Urgent action needed to prevent right whale deaths
I woke up recently to the awful news that yet another critically endangered North Atlantic right whale had been found dead. Discovered off Virginia
Beach, she was at least 35 years old and a mom who gave birth to her last calf just a few months ago. Her 14-week-old calf still depends on mom for protection and food and probably won’t survive either.
This latest death is the sixth right whale killed or gone missing since the start of the year. For a species with only about 360 individuals remaining, that’s a huge proportion of the population in an extremely short time.
What makes these deaths worse is that we know how to help right whales, but we aren’t doing it. We have a real shot at saving them from extinction if the federal government can find the political will.
Scientists know what killed the whale just found off Virginia Beach. A few days after NOAA Fisheries announced the latest dead whale, the agency shared necropsy results showing evidence that she was struck by a vessel before dying.
Her catastrophic injuries included “dislocation of the whale’s spine and fractures to all vertebrae in the lower back.” NOAA’s necropsies for two of the other dead right whales found this year also show injuries consistent with vessel strikes. Another whale was found this year entangled in fishing gear traced to Maine, which scientists determined likely caused her death.
Strong vessel speed limits created by NOAA would go a long way toward preventing right whale deaths and injuries.
The whales’ only current protection from vessel strikes in the United States is an outdated 2008 speed rule. The climate has changed significantly in the past 16 years, right whales have shifted habitat patterns accordingly, and the current rules don’t apply in a lot of their new habitat. The old rule also only applies to bigger boats, and we now have data — and tragic examples — showing that vessels smaller than 65 feet can and do strike and kill whales.
That’s why NOAA Fisheries proposed an updated rule in 2022. But even though the agency has publicly supported revamping the speed rule, it’s been stalling on finalizing the regulations.
After seeing a dead male right whale at Chic’s Beach a little more than a year ago that was also killed by a vessel strike, I’m heartbreakingly familiar with untimely marine mammal deaths. These sad announcements have almost become routine, and I’m growing more and more frustrated with the federal inaction that follows.
Most people care about these majestic animals and don’t want to lose them forever. We should respect the right whale’s intrinsic right to exist and appreciate the joy and benefits they (and all life) bring to earth. And making room for these ocean giants improves water quality, fertilizes fisheries and even stores carbon.
We’ve been wasting precious time on deflections and denials from industries that refuse to make even minor accommodations to save a species, and divide-andconquer politics is winning.
Reasonable, rational measures could save an entire species from extinction. We need federal officials who don’t just marvel at the whales and lament their circumstances, but stand up for them and support what the science has shown time and again will save them.