Whale watchers and marine biologists greet news of each North Atlantic right whale born off the Southeast coast with joy. When only 70 of the estimated 356 whales are breeding females, each birth is a big deal.
This winter brought nineteen such occasions, including four to first-time moms, reason to celebrate for sure.
Pregnant right whales migrate through commercial fishing grounds off New England and Canada and along busy shipping lanes on their journey to the calving grounds off Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. To arrive alive and deliver a calf is a crucial win for their species.
But the calving season that ended this spring was a heartbreaking reminder of the perilous future the calves and their moms face. Just four months into the new year, 2024 is already the deadliest year for right whales since 2019. Five whales have died, scientists say, including one of the new calves, and four other calves are missing and presumed dead.
Whale researchers and advocates say the whales are sliding into oblivion without the urgent protections needed to save them, but the additional proposed safety measures remain mired in controversy and delays.
What happened during the winter 2023-2024 right whale calving season?
Right whales are individually identified by their unique natural markings, through a photo catalog of more than two million right whale photos dating back to 1935 and maintained by the New England Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center. Each whale gets a four-digit catalog number and some are also named.
Reviewing the life histories of the season's 19 whale moms offers a glimpse into their perilous existence. Each one had been entangled in rope at least once in her lifetime. One mom – Fenway – has been entangled eight times. Another – Dog-Ear – also has survived three vessel collisions.
The first mother-calf pair was seen off South Carolina on Nov. 28, Juno and her baby. By season's end, that calf and four others – 26% of the 19 calves – were either dead or presumed dead, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency charged with overseeing the whales.
- The whales known as No. 3780, Half-Note and Skittle were each documented with calves, but the calves went missing and are presumed dead. Only one of the eight calves Half Note has given birth to survived into adulthood.
- On March 3, Juno’s calf was found dead near Cumberland Island Seashore, with multiple lacerations on her head consistent with a boat propeller.
- On March 30, the whale mom known as No. 1950 was found dead off Virginia with "catastrophic" injuries that included a dislocated spine and broken vertebrae all down her lower back, indicative of blunt force trauma from a vessel strike. NOAA said her orphaned calf was unlikely to survive.
"It’s pretty much been non-stop bad news for these whales," said Gib Brogan, a campaign director for the ocean conservation group Oceana. "It was a horrible winter."
Painful injuries and deaths show no signs of letting up
“We can hardly get through a week without hearing about yet another North Atlantic right whale killed or struggling to survive amid the deadly obstacles we throw at these animals,"said Ben Grundy, an oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Injuries and deaths have been reported all along the Atlantic Coast since January.
A juvenile female was found dead off Martha's Vineyard on Jan. 28. A necropsy and investigation by NOAA and its partners concluded the entangling rope that had embedded itself into her tissues and ended her life had originated in a Maine fishery.
Days after a yearling right whale born last year delighted whale watchers by reappearing off the Central Florida coast, she was found dead near Savannah, Georgia on Feb. 15 with signs of blunt force trauma from a vessel strike, NOAA reported.
On April 9, an adult male whale identified as No. 4143, was seen entangled in rope and gear about 50 miles south of Block Island, Rhode Island. He had previously been seen swimming free of gear in Cape Cod Bay in March. Rope was trailing from either side of its mouth and beyond its flukes. However the whale was observed feeding. It was too far offshore for efforts to disentangle the animal, NOAA said, but it would be monitored.
The first right whale of the Canadian spring and summer season was spotted by a Canadian right whale survey team in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on May 10. The whale, known as Shelagh, was also entangled in fishing gear, Fisheries and OceansCanada reported. Vessel and aerial survey teams continue to watch for the whale, said Tomie White, in media relations with the agency. White added the agency has not determined what type of gear was wrapped around the whale's mouth.
On May 12, Canadian researchers spotted the decomposing lower half of an animal in the water off Southwestern Nova Scotia. That animal has been identified by scientists in Canada and the U.S. as a right whale, said Tonya Wimmer, executive director of the Marine Animal Response Society in Nova Scotia, Canada. Little information is available to individually identify the animal, and the carcass has not been recovered.
The total, with the documented dead whales and four missing calves, puts the 2024 number at nine dead whales, Wimmer said. "The largest dieoff was 12 animals in 2017. We are inching close to that."
"This species is going extinct if we don't do better," Wimmer said.
Can right whales be saved?
Scientists with NOAA and the New England Aquarium say the loss of even one female whale a year to human causes makes it more unlikely that this population can be restored. At least four have been killed already this year.
Federal scientists also say the species needs to produce twice as many calves each winter.
A study released by a group of researchers earlier this year, led by Joshua Reed at Macquarie University in Australia, reinforced findings from previous studies about the dangers of entanglement for female whales. Scientists say entangling ropes and other injuries make it hard for the whales to thrive.
Even a “minor” entanglement makes it 47% less likely that a female will breed, and 89% of femaleshave experienced entanglement, Grundy said, quoting from that study.
"Every right whale death is significant to the future of the species," but breeding females are particularly important because they represent the future recovery of the species, Oceana's Brogan told USA TODAY. "All of the evidence shows we need to do far more for this species if we’re going to prevent it from going extinct."
Federal laws in the U.S. and Canada offer some protections for the whales. NOAA has seasonal boat speed limits for vessels over 65 feet, however conservation groups say compliance is poor, with inadequate enforcement.
After spending 18 months reviewing a proposal to expand the speed limit zones and to extend the rules to shorter, 35-foot vessels, NOAA in March forwarded a new proposal to the White House panel that must review proposed federal regulations. While whale advocates are pressing for speed on getting the rules approved, the boating industry is urging NOAA to reconsider. The South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, for example, recently sent a letter saying the slower speed limits are unsafe for boaters because it would limit their ability to navigate safely in changing weather conditions.
Federal rules also are in place for the fishing industry to use gear that is safer for the whales. Additional federal rules for have been proposed for the fishing industry, but fishers argued the additional measures are unnecessary, too expensive, impractical and unsafe for them to use.
In light of these concerns, Maine's congressional delegation successfully maneuvered in December 2022 to get a yearslong federal moratorium passed on the additional fishing rules.
After the female whale was found dead in Maine gear in January, the state's congressional delegation and its governor, Janet Mills, released a statement, saying: “We all agree that we must protect the fragile rightwhalepopulation, but we must do so without endangering human lives or livelihoods in our state."
A coalition of federal officials, academics and scientists continue working with the fishing, crabbing and lobster industries in New England and gear manufacturers to explore additional gear adaptations and more sustainable fishing practices.
“With such a small population of only around 360 living individuals, everywhalecounts," said Philip Hamilton, a senior scientist at the Cabot Center who oversees the catalog. Each whale added to the Catalog, Hamilton said, "brings some hope."
The right whale mothers of the 2023-2024 calving season
Here's a closer look at the mom-calf pairs and when they were first spotted over the winter, from the New England Aquarium and NOAA.
No. 1612 – “Juno,” 7 miles off Georgetown, South Carolina, Nov. 28
- This calf, her eighth, found dead with propeller injuries
- She also has two grand calves
- She has been entangled four times
No. 1802 – “Legato,” 18 miles off Amelia Island, Florida, Dec. 3
- Fifth known calf
- Traveled south from New Jersey, nearly 1,000 miles, in just one month
- 5 entanglements in her lifetime
No. 3360 – “Horton,” 25 miles east of St. Catherine’s Island, Georgia, Dec. 7
- Her third known calf
- One of her calves was seen severely entangled in 2011 and never seen again
- Survivor of two entanglements
No. 1970 – “Palmetto,” 7 miles off Hilton Head, South Carolina, Dec. 9
- Her sixth known calf
- Three previous calves were never seen outside the calving grounds
- Survivor of three entanglements
1703 – “Wolf,” Off Atlantic Beach, Florida, Dec. 22
- Her fifth known calf. One calf died in 2009 and another is presumed dead.
- Survivor of four entanglements
- Her brother died after a vessel strike in 2017, and one of her calves lives with a vessel strike injury that researchers say could risk her life if she becomes pregnant.
No. 3320 – “Braces,” 15 miles east of Nassau Sound, Florida, Dec. 23
- Her third known calf
- One previous calf was never seen again and another has been entangled five times
- She is a survivor of 3 entanglements
No. 3546 – “Halo,” 7 miles of Cumberland Island, Georgia, Dec. 28
- Her third known calf
- Survivor of 4 entanglements
No. 3780 – 29 miles east of the St. Mary’s River at the Florida/Georgia border, Dec. 31
- Calf presumed dead
- First known calf
- Survivor of 1 entanglement
No. 1810 – “Swerve,” 5 miles off Altamaha Sound, Georgia, Jan. 3
- Her sixth known calf
- Survivor of 2 entanglements
- Her fourth calf, born in 2007, hasn't been seen since 2014. Her first grandchild hasn't been seen since 2018
No. 2912 – “Limulus,” 8 miles off Ossabaw Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
- Her third known calf
- Two entanglements in her lifetime
- Two previous calves still seen regularly
No. 1950 – 12 miles off St. Simons Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
- Found dead off Virginia on March 30
- Calf not expected to survive
- Sixth known calf
- She suffered three entanglements during her life
No. 2791 – “Fenway,” 20 miles off Cumberland Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
- Fourth known calf
- Eight entanglements
- Two previous calves were seen in 2022. First calf presumed dead.
No. 1301 – “Half Note,” off Cumberland Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
- Calf is presumed dead
- Her eighth known calf
- Only one of her previous calves survived to adulthood and biologists suspect a problem with nursing
- Two entanglements
No. 3130 – “Marilyn Monroe,” 26 miles off Jekyll Island, Georgia, Jan. 17
- Her fourth known calf
- Survivor of two entanglements
- Her brother died from a vessel strike in 2017 and her mother hasn’t been seen since being spotted with a severe entanglement in 2005
No. 3820 – 22 miles off Nassau Sound, Jan. 24
- Her first calf
- Survivor of two entanglements
No. 1425 – “Butterfly,” 16 miles off Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Jan. 27
- Fifth known calf
- Has experienced four entanglements
- Her first calf disappeared after a vessel strike, her second hasn’t been seen since a severe entanglement. One of her calves, No. 3725, survived an entanglement and became a first time mother this winter.
No. 3725 – 16 miles off Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Jan. 30
- First known calf
- Has experienced two entanglements
No. 3590 – “Dog-Ear,” seen off Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 16
- First known calf
- Has experienced three vessel strikes and one entanglement
No. 3260 – “Skittle,” seen 28 miles off Kure Beach, North Carolina, Feb. 16
- Calf presumed dead
- Second known calf, her first calf is also presumed dead
- Four entanglements
Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate and the environment for USA TODAY. Reach her at dpulver@gannett.com or @dinahvp.
