North Atlantic Right Whales Disturbingly Unfit

This conclusion is based on the collaboration of 12 research institutes in 5 different countries. This international team set out to measure the length and girth of right whales using aerial photography and a technique known as photogrammetry. Three of the populations studied – southern right whales from Argentina, Australia and New Zealand – are growing, while that of the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is declining.

However, fat storage is essential for the survival of right whales, migratory species that spend part of their cycle in cold waters and part of their cycle fasting. These fat reserves provide sufficient energy not only to travel from one region to another, but also for reproduction. The poor physical fitness of the North Atlantic right whales is therefore alarming, and is most likely having an impact not only on their survival rate, but also their growth, the age of sexual maturity, the frequency of reproduction as well as calf survival rates. “The poor body condition of individuals within the NARW population is of major concern for its future viability,” worry researchers.

What explains this difference in body condition between southern right whales and their northern cousins? For researchers, it is linked to the human presence in the North Atlantic right whale’s range. Indeed, although southern populations inhabit waters that see little human traffic, the population of the North lives in the American and Canadian coastal zones, which has earned this species the nickname “urban whale”. Giving birth off Florida and Georgia in winter and feeding notably in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in summer, North Atlantic right whales share their living space with crab and lobster fishermen and swim in and out of shipping lanes.