The North Atlantic Right Whale
North Atlantic right whales are being killed faster than they can reproduce. In 2023, for the first time in years, no right whale calves were born in the wild. Not one. The population has been in freefall for a decade, declining from roughly 480 in 2010 to around 340 today. At this rate, functional extinction is not a distant possibility — it's a near-term outcome.
Right whales were named for being the 'right' whales to hunt — slow, swimming near the surface, and crucially, they float when killed. During the 18th and 19th centuries, whalers nearly exterminated them. The species was given legal protection in 1935, and the population slowly climbed. Then, in the 2010s, something changed. Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements — the two leading causes of death — began killing whales faster than ever.
Climate change may be partly to blame: warming oceans are shifting the distribution of the copepods and krill that right whales eat, forcing them into new areas where they're more exposed to ship lanes and fishing gear.
What's Killing the North Atlantic Right Whale?
Container ships and vessels cross feeding grounds
Crab and lobster trap ropes drown whales
Ocean warming shifts food distribution
What's Being Done?
How We Got Here
See the North Atlantic Right Whale in the Wild
Documentary: North Atlantic Right Whale
Latest Conservation News
Help Save the North Atlantic Right Whale
Every action counts. Here are proven ways to make a real difference for North Atlantic Right Whale conservation.
How You Can Help Daily
Make a Difference Today
I PLEDGE TO
0 people have taken this pledge