Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Critically endangered whale species rebounds slightly

Agence France-Presse
October 22, 2024 

The number of North Atlantic right whales rose to 373 in 2023 from 358 individuals in 2020 (Joseph Prezioso/AFP)

One of the world's rarest whale species has seen a slight population rebound, according to data released Tuesday, though experts warn it remains at serious risk of extinction.

The number of North Atlantic right whales rose to 373 in 2023, up four percent from a recent low of 358 individuals in 2020, according to the latest estimates by scientists at the New England Aquarium and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

But the stabilization in numbers shouldn't be mistaken for a turning point, said conservationists, because the most serious threats to the marine giants, strikes by speeding vessels and entanglements in fishing gear, remain largely unaddressed.

Climate change is further exacerbating the situation by altering the distribution of zooplankton, the whales' primary food source.

"While we are happy to see that the population estimate has not decreased, we remain gravely concerned," said Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager with the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Approaching 60 feet (18 meters) in length and with lifespans similar to humans, North Atlantic right whales are thought to have once numbered up to 20,000 before commercial whaling decimated their population.

They were considered the "right whale" to hunt by whalers who sought their blubber for oil and their baleen plates (which the whales use to filter their food) for making a strong, flexible material in the pre-plastic era.

Whaling was eventually banned in 1935, leading to a recovery and a peak of 483 individuals by 2010, before a decade-long decline began.

In the fall of 2022, NOAA proposed rule changes to broaden the boundaries and timing of seasonal speed restrictions along the East Coast, and expand mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less for vessels over 65 feet to those over 35 feet.

But two years on, these changes, strongly opposed by the boating and fishing industries, are still under review.

"The US government is too busy dealing in partisan politics rather than saving this species while we still have a fighting chance," said Collins.

The other main threat to the whales comes from entanglements with fishing gear -- which weigh whales down and prevent them from moving freely, feeding and breeding, or cut into their blubber and bones, killing them slowly from infection.


Recent years have seen progress in "on demand" fishing gear -- traps that catch lobster and crab on the seafloor without long buoy lines. Some use coiled ropes that rise to the surface only when triggered by fishermen, while others rely on inflatable bags.

These technologies however remain in their infancy and aren't yet widely deployed.

Despite the slight rise, scientists said too many right whales are still dying from human activity, including so far this year five documented mortalities and four lost calves that scientists presume are dead.

Number of right whales rose slightly last year, group estimates

CBC
Tue, October 22, 2024

Philip Hamilton, senior scientist at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center, said while the 2023 number is heartening, 2024 has been a bad year for right whale deaths. (Submitted by New England Aquarium - image credit)


The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium has released a new estimate that says the number of right whales increased slightly last year.

But Philip Hamilton, senior scientist at the New England Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center and the identification database curator for the consortium, said while the 2023 number is heartening, 2024 has been a rough year for fatalities.

The population estimate is 372, including 12 calves added in 2023. This is up slightly from the 2022 estimate of 367.


"It's definitely better than it was in the late 2010s," said Hamilton. "We had zero calves born in 2018, so it's a remarkable increase from that."

Philip Hamilton is the senior scientist in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. He has been studying North Atlantic right whales for 35 years. Submitted by New England Aquarium

Hamilton said mothers normally give birth to their first calf at age 10, but there are more than 40 females between the ages of 10 and 20 who have not given birth. (Submitted by New England Aquarium)

In 2024, there were five documented deaths and four lost calves that scientists presume are dead — the highest annual mortality count since 2019.

Hamilton said protecting right whales is a challenge. While a lot of effort was invested in protecting them from vessel strikes and entanglements in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he said, "we know that eight of the 11 entanglements this year were documented in Gulf St. Lawrence, and at least four of them happened there."

The high number of deaths will impact the 2024 population estimate when it's generated next year, the consortium said.

A news release says that from December 2023 to March 2024, 20 calves were born — the highest number in a decade — even though five calves did not survive past the spring.

Four of the mothers gave birth for the first time.

North Atlantic right whale Juno and her calf were sighted off Cane Island, South Carolina by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute on Nov. 28, 2023.

There were several calf deaths in 2024. Juno's calf, seen here, was struck by a vessel before being found dead in March 2024. (Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Mothers normally give birth to their first calf at age 10, but more than 40 females between the ages of 10 and 20 have not given birth to their first calf, Hamilton said.

The reasoning behind that is complicated, he said, pointing to nutrition and body size — which can be affected by past entanglements in some cases — as contributing factors.

Kim Elmslie, the campaign director at Oceana Canada, said that while the number of right whales has increased slightly, "it's not a time to take our foot off the gas.

"We still need to keep the measures in place. We still need to be vigilant," she said.

"This is a species that in 2010 was almost 500 individuals.… So there's still work to be done, but there is a lot of goodwill from the fishing industry, from the shipping industry, especially here in Canada.

Kim Elmslie, the campaign director at Oceana Canada, said that while the number of right whales has increased slightly, 'it’s not a time to take our foot off the gas.'

Kim Elmslie, the campaign director at Oceana Canada, said while the number of right whales has increased slightly, 'it’s not a time to take our foot off the gas.' (Oceana Canada)

Transitioning to ropeless fishing gear more quickly and making vessel slowdowns mandatory would help, Elmslie said.

Oceana has found that when slowdowns in Canada and the United States are voluntary, a lot of vessels don't comply, she said.

"There's still way too many deaths to have, you know, the recovery that's needed for this species," she said.

"It's moving in the right direction, but we need to continue to do more to prevent unnecessary deaths."

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