The estimated population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales grew by about 2% last year to 384 individuals, an increase of eight from the year before. That’s according to new data from the New England Aquarium and North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
Heather Pettis is a senior scientist who leads the New England Aquarium's right whale research program and chairs the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. She said the slight population increase is positive news for the endangered whales, and she's excited to share it.
"But it's not huge. What we've seen happen to this population before is given the small size, and given the vulnerability, that trajectory can change really quickly," Pettis said.
Pettis said 2024 was actually a difficult year for North Atlantic right whales, with a total of five detected deaths, 16 entanglements (10 of which had attached fishing gear), and eight vessel strikes.
"We need to continue to do what we can to support conservation and allow these whales to do what they need to do. Which they will, given some space from mortalities and injuries," Pettis said.
Pettis said so far this year, the number of those incidents is down; there have been zero detected mortalities, one new entanglement injury without attached fishing gear, and one vessel strike. But, she points out, those numbers are likely to change once the team of scientists has collected and analyzed all the data from the entire year.
According to the press release from the New England Aquarium, eleven calves were born in 2025: four to first-time mothers. Though with 72 reproductively active females, Pettis said the number isn't as high as scientists hoped for. They'd like to see a higher proportion of females entering the reproductive pool, and females calving every three to four years, not every six to seven, as has been the case for the last few years.
The new population estimate will be reviewed by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, which is holding its annual meeting in New Bedford this week.
