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The North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena
japonica)
- the most endangered whale -
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Adult right whale off Half
Moon Bay, California, March 1982. Note the arch of the
head, the curved lower lip and the callosity in front of
the blowhole. (The hundreds of white Coronula
barnacles around the mouth are anomalous.)
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(updated August 25, 2023)
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Regulatory News
NMFS Five Year review of status of NPRW
On March 29, 2022 the National Marine Fisheries
Service announced the initiation of a 5-year review of the North
Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). On May 31, 2022 the U.S.
Marine Mammal Commission responded to NMFS' request for
information in a 5 page
letter. The MMC wrote in part:
In the Commission's
estimation, the small number of individuals in the two
populations, and especially the very small number of known females
in the eastern population, is the greatest risk to the species.
Ship strikes and entanglements, although poorly documented, are
likely the most immediate serious anthropogenic threats. Lesser or
less immediate potential direct and indirect anthropogenic threats
include noise from ships, climate change, energy development,
pollution, and harmful algal blooms. In addition, the Commission
has concluded that existing regulatory mechanisms are inadequate
as they to fail to provide precautionary mitigative measures that
would reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries due to
entanglements and ship strikes.
...In summary, the Commission supports
NMFS reaffirming the 'endangered’' status of the North Pacific
right whale under the ESA because, at a minimum, 1) the species'
abundance is dangerously low, especially for the eastern
population, and 2) measures designed to mitigate the impacts of
ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear, which could
jeopardize the continued existence of the eastern population, are
lacking. The Commission is aware that the Alaska Region and
Fisheries Science Center are working to understand the risks faced
by eastern North Pacific right whales and to promote their
recovery, but are severely hampered by insufficient funding. The
Commission urges NOAA Fisheries to adequately fund critical
research on eastern North Pacific right whales, and the
precautionary mitigation of the most important anthropogenic
threats they likely face.
* * * * * * *
Update re Designated Critical Habitat. In May 2008 the
U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designated Critical
Habitat under the Endangered Species Act for the North Pacific
Right Whale in the SE Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.
On March 10, 2022 the Center
for Biological Diversity filed a petition to NMFS requesting NMFS to expand the critical habitat designation
(link to
petition). The Center's petition argues :
New research from NMFS and others provides valuable,
much-needed information to protect its essential
habitats--confirming a key travel corridor and identifying main
foraging grounds that extend beyond that previously documented.
These habitats are critical to the survival and recovery of the
world's most endangered whale, and special management
considerations are urgently necessary to protect these areas
given the high magnitude of threats confronting them and the
precarious status of the species.
...The best available science demonstrates that Unimak Pass,
Albatross Bank, and Barnabas Trough are essential to the
survival and recovery of North Pacific right whales. NMFS should
propose an expanded critical habitat designation to include
these vital areas, connecting the two existing critical habitat
units into an expanded, single unit as proposed. Expanded
critical habitat will provide NMFS and others additional
authority to implement special management considerations and
protections--which could be the determining factor in the fate of
the species.
On July 12, 2022 NMFS announced a "90
day finding" that the Center's petition "presents
substantial scientific information indicating the petitioned
action may be warranted and formally initiated a review of the
currently designated critical habitat to determine whether
revision is warranted." NMFS solicited scientific and commercial
information about this proposal. On September 12, 2022, the U.S.
Marine Mammal Commission wrote formal comments to NOAA. In its comments, the MMC
The Endangered Species Act requires within 12 months after
receiving the Petition (i.e March 19, 2023) NMFS is required to
"determine how [NMFS] intends to proceed with the requested
critical habitat designation and promptly publish notice of such
intention in the Federal Register." The 12 month period
would end on March 9, 2023. I have not at this time
learned what NMFS's intention is with respect to the Center's, and
will try to update this page when I learn it.
* * * * * * *
NOAA's policy on U.S. North Pacific Right whales remains the
policy described in NMFS'
Final Recovery Plan for the North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena
japonica) issued June 3, 2013
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act.The Recovery Plan contains
a good description of the current scientific knowledge in 2013
regarding the threats the species faces and what NOAA plans
to do to prevent the species from going extinct.
* * * * * *
Recent Sightings:
On 5 March 2023 one North Pacific Right whale was
seen at 9:47 am close to shore near
Pt.
Pinos, Monterey Bay, California by multiple observers
on a Monterey Bay Whale Watch whalewatching cruise. The whale was
heading west. Contact with the whale was lost after 15 minutes due
to sea conditions. This whale was also seen by crew and passengers
on the Princess Monterey Whalewatch boat that was on a whale
watching cruise. There are numerous photos taken that clearly show
the animal was a right whale. Of note is that the whale had dozens
of barnacles on its back and lips in addition to the callosities.
The March date and the presence of coronulid barnacles parallels
the sighting off Half Moon Bay in 1982.
On 19 April 2022 one North Pacific Right Whale was
seen around 9:00 am at 37° 06.029 N, 122° 26.003 W) 5.3
miles southwest of Point Ano Nuevo, California. The whale was
spotted by a recreational fisherman named Jack Gross. The
whale was photographed and a short video taken, now in possession
of NOAA which confirm its identity as a right whale. It appeared
to be feeding by skimming the surface while swimming. (pers.
comm from William Douros, NOAA)
On February 11, 2022,
two North Pacific Right Whales were seen and photographed in the
Bering Sea, the first right whales seen in the Bering Sea in
winter.
May 26, 2020, 1 North Pacific Right whale seen approximately 20
nm west of ____/Brooks Peninsula, Vancouver Island during a
transit to Anchorage. Richard Goings made the sighting and has a
29 second video which has been posted to Facebook. (awaiting more
detailed info)
15
North Pacific Right Whales were seen in the eastern Bering Sea during
summer 2017 on the International Whaling Commission/Japan POWER
cruise in the eastern Bering Sea. Photographs were obtained of
12 of these whales and biopsy dart samples from 3.
In August 2015, NOAA Fisheries conducted a
three week dedicated ship survey for North Pacific right
whales in the Gulf of Alaska southeast of Kodiak Island covering
2,500 nautical miles with both visual observers and acoustic
detection devices (sonobuoys). On
March 10 and March 16 they heard calls from a single right whale
in the area of Barnabas Trough southeast of Kodiak Island in the
general area of the designated Critical Habitat. Despite intensive
searching, they were unable to spot the animals visually.
Wikipedia & this webpage - how are they different?
In 2010, I decided to change the focus of the present webpage
from being a primary source of all information about this species
to being a complement to Wikipedia's
North Pacific Right Whale page. So, with the help
of many others, I added large amounts of information to the
Wikipedia article.
The advantages of this approach is that Wikipedia has many more
visitors and collaborative help from others. Wikipedia is a
know, and generally well trusted website, and it attracts many
viewers who would not wander to a specialized site like mine.
How do the websites differ?
- Wikipedia
- Best initial source of general information about the
biology, legal status, conservation, and whaling history
regarding this species.
- All information is "factual" and "verifiable" through the
inclusion of references
- The material is condesnsed as appropriate for an
encyclopedia article - albeit a 24 page encyclopedia
article!
- (note that Wikipedia has separate articles for the genus Eubalanea
(Right
Whale), the North
Atlantic Right Whale, and the Southern
Right Whale. Much of the information on
these other pages also applies to the North Pacific species.
- This Webpage:
- In general, this website can host much more detailed
information about select subjects, including:
- News about North Pacific Right Whale biology and
conservation that has not made it into Wikipedia
- tools to help scientists and other researchers,
specifically:
- annotated bibliography
of papers and books on right whales (I believe this is
the most complete bibliography of recent papers
available)
- abstracts of scientific
articles that are not available on-line
- hosting of several papers otherwise not available
on-line
- detailed listing of all sightings of right whales
along the coasts of
- California, Oregon, Washington and Baja
- This webpage can contain discussion about various
conservation threats and proposals and opportunities to
address them.
- Recommended list of popular books and articles about the
North Pacific Right Whale
- Gallery of Photos and art associated with North Pacific
Right Whales
- list of conservation organizations involved in right whale
conservation
Many people know of right whales as a consequence of Roger
Payne's National Geographic Society TV specials on the whales
of Peninsula Valdez, Argentina. Right whales have also
recently gotten attention from whale-watchers off Cape Cod and
other areas in the northeast and eastern Canada. Right whales
are even becoming the object of significant whale watching
industries (and nice WWW sites!) along the coasts of
Australia (Whales
on the Net and (South
Australia Whale Centre), South
Africa, and New
Brunswick, Canada. However, right whales also occur in
the North Pacific. In fact, they were the basis for a major
whaling industry in the North Pacific, particularly between
1840-48. They still occur in the North Pacific, yet they are
the forgotten whale species. Here is some information about
them.
The World's Most Endangered Whale Species: The North Pacific
Right Whale
Among the large whales, right
whales have shown the least signs of recovery after their
decimation by whalers. The population in the eastern North
Atlantic that supported a major fishery appears to be zero.
The population in the western North Atlantic is less than 400
animals. In the North Pacific, the species is so exceedingly
rare that almost every sighting of a single animal is a
publishable event. There may only be a few hundred animals or
less in the entire North Pacific with most of these animals
occurring in the western North Atlantic and the Sea of
Okhotsk.
In the U.S., conservation of
all whales is the responsibility of the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) in the Department of Commerce. Their
WWW site has information about North
Pacific Right Whales generally. Pursuant to its
responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine
Mammal Protection Act, in 1990 NMFS prepared a Recovery
Plan for the Northern Right Whale which it is now
updating. Because the western North Atlantic population is
much better known than the No Pacific population, the former
has been the focus of the conservation efforts of NMFS and
other groups such as the New
England Aquarium and the Center for Coastal Studies in
Provincetown, MA. The North Pacific right whale
population remains elusively difficult to study, let alone
protect. The International Whaling Commission convened a
Special Meeting of the Scientific Committee to Review the
Status of Right Whales in March 1998 in South Africa.
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My studies of Maury's whaling records from the 1840s revealed
very dense populations of right whales both in the Gulf of
Alaska, and more particularly along the coast of Kamchatka
(RWs seen on 90+% of search days) and along the Kurile
Islands. Review of the historic whaling records shows an
extraordinary abundance of right whales in the North Pacific
in the 1840s. Right whales appear to have been more abundant
than gray whales in the North Pacific. I hope that the No Pac.
right whale is not forgotten in all the justified concern for
RWs in other oceans.
All indications are that the E North Pacific population is
exceedingly small and may be on its way out. Given the level
of whalewatching/fishing/pelagic birding effort along the
California coast, particularly during the January-March
period, the low level of sightings appears to mirror a very
small, perhaps intermittent population here.
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Websites:
- NOAA Fisheries - North
Pacific Right Whale Good overview of the species,
its biology, the eastern population (in U.S. and Canadian
waters) and the Western population (in Russian and Japanese
waters), legal protection or lack thereof
- U.S. Marine Mammal Commission -
North Pacific Right Whale The Marine Mammal Commission
is an independent government agency charged by the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to further the conservation of
marine mammals and their environment. We work to ensure that
marine mammal populations are restored and maintained as
functioning elements of healthy marine ecosystems in the
world’s oceans. We provide science-based oversight of domestic
and international policies and actions of federal agencies
with mandates to address human impacts on marine mammals and
their ecosystems. Our role is unique—we are the only U.S.
government agency that provides comprehensive oversight of all
science, policy, and management actions affecting marine
mammals.
- Wikipedia - the North
Pacific Right Whale -lengthy review in popular language
on the species, its biology long history of whaling for right
whales,history of legal protection for the species, historical
and current distribution and abundace.
- Save the
North Pacific Right Whale - private conservation group
dedicated to education about, and protection of this species.
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