Every winter the pregnant female northern right whales swim south to the warmer waters off the Georgia-Florida coast, where they give birth to and nurse their calves. Every spring the mothers and calves swim back up north to their summer feeding grounds off Cape Cod. That migration has begun and will continue for about a month until the whales arrive in New England. This annual event is extremely important and closely watched because the northern right whale is the most endangered of the great whales and after 75 years of protection the species is still close to extinction. Every female and every new calf is important.

This year observers recorded 19 new calves, down from last year’s record 39 births and from the past few years when births averaged in the thirties, but better than 1999 when only one new calf was found. As the whales head north, only 18 calves can be spotted swimming with their mothers. It is not certain whether one of the calves did not survive or if the observers in planes overhead may be missing it.

Estimates of how many northern right whales exist range from 350-400, up from perhaps 100 that were left when hunting them was banned in 1935. DNA testing suggests that the entire population may be descended from 2 or 3 females that were still alive at that time. Female right whales only reproduce every 3-5 years, making population growth a slow process, so the loss of a single female is a major setback to the recovery of the species. And as has been the case forever, the only natural enemy these creatures have is man.

The greatest dangers for these whales come from being struck by a passing ship and from being tangled in a fishing net. Right whales stay close to the coastline, so their migration takes them past heavy ship traffic leaving and entering the many ports on the east coast. This has led to numerous deaths from ship strikes over the years. Recently enacted regulations require ships to reduce speed to 10 knots when entering or leaving ports during periods when the whales are active in that area. This change, along with observers in small planes who spot the whales and their location, allowing authorities to divert traffic away from the area, have prevented ship strikes during the short time this rule has been in effect.

The other big danger for the whales comes from commercial fishing. The New England-Canada coastline is a prime commercial fishing area. Fishing boats lay out nets often a mile long or longer. A whale that swims into one of these nets and cannot get untangled will likely die, either by drowning or starvation.

A major year-round effort to protect these whales has helped, but it is too soon to say for sure whether the species will survive.

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