Round-up of 2025 North Atlantic Right Whale News

Although they are expected to live for more than 100 years, North Atlantic right whales don’t reach an average age of more than 22, reports La Presse. Climate change, ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are all being blamed. Whaling has also exacerbated the problem, in particular by eliminating virtually all older whales, those that pass on the knowledge to younger individuals.

There are now five North Atlantic right whale births this season! The Caterpillar and Blackheart females were spotted with their respective calves off the Florida coast, explains Science et vie. While this is Caterpillar’s first calf, it is Blackheart’s second, her last having been born 12 years ago. The gap between two births increases over the years, rekindling concerns about the conservation of this endangered species.

Thanks to drones, scientists can now capture thermal images of North Atlantic right whales to study them, without disturbing them, reports Radio-Canada. University of New Brunswick researcher Gina Lonati’s doctoral project developed this technology, which enables the temperature of whales to be taken through their blowholes, when they come to the surface to breathe.

Check Mark (#3705) and Grand Teton (#1145), two female North Atlantic right whales, recently gave birth in Florida waters, according to the New England Aquarium. This is Check Mark’s first calf, and Grand Teton’s ninth! The current tally for the 2024-2025 right whale calving season is seven calves.

Funding has been granted to Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, to update a North Atlantic right whale DNA database, announces Radio-Canada. With a DNA sample, scientists are able to identify an animal and trace its family tree, among other things. To date, the DNA of nearly 700 individuals can be found in the database.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is under attack from the Trump administration. An article in Le Devoir  reports budget cuts, a 50% reduction in staff and a halt to international communications. Among other things, the restrictions could have an impact on cooperation between Canada and the United States to protect North Atlantic right whales.

Counting North Atlantic right whales using microphones and machine learning? That’s the idea behind a recent study by scientists at Cornell University, a cheaper and safer way to study this endangered species. To this end, the research team has developed a model capable of detecting right whale sounds up to 86% from audio recordings, reports Phys.org.

Donald Trump’s environmental policies have experts worried about Eastern marine life, reports  Radio-Canada. Among other things, the cancellation or modification of protection measures could threaten the survival of the North Atlantic right whale, an endangered species whose habitat is located in both Canada and the United States.

A calf and its mother North Atlantic right whale were spotted in Cape Cod waters last week, reports Cape Cod Times. The Center for Coastal Studies confirms that this is Nauset (#2413), a 31-year-old female, accompanied by her fifth calf. The pair had been spotted earlier this winter in Georgia. Nauset and her calf join nine other mother-calf pairs observed since the start of this birthing season, bringing the total to 10.

Eleven North Atlantic right whales became mothers during the 2024-2025 calving season. The New England Aquarium points out that, unlike last year, there have been no known deaths among the calves. Last season, 20 births were recorded and five calves died. Although this year’s number is low, scientists emphasize that four females became mothers for the first time!

The North Atlantic right whale birthing season has come to an end, but the goal of recovery has still not been reached, explains Robert Michaud, President and Scientific Director of the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), in an interview with  Radio-Canada. The reproductive success of female right whales has been declining in recent years due to entanglements and collisions, which require a great deal of energy for individuals to survive.

Changes and additions to North Atlantic right whale protection imposed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have been greeted with relief by Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen. Due to the short lobster season, restrictions to protect the right whale sometimes meant that fishermen had to close their areas and take out their cages for 15 days at a time. The CBC News article also looks at a pilot project to manufacture safe gear to prevent right whale entanglement.

“This is a game-changer for conservation efforts,” writes the Cape Cod Times. Two buoys have been installed in Cape Cod Bay, a hotspot for North Atlantic right whales, and off Cape Ann, an area they pass through on their way to their summering grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These devices can detect right whales at a distance of around five miles when there are no ships in the vicinity. There are now 11 of these instruments along the coast as far as Florida. Curious to know where they are? Click here to find out more!

Two right whales that made a visit to the Gulf of Mexico this winter, Curlew #3940 and Koala #4190, have been spotted in Canadian waters, Fox 4 reports. Since the Gulf of Mexico is not subject to the conservation policies in place on the U.S. East Coast, this area posed great risks for the two whales. North Atlantic right whales are usually seen along the Atlantic coast of Florida during the winter.

On May 20, the first temporary fishing area closures were announced in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The reason? The presence of North Atlantic right whales. CFIM reports that “fishing is prohibited in two quadrilaterals, one of which is located north of the [Magdalen] Islands.” Only 11 calves have been counted this year, a number still far from the 50 births per year required for the potential recovery of the species.

A right whale entangled in fishing gear is swimming in the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, according to an article in Le Devoir. First spotted on Tuesday, May 27, the whale has not yet been seen again. If the whale is relocated and conditions permit, every effort will be made to try to free it. Global News also reports on the situation. Born in 2021, this juvenile whale was first spotted entangled in North Carolina… last December!

The right whale has been spotted near Morell on Prince Edward Island—more than 700 km from where it was first seen. This article published in Le Quotidien provides an update on the precarious situation of #5132. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada continues to try to locate her and, if sea conditions permit, will deploy the Campobello rescue team to attempt to free her from the ropes that were seen on her right side.

Fishermen in Prince Edward Island are hoping that no right whales will come into the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as this could lead to the closure of fishing areas during the relatively short spring lobster fishing season. According to CBC News, of the 1,300 members of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, nearly 800 purchased whale protection equipment in April, which means that fishermen could continue fishing even if a whale caused a fishing closure.

Radio-Canada reports good news for fishermen in eastern Canada: protective measures for North Atlantic right whales have been certified as satisfactory by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), although this certification must be renewed every four years. Canada has also succeeded in developing technological tools such as retrievable fishing gear without ropes and double breakaway systems, which reduce the risk of entanglement.

Transport Canada provides an update on the situation of North Atlantic right whales on its page dedicated to the protection and conservation of this endangered species. It reports that as of September 12, 145 vessels had exceeded the maximum speed limit in recent weeks and entered restricted areas. The various restrictions apply to all vessels 13 meters or longer.

Scientists from the New England Aquarium, Bigelow Laboratory, and the University of Maine are developing new prediction models to determine where North Atlantic right whales gather during their migration to their breeding and feeding grounds, writes CFIM. Based on the zooplankton that this species eats and the minimum amounts it needs, the model will predict the species’ movements based on the amount of food available. Radio-Canada also explains that conservation efforts to protect this endangered species are being undermined by changes in its behavior and distribution.

Radio-Canada reports that North Atlantic right whales are experiencing a slight increase in their population. This modest rebound in 2024 comes from data from the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. The center estimates the population at 384 individuals in 2024, up from 376 in 2023. With 11 births, it was still a difficult year, with 5 reported deaths, 16 cases of entanglement, and 8 collisions with ships.

American scientists are collecting microbiome samples from North Atlantic right whales using a drone in order to assess their health in a non-invasive way. Watch the Radio-Canada report.

A female North Atlantic right whale named Champagne has given birth to her second calf, according to Le Devoir. The female was spotted off the coast of South Carolina with her calf. This is the first mother-calf pair recorded for this year’s births! Already entangled five times in her 17 years, this resilient female gave birth five years ago. By the end of 2025, 14 pairs had been observed by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium team.

The New England Aquarium (NEA) has identified and located a North Atlantic right whale that was spotted off the coast of Ireland in July 2024. “Although there are rare cases of North Atlantic right whales known to have traveled from the western Atlantic to the eastern Atlantic and vice versa, this appears to be the first documented case of a whale initially sighted in the northeast Atlantic and then seen again in the northwest Atlantic,” explains the NEA. This sighting suggests that the historic habitats of North Atlantic right whales may still be valuable.