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Many of whales’ dangers come from human activities such as industrial whaling. Today, the number of whales is steadily increasing or stable. However, some nations defy the whale sanctuary and hunt whales in the Southern Ocean. One of the natural threats to whales is climate change. When the climate in the ocean change prey like krill become affected. Krill is one of the main foods for whales.

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WHY ARE WHALES ENDANGERED?

There are a variety of whale threats and most of which is the direct result of human activities. In the past century, many of the large whale species have been hunted to the brink of extinction by industrial whaling. Although some of those species are slowing recovering from progressive regional bans on commercial hunting.

Today, some of these whale populations are stable, and/or slowly increasing, while others continue to decline. Of the 13 "Great Whale" species, 7 of them are currently classified as endangered or vulnerable.

Status of Feature Species:

There are whale threats from entanglement

Whales are susceptible to entanglement in commercial fishing gear. This can slow whales down, weakening them, and can prohibit them from feeding leading to eventual starvation and death.

In some areas, networks are set up to disentangle whales that are reported to be in trouble. The North Atlantic Right whale off the US East Coast is especially vulnerable to entanglement.

There are whale threats from commercial whaling

Commercial whaling began in the 1800's and nearly drove some whale species to extinction. Some species have still not recovered from being hunted and are currently listed as endangered. Although commercial whaling is not the biggest threat facing whales today, it still exists.

In the Southern Ocean, despite being a whale sanctuary, some nations are still hunting there, killing more than 1,000 whales each year despite it being illegal.

There are whale threats from Ship Strikes

Whale habitat and migration corridors overlap with areas of heavy ship traffic. Cargo ships, cruise ships, and tankers are almost always lethal when they strike a whale. In some areas, reduced speeds have been implemented where interaction between ship traffic and whales is most likely to occur.

Finally, there are whale threats from Climate Change

Climate change has had a multitude of effects on the oceans, which in turn have had adverse impacts on marine mammals. Most large whale species depend on krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean, and fish as prey. As ocean temperatures rise from climate change, prey populations, such as krill, become affected. Climate change also affects ocean currents altering prey distribution, changing feeding grounds, and altering the migratory pathways of whales.

Other threats include the ingestion of marine debris, oil and gas development, disturbance by recreational watercraft, and noise pollution.

Learn more about:

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Learn more about the whale threats of today | SEEtheWILD

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There are a variety of whale threats and most of which is the direct result of human activities. In the past century, many of the large whale species have been hunted to the brink of extinction by industrial whaling. Although some of those species are slowing recovering from progressive regional bans on commercial hunting.

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In July 2016 whale sharks were officially labeled as endangered. Some countries promote whale watching tours to promote donating money to conservation causes. They have rules that make sure people do not touch them and keep their distance. Swimming with the whale sharks pose two purposes, getting a tour of the sea and animals, and promoting donating to conservation causes.

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Is Swimming With These Endangered Whale Sharks Helping or Hurting Them? | National Geographic

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This is a chart of how many whales are killed each year and for what purposes. As you can see in 2005 to 2006 the most whales were killed and for mostly scientific purposes.

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In the summer of 2017 more than 2% of the North American right whales have died. For humans this would be like losing the populations of Canada, Argentina, the UK, and Australia. This started when scientists and researchers kept finding more and more bodies of the North American right whales and it haven’t stopped even though they have just started recovering and gaining in numbers. Many of the whales were female and when a female died it could take a decade to recovery from that loss. Even though whales are viewed as strong and powerful they can be killed by ships and nets.

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Endangered whales: North American right whales are dying in record numbers

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They live longer than most animals with a lifespan of 50-80 years.

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Common Name:

Orca (Killer Whale)

Scientific Name:

Orcinus orca

Average Life Span In The Wild:

50 to 80 years

Size relative to a bus:

Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They're immediately recognizable by their distinctive black-and-white coloring. Smart and social, orcas make a wide variety of communicative sounds, and each pod has distinctive noises that its members will recognize even at a distance. They use echolocation to communicate and hunt, making sounds that travel underwater until they encounter objects, then bounce back, revealing their location, size, and shape.

Hunting and Diet

Though they often frequent cold, coastal waters, orcas can be found from the polar regions to the Equator. They're at the top of the food chain and have very diverse diets, feasting on fish, penguins, and marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches long. They are known to grab seals right off the ice. They also eat fish, squid, and seabirds.

Orcas hunt in deadly pods, family groups of up to 40 individuals. There appear to be both resident and transient pod populations of orcas. These different groups may prey on different animals and use different techniques to catch them. Resident pods tend to prefer fish, while transient pods target marine mammals. All pods use effective, cooperative hunting techniques that some liken to the behavior of wolf packs.

Orcas are protective of their young, and other adolescent females often assist the mother in caring for them. Mothers give birth every three to ten years, after a 17-month pregnancy. They give birth to one baby at a time, which may nurse for up to two years. In most cases, the bond between juvenile and mother will eventually weaken, and the young orca will go its own way, but in some pods, the juvenile may stay with the pod it was born into its entire life.

Orcas in Captivity

Orcas are highly intelligent, social mammals that have long been a part of marine park entertainment, performing shows for audiences. However, it's become increasingly clear that orcas do not thrive in captivity.

They have evolved to swim up to 40 miles a day, foraging for food and exercising. They dive 100 to 500 feet, several times a day, every day. Whether they're born in the wild or in captivity, all orcas born have the same innate drive to swim far and dive deep. Artificial enclosures in captivity cannon offer that kind of range to orcas, contributing to boredom and stress. Orcas have been seen to develop stereotypies, also known as zoochosis-repetitive patterns of activity that have no obvious function, which range from self-mutilation to rocking and swaying. Usually related to stress and inappropriate habitats, stereotypic behavior has been documented in orcas in scientific research since the late 1980s.

In the wild, orcas live in tight-knit family groups that share a sophisticated, unique culture that is passed down through generations, research has shown. In captivity, orcas are kept in artificial social groups. Captive-born orcas are often transferred between facilities, breaking up social relationships. The stress of social disruption is compounded by the fact that orcas in captivity don't have the ability to escape conflict with other orcas, or to engage in natural swimming behaviors in pools.

In 2013, the documentary film Blackfish laid bare the psychological toll of captivity, through the story of a wild-caught orca named Tilikum who had killed two trainers at SeaWorld Orlando. The film included testimony from former SeaWorld trainers and cetacean specialists, who argued that Tilikum's stress directly led to his aggression towards humans.

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Orcas: Killer whales are the larges dolphin species

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Common Name: Orca (Killer Whale) Scientific Name: Orcinus orca Average Life Span In The Wild: 50 to 80 years Size relative to a bus: Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They're immediately recognizable by their distinctive black-and-white coloring.

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Killer whales(a.k.a. Orcas) were given their name for their prowess to take down large marine animals like sea lions and whales.

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Orcas ( Orcinus orca) are often called killer whales, even though they almost never attack humans. In fact, the killer whale name was originally "whale killer," as ancient sailors saw them hunting in groups to take down large whales, according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) (opens in new tab).

Today, orcas are recognized as among the most widely distributed mammals on the planet, occupying every ocean. They are incredibly social, diverse and ferocious marine predators with a diet ranging from penguins to great white sharks.

How big is an orca?

Orcas are known for their long dorsal fin (the fin on the animal's back) and black-and-white coloring. The black-and-white coloring helps to camouflage them by obscuring their outline in the water. Just behind the dorsal fin is a patch of gray called a "saddle" - because it looks like a riding saddle.

What do orcas eat?

(Image credit: by wildestanimal via Getty Images)

(opens in new tab)

Orcas are apex predators, at the top of the food chain. No animals hunt orcas (except for humans). Killer whales feed on many different types of prey, including fish, , sea birds and squid. They can also take down whales larger than themselves, such as minke whales, and they are the only animal known to predate on great white sharks, according to The Natural History Museum in London (opens in new tab). Killer whales have even been reported to kill swimming and , according to a chapter on orcas in the book "Primates and Cetaceans (opens in new tab) ," (Sringer, 2014).

Orcas use many different techniques to catch prey. Sometimes they beach themselves to catch seals on land, jumping from the water onto land. Orcas will also work together to catch larger prey or groups of prey, such as schools of fish, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) (opens in new tab). They can use echolocation to identify their prey by creating sounds, or sound waves, that travel through the water. These waves echo off objects, including prey, which the orcas can use to locate them, according to (opens in new tab).

Orca attacks on humans

In 2005, a 12-year-old boy was "bumped" by a killer whale near Ketchikan, Alaska, in what may have been an aborted attack - similar to the surfer in Norway - or simply curiosity on behalf of the orca, according to the Associated Press, via The Seattle Times. The Associated Press reported that a surfer was bitten in California in the early 1970s, which is the only relatively well-documented case of a wild orca actually biting a human. Orcas in captivity, however, have attacked and killed people.

Life in the pod

(Image credit: Michael Nolan via Getty Images)

Orcas are very social creatures and live in family groups called pods, which have up to 50 members, according to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web (ADW) (opens in new tab). These pods are made up of related mothers and their descendants, known as matrilines. A male orca will stay with its mother for life, while daughters may spend time away after having calves of their own, according to the wildlife charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation ( (opens in new tab) ). Pods often have their own distinctive calls, or dialects, to communicate, but they will associate with other pods and can come together to form even larger, temporary groups.

A female killer whale will give birth to one offspring at a time every three to 10 years. The gestation period usually lasts for around 17 months according to SeaWorld (opens in new tab). Orcas work together to take care of the young, and other females in the pod will often help with the rearing.

Female killer whales have an average life span of 50 years, but some individuals are estimated to have lived up to 100 years. Males live shorter lives, with an average life span of 29 years and a maximum life span of 60 years, according to the Center for Whale Research (opens in new tab) in Washington state.

Where do orcas live?

Orcas have been known to travel long distances. For example, one study found that a group of orcas traveled from the waters off of Alaska to those near central California, according to IUCN - a distance of more than 1,200 miles (1,900 km).

Are there different types of orca?

(Image credit: Getty)

(opens in new tab)

All orcas are currently listed under one species, Orcinus orca. However, there are recognizable differences between populations, and biologists have identified several distinct forms, known as ecotypes, which may actually be different species or subspecies, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (opens in new tab).

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Cetacea

Family: Delphinidae

The Northern Hemisphere is also home to North Atlantic Type 1 and Type 2 killer whales. Type 1 orcas are generalist eaters and have been observed eating fish and seals around European countries, including Norway and Scotland. Type 2 orcas are rarer and mainly eat other whales and dolphins.

In the Southern Hemisphere, there are Type A, Type B (large), Type B (small), Type C and Type D killer whales.

-Type A orcas travel in and out of Antarctic waters, following the migration of their main prey, minke whales.

-Type B (large) animals are also called pack ice orcas, because they hunt seals in Antarctic pack ice.

-Type B (small) killer whales, also called Gerlache orcas, have been seen eating penguins, but their complete diet is unknown.

-The same is true for Type C and Type D orcas, though both of these have been observed eating fish.

-Type C, or Ross Sea orcas, are the smallest ecotype and are usually found in eastern Antarctica.

-Type D, or subantarctic orcas, are very rare, and there is still much to learn about them.

Are orcas endangered?

Human civilizations around the world kill orcas directly and indirectly. They are still hunted for food in small numbers, or as a means to control their population, in Greenland, Japan, Indonesia and the Caribbean, according to the IUCN. Contaminants in the ocean and seas, such as chemicals and oil, pose a threat to orcas along with disturbance by boats, overfishing and other disruptions to their food supply and climate change, according to IUCN.

Killer whales are protected in the U.S under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Southern resident killer whales are also listed under the Endangered Species Act as they are at particular risk of extinction, due to threats like noise from boat traffic and a decline in the salmon population - their preferred food. A subpopulation of transient killer whales (AT1) is also listed as "depleted" under the MMPA. The population consists of just seven individuals, following a dramatic decline in the wake of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, according to (opens in new tab).

Famous orcas

(Image credit: Kevin Schafer via Getty Images)

A SeaWorld orca named Tilikum was the focus of the popular 2013 documentary "Blackfish," which took a critical look at killer whales in captivity. Tilikum was involved in three human deaths, including that of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. The documentary created a public backlash against SeaWorld, and in 2016 the marine park chain announced that it was ending its killer whale breeding program, Live Science previously reported. Tilikum died of a bacterial infection at SeaWorld in 2017 at the age of 36.

An all-white orca named "Iceberg" was spotted in waters around the Commander Islands, off the east coast of Russia, in 2010, Live Science previously reported. The ghostly white dorsal fin of this mature male stood out dramatically from those of its black-and-white podmates. Researchers at the Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP), who discovered Iceberg, found more white orcas in Russian waters, and suggested that most are albino, although it is not known for certain, according to (opens in new tab). Albino orcas could indicate inbreeding in the population.

Additional resources

Learn more about how endangered killer whales are on the ICUN redlist (opens in new tab), get an overview of the Orcinus orca from NOAA Fisheries (opens in new tab), and see how you can help save this beautiful species from extinction at the Center for Whale Research.

Bibliography

John K B Ford "You Are What You Eat: Foraging Specializations and Their Influence on the Social Organization and Behavior of Killer Whales (opens in new tab)"

Eve Jourdain, Fernando Ugarte, Gísli A. Víkingsson, Filipa I. P. Samarra, Steven H. Ferguson, Jack Lawson, Dag Vongraven, Geneviève Desportes North Atlantic killer whale Orcinus orca populations: a review of current knowledge and threats to conservation (opens in new tab)

Heather M. Hill, Sara Guarino, Sarah Dietrich, & Judy St. Leger An Inventory of Peer-reviewed Articles on Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) with a Comparison to Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) (opens in new tab)

'Facts about Orcas', Whale and Dolphin Conservation

"Primates and Cetaceans (opens in new tab)" , Ed. Juichi YamagiwaLeszek Karczmarski, Springer

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (opens in new tab)

'Species Directory: Killer Whale', International Union for the Conservation of Nature

'About Orcas' Center for Whale Research (opens in new tab)

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Orcas ( Orcinus orca) are often called killer whales, even though they almost never attack humans. In fact, the killer whale name was originally "whale killer," as ancient sailors saw them hunting in groups to take down large whales, according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) (opens in new tab).

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Ferry routes will still be expanded according to the B.C. Government even though the ferries threaten the already endangered killer whales with the it’s generated noise. The NEB is asking the B.C. to reduce the sound made by the ferries, but the B.C said no. The B.C launches about 470 trips per day to connect costal communities and is not working on increasing service on 10 new routes that were cut in 2014. Even though they are going through with this project they say that they are working on changing the ferries to lessen the impact on whales.

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The B.C. government will continue with plans to expand its ferry routes even though the National Energy Board concluded last week that ship noise, including that generated by BC Ferries, is threatening the endangered southern resident killer whales.

The NEB is recommending noise reduction measures for the B.C. government's ferry fleet to help offset the impact on the endangered whales of increased oil tanker traffic associated with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

But the B.C. government says connecting coastal communities is more important than shipping more Alberta oil through the Salish Sea.

"Transportation for British Columbian communities is paramount," B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman said in an interview Monday.

The B.C. government opposes the Trans Mountain pipeline project because of the increase in oil tanker traffic, saying the risk of a catastrophic oil spill is too high - for the whales and the rest of the marine environment.

But the NEB says the province's ferry service is a significant source of noise pollution that is already threatening the whale population.

The southern resident killer whales (SRKW) are in decline because of starvation, pollution and underwater noise from ships. The NEB, in its reconsideration of the pipeline project, cited research that estimated that the whales lose about five hours of foraging time each day because of marine noise - mostly from passenger ferries, but also from tug boats and whale watching vessels.

The federal government put construction of the pipeline on hold last summer and set up the reconsideration hearing after the courts found that the original pipeline approval process was flawed.

In the report released Friday, the NEB found that marine shipping related to the pipeline expansion is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects on the 74 remaining members of the SRKW, and on the Indigenous cultural values attached to that whale population. However, it recommended that Canada proceed with the project, with mitigation efforts to offset the impact.

"Ferry routes contribute the greatest inputs into the cumulative noise maps of the Salish Sea, with additional seasonal routes added during the summer when SRKWs use the area for foraging," the report notes.

BC Ferries averages 470 trips per day - more than 170,000 sailings each year - connecting coastal communities. On the same day the NEB report was released, the B.C. government announced it is increasing service on 10 ferry routes that were cut in 2014, restoring 2,700 round trips for coastal communities.

Mr. Heyman said BC Ferries is working to lessen its impact on the whales. "We are going to look at everything we can do to minimize the impact on the southern resident killer whales," he said.

A long-term plan to reduce underwater noise was tabled last summer, but BC Ferries warns that change will be slow. "Each new class of ship we build is generally quieter than the ships before it," the report says. "This is going to be a long process. We build our ships to operate for decades, more than 50 years in some cases. New, quieter ships will therefore arrive gradually in the Salish Sea."

The NEB report, however, noted that Washington state, which also operates a large ferry fleet, has already launched strategies to reduce ship noise. But BC Ferries says it cannot retrofit current vessels, saying it is not feasible to change out the propellers that are responsible for 90 per cent of the noise.

The growing whale watching industry is also singled out in the report. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, SRKWs "were observed to be within 400 metres of a vessel most of the time during daylight hours from May through September."

The Pacific Whale Watch Association did not respond to an interview request. But in its submission to the panel, it rejected some of the measures proposed by Washington state to reduce the impact on whales. Instead, the industry proposed a plan to reduce the acoustic footprint from vessels in the vicinity of SRKWs, and a permit system to cap the industry.

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B.C.'s ferry services, whale watching threaten endangered whales, National Energy Board says

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The B.C. government will continue with plans to expand its ferry routes even though the National Energy Board concluded last week that ship noise, including that generated by BC Ferries, is threatening the endangered southern resident killer whales. The NEB is recommending noise reduction measures for the B.C.

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This picture shows a Western Pacific gray whale the most endangered whale in the world. It’s population is estimated to be under 100.

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According to this news article almost 90 percent of ships that passed through the GTulf of St. Lawrence have agreed to lower their speed limit to protect whales. The company Transform Canada has lowered the speed limit of ships to 10 knots because of dead whales found. 4,169 of the 4,711 ships that were registered followed the 10 knots rule. However only 14 of the ships that did not, were fined for breaking the rule.

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OTTAWA - Almost 90 per cent of ships that passed through the Gulf of St. Lawrence over the last five months complied with an emergency speed limit to help protect the whales.

In August, Transport Canada imposed a limit of 10 knots on all ships longer than 20 metres after a dozen right whales were found dead in the Gulf, many of them having collided with ships.

The department's report shows that between Aug. 11 and Jan. 11, the period when the limit was in effect, 4,169 of the 4,711 eligible ships that were spotted in the Gulf were travelling below the mandated speed.
READ MORE: Canadian Coast Guard ship fined $6,000 for speeding in right whale protection area
However, the government only fined 14 of the 542 vessels that exceeded the limit, including cargo ships, cruise ships, ferries and even Canadian Coast Guard vessels.

Sonia Simard, director of legislative and environmental affairs for the Shipping Federation of Canada, said it's important to know water and weather conditions at the time the speeds were measured, since factors like currents and waves can have an impact.

A Transport Canada spokeswoman says there will be no hesitation to impose the speed limit again if whales are spotted again in the Gulf this summer.

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Most ships obeying speed limits set up to protect whales in Gulf of St. Lawrence

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OTTAWA - Almost 90 per cent of ships that passed through the Gulf of St. Lawrence over the last five months complied with an emergency speed limit to help protect the whales. In August, Transport Canada imposed a limit of 10 knots on all ships longer than 20 metres after a dozen right whales were found dead in the Gulf, many of them having collided with ships.

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This picture shows a humpback whale entangled in fishing gear. When this happens whales can loose blood, their tails, and they can even die

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Whales live in the water and prefer warmers areas of water than colder areas and thus, go deeper underwater so that they can avoid ice at the top. Surprisingly, not all whales live in oceans as oceans can be very cold at times. Many whales have been forced to move from their natural habitat due to global warming and human activity in those areas. Whales in captivity are given a place that looks like their own habitat.

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Whale Habitat and Distribution

Whales live only in water, and tend to stay where it is warmer. This is why you will find them along the coasts during the winter months. They migrate to other regions so they can keep their body temperatures high enough. Some of the information about where whales are distributed though will be surprising to you. While many species of whales only reside in one area of these waters.

Some people believe they only exist in the oceans but that isn't correct. They also don't believe that these mammals will reside where it is very cold. Most of the larger giant whales do live in areas that are cold. This includes the artic. It is the larger ones that are here due to the volume of blubber they have to help with their body temperatures.

You will find that there are subdivisions of these whale habitats in the Artic. If you only see one of them though you may assume that those are the behaviors of all in the area. This is why there is plenty of confusion out there about such aspects of where whales live. You will find that some of them live off shore where there isn't any ice. They go deep enough into the waters as that will offer them more warmth than the areas that are dense and have ice on the top.

If you are interested in observing certain types of whales, you can conduct some research online. As you are able to identify where they live, you will be able to see them and their natural habitat. If they live deep in the waters though you may have to settle for watching them during the migration process.

Researchers that track the whale habitat and distribution though have found some changes that worry them. Many of these whales are leaving their natural habitat. This is due to climate changes from global warming, humans being in their natural locations in boats, military operations, and even the fact that their food sources are becoming scarce in some areas.

With the numbers of some of the species of whales at very low numbers, everything is being done to keep them in a natural habitat. Efforts are also in place to help with the regulation of their distribution. Even those in captivity are given a location to reside that is very common to what they would have on the outside. This is done to help reduce stress levels. It is also done in an effort to hopefully one day release some of them back into the wild.

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Whales live only in water, and tend to stay where it is warmer. This is why you will find them along the coasts during the winter months. They migrate to other regions so they can keep their body temperatures high enough. Some of the information about where whales are distributed though will be surprising to you.

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Scientists believe that only 411 North Atlantic whales remain in the world. The population started to decline in 2010 when their blubber was was targeted for whale oil and baleen(a whale’s filter system into their mouth). Studies show that between 2010 and 2016 85% of whale deaths have been due to entanglement. The Canadian government made new laws like limiting the speeds of vessels.

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That's all scientists believe remains of the North Atlantic right whale population. Due primarily to human impacts, the population of these endangered whales has been in decline since 2010. North Atlantic right whales were once called the "right whales to hunt" because they swam close to shore, produced high yields of whale oil and baleen, and-thanks to their thick blubber-floated when killed. But now, rather than whalers, the population faces threats from vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.

This week at its annual conference, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) released its annual "report card" on the status of this endangered population. Population numbers are reported at the end of the year once numbers are analyzed, so the most recent complete report available is for the end of 2017.

The best estimate for the population at the end of 2017 was 411, and there have been an additional three documented mortalities in 2018.

A graph of estimated North Atlantic right whale populations from 1990 to 2017. The dark blue line represents scientists' best estimate for the population number, where the light blue area represents the range of uncertainty. With 95 percent confidence, scientists report a right whale population between 392 and 433 at the end of 2017, with a best estimate of 411. Data from the 2018 NARWC Report Card.

From 2000 to 2010, the species seemed to be on the right track-its population was growing. By 2007, the population had increased from about 350 to 419, reaching a high of fewer than 500 whales in 2010.

"We're eroding that population growth," Mark Baumgartner of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution said at the Consortium meeting.

The last few years have been desperate for right whales. The unprecedented 20 right whale deaths over 2017 and 2018 represented a loss of more than 4 percent of the struggling population. In 2017, 12 deaths were reported in Canadian waters and five in U.S. waters. So far in 2018, there have been three reported mortalities, all in the United States.

Right whales have a range from the east coast of Florida in the United States to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada. Mortalities are reported either in U.S. waters (dark blue) or Canadian waters (red). Data from NOAA Fisheries.

This spring, Canada implemented new measures to help mitigate both entanglements and vessel strikes in areas right whales are frequently seen. The Canadian measures included vessel speed reductions, the establishment of different types of fisheries management areas and closures, and increased reporting. Under the new measures, the Canadian government increased reporting requirements for fishing activity, lost gear, and interactions with marine mammals.

While there haven't been any right whale mortalities reported in Canadian waters this year, there were three reported entanglements in Canada. Additionally, all three of the 2018 mortalities, which were in U.S. waters, were attributed to entanglement. One of those entanglement deaths was from Canada snow crab gear.

Continued timely and effective efforts to reduce both entanglements and vessel strike mortalities must be a priority for both the U.S. and Canada if the species is to survive.

An important note: This is a preliminary release of the report card. Any additional data through the end of 2018 will be updated in January, if necessary.

Entanglements and vessel strikes have plagued the right whale population. According to the NARWC Report Card, "It is clear that current management regulations have not been effective at reducing serious entanglement injuries." Between 2010 and 2016, 85 percent of right whale mortalities were related to entanglement.

When a whale is entangled, it doesn't die instantly. Instead, entanglements in fishing gear-mostly the heavy ropes and traps of snow crab and lobster gear-reduce the survival probability for whales by exhausting and slowly starving them. Some whales, thankfully, manage to shed their gear, but their brush with entanglement leaves literal scars that scientists use to identify the whales. A total of 83 percent of right whales have been entangled at least once.

"Human-caused mortality is unsustainable in this species," said Baumgartner.

Or, as Anderson Cabot Center Research Scientist Philip Hamilton put it, "This population can survive and flourish again if we can just stop killing them."

No right whale calves

The fewer documented mortalities in 2018 doesn't make up for a big issue within the population. Right whales aren't having babies. In 2018, for the first time in the 38 years Aquarium scientists have been studying the population, there were no calves reported.

Number of calves born (light blue) compared to known reproductive females available to calve (dark blue). The orange line is the percentage of females available to calve that gave birth from 2009 to 2018. Data from the 2018 NARWC Report Card.

Of the 411 individuals in the right whale population at the end of 2017, the report card says there were 71 female right whales available to calve. "Available females" are females who have given birth to at least one previous calf, were presumed to be alive, and who had not not given birth in the last two years. The amount of available females has been either steady or increased, but the percentage of those females giving birth has dropped. There are fewer right whales giving birth.

Anderson Cabot Center Senior Scientist Amy Knowlton studied the effects of severe entanglement on the females of the population. She found that within three years of a severe entanglement, only about 33 percent of females survive. Across the entire population, moderate and severe injuries from entanglements are on the rise.

At the Consortium meeting, there were calls for working with industry representatives to help save these whales. The thought is that fishermen are worried about reporting entanglements they see because they're afraid it could negatively impact their livelihoods.

"If we're going to solve this problem, we need the data," said Moira Brown, Anderson Cabot Center Senior Scientist.

What are we doing to help?

Since 2004, the Consortium's annual report has included updates on this beleaguered population, information on mortalities and injury events, a summary of management and research efforts that occurred that year, and-perhaps most important-recommendations for the future.

Over the last several years, the distribution of right whales and their patterns of habitat use have been shifting, likely due to their prey shifting in response to climate change. According to the report card, these shifts have "direct implications on research and management activities."

The NARWC said that identifying new critical habitats and developing alternative survey efforts to respond to these distribution changes needs to be a priority.

"These strategies should include efforts to not only locate and identify individual right whales, but also to ensure that information critical to important monitoring and management efforts ... is effectively and efficiently collected," according to the report card.

The Role of the Anderson Cabot Center

The Anderson Cabot Center is a critical component of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, which is led by our very own Heather Pettis. For nearly than 40 years, the New England Aquarium's Right Whale Team has been leading research on and advocacy for the species. The team conducts vital work, including cataloging right whales in its extensive DIGITS database , tracking pregnancies and birth rates, investigating fishing gear adaptations to prevent entanglements, working to reroute shipping lanes to prevent deadly vessel strikes, and conducting groundbreaking stress hormone research in whales.

The day before the Consortium meeting, Anderson Cabot Center scientists joined industry leaders, engineers, scientists, and policymakers at the Ropeless Consortium Meeting. This group has a simple though not easy goal-a future with no ropes in the water column and, therefore, no whale or turtle entanglements. Thanks to a recent federal grant of $225,000, Senior Scientist Dr. Tim Werner and his team will begin testing a type of "ropeless" gear that replaces vertical rope lines with a large floating spool.
Together, we are working to ensure the long-term conservation and recovery of the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

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That's all scientists believe remains of the North Atlantic right whale population. Due primarily to human impacts, the population of these endangered whales has been in decline since 2010. North Atlantic right whales were once called the "right whales to hunt" because they swam close to shore, produced high yields of whale oil and baleen, and-thanks to their thick blubber-floated when killed.

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Whales are huge mammals who live throughout the world’s ocean and they communicate with mysterious sounds. Sadly only 10,000 to 9,000 of whales still exist in the world. Ships are a hazard for whales many ways including bumping into them and getting them caught up in their ropes and nets. People also hunt whales for their fins and climate change is another danger for whales.

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This is a chart of the believed population of the North Atlantic whales left in the world. As you can see, in 2010 the population starts to go down.