Scientists from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium today announced that the population of North Atlantic right whales was estimated to be 372 in 2023, the most recent year with data.
Low birth rates, entanglements in fishing gear, and boat collisions continue to be threats, but the population estimate includes five more whales than the previous year. It follows a positive trend; the species has shown a slow population increase since 2020 when it hit a low of 358.
The estimates are the result of a collaboration among scientists from the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Philip Hamilton, a New England Aquarium senior scientist who contributed to the data, said he’s relieved by the rare good news about the species.
“The biggest thing I hear in that increase,” he said, “is it's not a decrease. It has been so many years of decrease, that that is actually the most important thing.”
Heather Pettis, a research scientist for the Aquarium who chairs the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, says she had a similar reaction. “It's not a huge increase,” she said, “but it's an increase.”
Both said they couldn’t pinpoint what caused the growth in population size, but said some ocean management measures — like slow zones for boats and changes to entangling fishing gear — may have had a positive impact.
The progress, scientists cautioned, needs to be put in perspective.
“Right now, 372 [right whales] is about where we were in 2005,” Pettis said. “We had growth of the population up until 2010 or 2011 at almost 500 animals. But we've erased that growth and we're back to where we were 20 years ago.”
With the new numbers, the whales’ status remains “critically endangered,” just one legal step above “functionally extinct.”
The latest estimate of 372 in the year 2023 came couched in a range: there could have been as many 383 North Atlantic right whales, or as few as 360. Scientists won’t have more certainty until next year, when the numbers can be recalculated, as the 2022 numbers were this year.
Now, the Consortium is looking ahead to the 2024 population estimate. On the one hand, Hamilton said, researchers were excited to identify 20 calves, compared to just 12 calves in 2023. But the good news didn’t last long.
“We've lost nine whales [in 2024]. That includes five of the calves of the year,” he said.
Already, several of the 2024 deaths have garnered attention. One whale, known as #5120, died from chronic entanglement wounds and washed up on Martha’s Vineyard.
In addition to the reported fatalities, 13 injuries have been recorded so far in 2024, including seven fishing gear entanglements with attached gear, four entanglement injuries with no attached gear, and two boat collisions. As a result, Pettis said, the population estimate may be lower the next time the numbers are released.
More needs to be done, she said, to protect the whales.
“Between 2021 to 2023, there were 45 calves born into the population. But during that time, we've only seen a bump of about 14 individuals. So that shows us that we're still losing a high number of animals over a relatively short period of time,” she said. “And that speaks to the need for continued protection for these animals throughout their range. “
The Consortium plans to discuss the most effective protection measures for the whales this week at the annual North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. Scientists routinely release the latest population estimate ahead of the two-day conference, where lobstermen, regulators, and researchers gather to exchange the latest information about the critically endangered animals.
