North Atlantic right whales are nearing extinction. Unless immediate action is taken to significantly reduce human-caused mortality and injuries, North Atlantic right whale numbers will continue to decline, jeopardizing the species' ability to recover.
NOAA Fisheries and its partners are committed to protecting and recovering North Atlantic right whales through conservation, regulation, rescue and enforcement measures.
North Atlantic right whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Reduction of vessel strikes
Collisions between whales and large vessels often go unnoticed and unreported, even though whales may be injured or killed and vessels may be damaged. Collisions with 30-foot boats it can be fatal to right whales, especially calves, and dangerous to boat passengers. The most common vascular-related injuries in right whales are blunt force trauma and propeller cuts.
We have taken measures to reduce the risk of ship collisions in North Atlantic right whales, including:
- Vessels are required to slow down in specific areas, known as Seasonal Management Areas, at specific times
- Implementation of voluntary speed reductions in Dynamic Management Areas and Right Whale Zones
- Application a 500 meter “no approach” security zone around the right whales
- Recommending alternative shipping routes and areas to avoid
- Modification of international shipping lanes
- Develop proper whale warning systems
- Development of mandatory vessel reporting systems
- Increase visibility and education
- Improving our outbreak response
Vessel speed restrictions
The most effective way to reduce the risk of collision is to keep whales and ships separate. If this is not possible, the next best option is for the vessels to slow down and watch. The slower a boat travels, the more time the whale has to get out of the way and the less likely a collision will result in serious injury or death.
In Seasonal Management Areas, along the US East Coast, most vessels 65 feet or longer must slow to 10 knots or less during times of the year when right whales are likely to be present. Failure to comply with speed limits incurs fines.
Outside these areas, if three or more right whales are seen in close proximity, we apply a temporary voluntary speed reduction area called Dynamic Management Areas. In the Northeast, we also implement similar measures known as Right whale slow zones when the right whales are detected by underwater acoustic receivers.
Unfortunately, a recent analysis found that cooperation with these voluntary measures is low, indicating that they may not be sufficient to significantly reduce ship collisions.
Some states also regulate ships to help minimize impacts. The Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries requires all vessels (including those under 65 feet) to travel at speeds no greater than 10 knots in Cape Cod Bay during certain times of the year.
Mandatory Vessel Reporting System
To further reduce the number of vessel strikes, NOAA Fisheries and the US Coast Guard developed and implemented a mandatory vessel reporting system for North Atlantic right whales. When large vessels enter one of the two main right whale habitats—feeding areas off the U.S. northeast coast and calving habitat off the U.S. southeast coast—they must report to a shore-based station. The vessel then receives a message about the right whales, their vulnerability to ship strikes, precautions to avoid striking a whale and the locations of recent sightings.
Right Whale Advisory System
To reduce boat collisions, mariners are advised to use caution and proceed at safe speeds in areas where right whales are likely to be found. NOAA Fisheries and our partners have developed one interactive mapping application. Provides real-time information on right whale sightings in the North Atlantic along the US East Coast and Canada.
Reducing entanglement
Entanglement in fishing gear is a major cause of mortality and serious injury for some species of whales, including the North Atlantic right whale. Fishing gear, especially vertical line in the water column, can become wrapped around a whale, cutting into its body and causing serious injury and death. Even gear removed through disentanglement attempts or falling can seriously stress a whale, weaken it, prevent it from feeding, and reduce the energy it needs to swim, feed, and reproduce. The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team is a group of fishermen, scientists, naturalists, and state and federal officials that provides recommendations on how to reduce entanglements in U.S. commercial fisheries. We use these recommendations to develop management measures to reduce whale entanglement.
Specifically, we have taken these steps to reduce the threat of entanglement to North Atlantic right whales:
- Implementation of seasonal closures for commercial fixed gear fisheries in areas where right whales are known to congregate
- Weak inserts or weak rope required in fixed gear fisheries that fish to increase the likelihood that the right whales can be released from lines and seine plates
- Fewer vertical buoy lines are required in trap/container fisheries (known as trawling) in areas where right whales occur
- Requirement of sinking (vs. floating) ground line between traps/containers and net spreader anchorage systems
- Mandatory tool labeling to improve our understanding of where and how right whales entangle
- Increase visibility and education
- Improving our outbreak response
We actively work with fishermen and manufacturers to test “on demand” or fishing gear without a ropewhich will provide a future solution to avoid the entanglement of large whales.
Learn more about the Take Reduction Group's efforts to reduce whale entanglement
When entangled whales are reported anywhere along the US East Coast, the NOAA-supported Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network is called in to try to help. The network consists of emergency personnel from 20 public and private organizations who have extensive training in how to disentangle large whales and increase their chances of survival. The Net has successfully disentangled nearly 30 North Atlantic right whales over the years.
Examining gear removed from entangled animals is one of the key ways to determine if regulations are working and gear modifications are effective.
Monitoring marine mammal health and stranding response
We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states respond to marine mammal infestations. When stranded animals are found alive, NOAA Fisheries and our partners assess the health of the animal. When captive animals are found dead, our scientists work to understand and investigate the cause of death. Although the cause often remains unknown, scientists can sometimes identify anchorages caused by vessel strikes, entanglement, disease, harmful algal blooms, exposure to pollution and underwater noise. Some adducts can serve as indicators of ocean health, providing insight into larger environmental issues that may also impact human health and well-being.
Addressing ocean noise
Underwater noise threatens marine animal populations, disrupting their normal behavior and removing them from areas important to their survival. NOAA Fisheries investigates all aspects of acoustic communication and hearing in marine animals, including the effects of sound on whale behavior and hearing. In 2016 we published technical guidance to assess the effects of anthropogenic sound on the hearing of marine mammals.
Unusual marine mammal mortality events
There is one in progress Unusual mortality event for North Atlantic right whales. One unusual mortality event is “an unexpected stranding, involves significant extinction of any marine mammal population and requires an immediate response.” Scientists carefully study unusual mortality events to determine the cause of these events and better understand the health of marine mammal populations.
International Cooperation
NOAA Fisheries is working with Canada through bilateral discussions on the scientific and management efforts needed to recover North Atlantic right whales. It is vital for both countries to make and sustain additional efforts to reduce mortality and serious injury from right whales. Risk reduction measures and whale-safe marine practices must be a shared responsibility. For example, we share innovative techniques and solutions that reduce risk to right whales while promoting healthy fisheries.
Leadership message on US-Canada cooperation
Recovery plan
Under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries is required to develop and implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of listed species. His ultimate goal North Atlantic right whale recovery plan is the recovery of the species, with an intermediate goal of improving its status from threatened to endangered.
The main actions proposed in the plan are:
- Reduce or eliminate injuries and fatalities caused by vessel and fishing gear collisions
- Protection of habitats necessary for the survival and recovery of the species
- Minimize the effects of vascular disruption
- Continuation of the international ban on whaling
- Monitor population size and trends in species abundance
- Maximize efforts to free entangled or trapped right whales and obtain scientific information from dead specimens
Implementation of a recovery plan
To implement the North Atlantic right whale recovery plan, we have created two regional implementation teams: the US Northeast Implementation Group and US Southeast Implementation Group.
Designation of critical habitat
NOAA Fisheries Designation critical habitat for the North Atlantic right whale under the Endangered Species Act in 1994 and revised the designation in 2016 to support species recovery. Critical habitat for the North Atlantic right whale includes; two areas— a foraging area in the northeast and a calving area in the southeast.
