Round-up of 2023 North Atlantic Right Whale News

After being hunted for centuries, today’s North Atlantic right whales face many challenges, including entanglements with fishing gear, ship strikes and climate change. This combination of threats, most of which are attributable to human activities, is jeopardizing the survival of this endangered species, which now numbers fewer than 350 individuals.

With their round, plump bodies, tendency to linger near the surface and lethargic nature, right whales represented the perfect target for whalers who successfully harvested them for centuries before driving the species to the brink of extinction. Also known as the northern right whale or black right whale, this species is found off the east coasts of the United States and Canada. In 2017, 18 right whale carcasses were discovered in the North Atlantic, sounding alarm bells across the scientific community. While the species historically frequented the Bay of Fundy, several individuals had ventured into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, resulting in an unusual uptick in the number of mortalities. In the years that followed, the number of births was not high enough to offset the number of deaths, which continued to accumulate.

Since then, a number of scientific studies have been conducted, initiatives to help the species have taken root, and regulations and special protection measures have been put into place. Given the steep challenges of coexisting with humans, the survival of this species hangs by a thread.

Throughout 2023, follow the latest right whale news on this page.

In our archives, retrace the events of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.