Officials are warning that a North American species of whale is approaching extinction.
North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species in “crisis,” according to a fact sheet from the NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division, with fewer than 350 individuals and fewer than 70 reproductively active females remaining.
The species of whale nearly became extinct after centuries of commercial whaling, but slowly increased to almost 500 individuals in 2010 after protections from the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, according to the NOAA Fisheries.
North Atlantic right whales can be identified by white calluses on their head. They have a broad back without a dorsal fin and a long mouth that begins above the eye, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Often found in coastal waters, they can grow to be between 45-55 feet long and can weigh up to 70 tons.
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The population began declining again in 2017, and the NOAA Fisheries declared an Unusual Mortality Event for the species, which the agency defines as a “a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response.”
The Unusual Mortality Event has documented 114 whales impacted since 2017: 36 have died, 33 have been seriously injured and 45 have been morbidity cases. The 114 deaths are a minimum count, according to the agency, as a majority of deaths and injuries of right whales have likely gone undetected.
The primary causes of the Universal Mortality Event for the whales are entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes in both U.S. and Canadian waters.
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