Whale watchers and marine biologists greet news of each North Atlantic right whale born off the Southeast coast with joy. When only 70 of the estimated 356 whales are breeding females, each birth is a big deal.
This winter brought nineteen such occasions, including four to first-time moms, reason to celebrate for sure.
Pregnant right whales migrate through commercial fishing grounds off New England and Canada and along busy shipping lanes on their journey to the calving grounds off Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. To arrive alive and deliver a calf is a crucial win for their species.
But the calving season that ended this spring was a heartbreaking reminder of the perilous future the calves and their moms face. Just four months into the new year, 2024 is already the deadliest year for right whales since 2019. Five whales have died, scientists say, including one of the new calves, and four other calves are missing and presumed dead.
Whale researchers and advocates say the whales are sliding into oblivion without the urgent protections needed to save them, but the additional proposed safety measures remain mired in controversy and delays.
Right whales are individually identified by their unique natural markings, through a photo catalog of more than two million right whale photos dating back to 1935 and maintained by the New England Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center. Each whale gets a four-digit catalog number and some are also named.
Reviewing the life histories of the season's 19 whale moms offers a glimpse into their perilous existence. Each one had been entangled in rope at least once in her lifetime. One mom – Fenway – has been entangled eight times. Another – Dog-Ear – also has survived three vessel collisions.
The first mother-calf pair was seen off South Carolina on Nov. 28, Juno and her baby. By season's end, that calf and four others – 26% of the 19 calves – were either dead or presumed dead, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency charged with overseeing the whales.
"It’s pretty much been non-stop bad news for these whales," said Gib Brogan, a campaign director for the ocean conservation group Oceana. "It was a horrible winter."
“We can hardly get through a week without hearing about yet another North Atlantic right whale killed or struggling to survive amid the deadly obstacles we throw at these animals," said Ben Grundy, an oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Injuries and deaths have been reported all along the Atlantic Coast since January.
A juvenile female was found dead off Martha's Vineyard on Jan. 28. A necropsy and investigation by NOAA and its partners concluded the entangling rope that had embedded itself into her tissues and ended her life had originated in a Maine fishery.
Days after a yearling right whale born last year delighted whale watchers by reappearing off the Central Florida coast, she was found dead near Savannah, Georgia on Feb. 15 with signs of blunt force trauma from a vessel strike, NOAA reported.
On April 9, an adult male whale identified as No. 4143, was seen entangled in rope and gear about 50 miles south of Block Island, Rhode Island. He had previously been seen swimming free of gear in Cape Cod Bay in March. Rope was trailing from either side of its mouth and beyond its flukes. However the whale was observed feeding. It was too far offshore for efforts to disentangle the animal, NOAA said, but it would be monitored.
The first right whale of the Canadian spring and summer season was spotted by a Canadian right whale survey team in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on May 10. The whale, known as Shelagh, was also entangled in fishing gear, Fisheries and Oceans Canada reported. A vessel and aerial survey teams continue to watch for the whale, said Tomie White, in media relations with the agency. White added the agency has not determined what type of gear was wrapped around the whale's mouth.
On May 12, Canadian researchers spotted the decomposing lower half of an animal in the water off Southwestern Nova Scotia. That animal has been identified by scientists in Canada and the U.S. as a right whale, said Tonya Wimmer, executive director of the Marine Animal Response Society in Nova Scotia, Canada. Little information is available to individually identify the animal, and the carcass has not been recovered.
In total, with the documented dead whales and four missing calves, the puts the 2024 number at nine dead whales, Wimmer said. "The largest dieoff was 12 animals in 2017. We are inching close to that."
"This species is going extinct if we don't do better," Wimmer said.
Scientists with NOAA and the New England Aquarium say the loss of even one female whale a year to human causes makes it more unlikely that this population can be restored. At least four have been killed already this year.
Federal scientists also say the species needs to produce twice as many calves each winter.
A study released by a group of researchers earlier this year, led by Joshua Reed at Macquarie University in Australia, reinforced findings from previous studies about the dangers of entanglement for female whales. Scientists say entangling ropes and other injuries make it hard for the whales to thrive.
Even a “minor” entanglement makes it 47% less likely that a female will breed, and 89% of females have experienced entanglement, Grundy said, quoting from that study.
"Every right whale death is significant to the future of the species," but breeding females are particularly important because they represent the future recovery of the species, Oceana's Brogan told USA TODAY. "All of the evidence shows we need to do far more for this species if we’re going to prevent it from going extinct."
Federal laws in the U.S. and Canada offer some protections for the whales. NOAA has seasonal boat speed limits for vessels over 65 feet, however conservation groups say compliance is poor, with inadequate enforcement.
After spending 18 months reviewing a proposal to expand the speed limit zones and to extend the rules to shorter, 35-foot vessels, NOAA in March forwarded a new proposal to the White House panel that must review proposed federal regulations. While whale advocates are pressing for speed on getting the rules approved, the boating industry is urging NOAA to reconsider. The South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, for example, recently sent a letter saying the slower speed limits are unsafe for boaters because it would limit their ability to navigate safely in changing weather conditions.
Federal rules also are in place for the fishing industry to use gear that is safer for the whales. Additional federal rules for have been proposed for the fishing industry, but fishers argued the additional measures are unnecessary, too expensive, impractical and unsafe for them to use.
In light of these concerns, Maine's congressional delegation successfully maneuvered in December 2022 to get a yearslong federal moratorium passed on the additional fishing rules.
After the female whale was found dead in Maine gear in January, the state's congressional delegation and its governor, Janet Mills, released a statement, saying: “We all agree that we must protect the fragile right whale population, but we must do so without endangering human lives or livelihoods in our state."
A coalition of federal officials, academics and scientists continue working with the fishing, crabbing and lobster industries in New England and gear manufacturers to explore additional gear adaptations and more sustainable fishing practices.
“With such a small population of only around 360 living individuals, every whale counts," said Philip Hamilton, a senior scientist at the Cabot Center who oversees the catalog. Each whale added to the Catalog, Hamilton said, "brings some hope."
Here's a closer look at the mom-calf pairs and when they were first spotted over the winter, from the New England Aquarium and NOAA.
No. 1612 – “Juno,” 7 miles off Georgetown, South Carolina, Nov. 28
No. 1802 – “Legato,” 18 miles off Amelia Island, Florida, Dec. 3
No. 3360 – “Horton,” 25 miles east of St. Catherine’s Island, Georgia, Dec. 7
No. 1970 – “Palmetto,” 7 miles off Hilton Head, South Carolina, Dec. 9
1703 – “Wolf,” Off Atlantic Beach, Florida, Dec. 22
No. 3320 – “Braces,” 15 miles east of Nassau Sound, Florida, Dec. 23
No. 3546 – “Halo,” 7 miles of Cumberland Island, Georgia, Dec. 28
No. 3780 – 29 miles east of the St. Mary’s River at the Florida/Georgia border, Dec. 31
No. 1810 – “Swerve,” 5 miles off Altamaha Sound, Georgia, Jan. 3
No. 2912 – “Limulus,” 8 miles off Ossabaw Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
No. 1950 – 12 miles off St. Simons Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
No. 2791 – “Fenway,” 20 miles off Cumberland Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
No. 1301 – “Half Note,” off Cumberland Island, Georgia, Jan. 11
No. 3130 – “Marilyn Monroe,” 26 miles off Jekyll Island, Georgia, Jan. 17
No. 3820 – 22 miles off Nassau Sound, Jan. 24
No. 1425 – “Butterfly,” 16 miles off Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Jan. 27
No. 3725 – 16 miles off Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Jan. 30
No. 3590 – “Dog-Ear,” seen off Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 16
No. 3260 – “Skittle,” seen 28 miles off Kure Beach, North Carolina, Feb. 16
Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate and the environment for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] or @dinahvp.