October 25, 2022 — The number of North Atlantic right whales has dropped to 340, down from 348 in 2020, according to numbers released today. The population has been shrinking for a decade, though the rate of decline might be slowing slightly.
The report from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium also notes that there were only 15 calves born in 2022 — fewer than the 18 born in 2021.
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“Females aren’t having calves until they’re much older, if at all,” said Heather Pettis, research scientist in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and executive administrator of the Consortium.
She blames the low birth rate, at least in part, on the stress and injury whales experience when tangled in fishing gear. Entanglements and ship strikes are the leading causes of death for right whales.