Overview
- The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium reported a 2024 estimate of 384 whales, with a calculated range of 375 to 394 based on work by the New England Aquarium and NOAA.
- Researchers documented 11 calves in the most recent season, including four first-time mothers, signaling tentative improvement in reproduction.
- Following five deaths in 2024 along with 16 entanglements and eight vessel strikes, 2025 detections to date show no confirmed mortalities, one entanglement and one vessel strike.
- Entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships remain the leading threats as whales adjust their range with changing ocean conditions across U.S. and Canadian waters.
- Key measures face setbacks: Canada has not released its whale-safe gear strategy, NOAA fisheries monitoring is paused by a U.S. government shutdown, and Congress has restricted new protections through 2029 after a vessel-speed proposal was withdrawn.