Dozens of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the Gulf of Maine this week, researchers from the New England Aquarium said Thursday.
An aerial survey team from the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life spotted the whales on Jan. 12 and 13, counting more than 75 unique individuals. Only around 370 right whales remain in existence, meaning the sightings account for around 20% of the population. The whales were gathered and feeding near the western edge of Jeffreys Ledge, where they’ve been seen in the past.
Many of the whales are known to researchers, including Millipede,” an adult female who had a calf in 2021, and “Loki,” an adult of unknown sex who has been seen just six times in 20 years and only in New England waters, and “Nimbus”, a 16-year-old male who was entangled in fishing rope in 2023.
“While it was encouraging to see Nimbus displaying normal behaviors again like feeding, observing him in an area that overlaps with gear raises the risk for future entanglements, which is cause for concern,” Orla O’Brien, a research scientist who leads the Aquarium’s aerial surveys, said in a media release.
Nimbus the right whale
The report triggered the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue a voluntary slow zone for vessels in the area to try to prevent collisions. Mariners are asked to reduce speeds to 10 knots to protect the whales. The zone will be in effect through Jan. 28.
Human activity is a danger to the whales, which are at risk for vessel collisions and entanglements in fishing gear. Researchers monitor the whales in an effort to understand their habits. Warming waters in the northern Atlantic Ocean have changed behaviors, making them more vulnerable in certain areas.
“Over the past year, we have documented several large right whale aggregations in areas or at times where we didn’t quite expect them. This puts into perspective the dynamic nature of the whales’ movements and highlights the strong need for measures that can reduce the risk of vessel strikes and entanglement,” O’Brien said.
The sighting comes the same week the Biden administration announced it would withdraw rules that would have required more ships to slow down in East Coast waters, an effort to protect the whales.