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North Atlantic Right Whale
The right whale was given its unfortunate name by whalers who considered them the "right" whales to hunt due to their slow pace and the buoyancy of their carcasses in the ocean. Humans today remain the biggest threat to right whales, killing them through ship collisions, entanglement in fish gear and habitat degradation. Listed as "endangered" since 1973, the only viable population is off the coast of Canada and the U.S. with approximately 350 individuals.
Read Background and Recovery >>
Defenders in the News
On March 23, 2010, scientists surveying an area off the Northeast Florida coast near a planned Navy training range said they witnessed an endangered right whale giving birth. It was only the second time a right whale's birth has been seen and studied, and it gave researchers new insights into the lives of some of the world's most endangered mammals. It also gave hope to environmental groups that sued to stop the Navy's plans. Read more >>
In the Courts
In January 2010, Defenders and its partners challenged the U.S. Navy’s decision to build its $100 million Undersea Warfare Training Range next to the only known calving ground for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Read the press release >>
Management and Policy
Finally carrying through on its years long promise to slow down large ocean going vessels in right whale habitat around East Coast ports, NMFS announced a final rule effective December 9, 2008 that will slow ships to 10 knots at times and places whales are present.
Although Defenders and its conservation partners cheered the implementation of measures that will provide real protections for whales now, the rule was not all they hoped and expected it to be. Of particular concern, the final rule includes an unprecedented sunset provision that will allow the rule to expire in 5 years unless there is affirmative evidence demonstrating its effectiveness.
Given the difficulty in detecting ship strikes and the limited monitoring of right whale health and survival allowed by limited governmental and academic funding, Defenders remains concerned that there may be another battle to save the whales in another 5 years. Moreover, this action turns on its head the spirit of the ESA that are to receive the full protection of the Act until the species is recovered and no longer needs them. Learn more >>
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