangered animals.
Each October the consortium releases a preview of its annual report card on right whale populations.
The 2021 estimated population of right whales is 340, with a margin of error of +/- 7, according to this year’s report.
Last year the consortium estimated that the 2020 population of right whales was 336, with a +/- 14 margin of error. The 2020 estimate was later adjusted to 348 +/- 5 after further photographic evidence was examined.
“While certainly good to see the slope of the trajectory slow, the unfortunate reality is that the species remains in a decline, with fewer than 350 individuals alive in 2021,” said Heather Pettis, a research scientist with the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center and executive administrator of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
No right whale deaths were observed in 2022 but the consortium suggested that there could be deaths that were not observed. Two incidents suggested unseen deaths, including one where a 17-year-old female dubbed “Snow Cone” was spotted in a condition that aquarium researchers described as “near-death,” raising concerns about the survivability of her calf. In the second incident a female right whale was observed without her newborn calf.
Additionally, there have been five observed incidents of right whales, including “Snow Cone,” being entangled in fishing gear, as well as an incident where a vessel struck a whale.
“We continue to see unsustainable levels of anthropogenic injury to right whales,” said Scott Kraus, the chair of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
The report preview drew on data from NOAA Fisheries, which records the causes of documented right whale deaths, suggesting 20 of the most recent 34 right whale deaths were caused by human factors like fishing gear and vessel strikes.
