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(listed in reverse chronological order)
for articles not on-line in their entirety, here is a link to abstracts of some of these reports

• National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Regional Office, Protected Resources Division. 2024. North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica) Five-Year Review.  58 pages

• Bouhassira, Elza. 2024. Among the Rarest: Saving the Eastern North Pacific Right Whale. Alaska Law Review 40(2):189-224.

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2023. Listing Endangered or Threatened Species; 12 Month Finding on a Petition to Revise the Critical Habitat Designation for the North Pacific Right Whale. 88 FR 65940 September 26. 2023

• Wright, Dana. 2023. How do you study one of the world's rarest whales? Mongabay Wright is a bioacoustician describing NOAA's work on detecting North Pacific Right Whales acoustically.

• NOAA Fisheries 2022  New photos may be first visual evidence of North Pacific right whales feeding in Bering Sea in winter NOAA Fisheries News February 11, 2022.


• Pastene, L. A., Taguchi, M., Lang, A., Goto, M., & Matsuoka, K. 2022. Population genetic structure of North Pacific right whales. Marine Mammal Science, 38(3), 1249–1261. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12900.

• Matsuoka, K., Crance, J. L., Taylor, J. K. D., Yoshimura, I., James, A., & An, Y.-R. 2022. North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) sightings in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea during IWC-Pacific Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research (IWC-POWER) surveys. Marine Mammal Science, 38(2), 822–834. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12889.

• Crance, J. 2021. Right on the Edge: Can their Pacific cousins be saved? Whalewatcher  44 (2): 49-53.

• Crance, J.L. Berchok, C.L., Wright, D.L., Brewer, A.M, and Woodrich, D.F. 2019. Song production by the North Pacific right whale, Eubalaena japonica. The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America. 145, 3467  https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5111338.

• Filatova, O.A., Fedutin, I.D., Titova, O.V., Meschersky, I.G., Ovsvyanikova, E.N., Antipin, M.A., Burdin, A.M. and Hoyt, E. 2019. First Encounter of the North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica) in the Waters of Chukotka. Aquatic Mammals, 45(4), pp. 425-429.
  
  
• Wright, D.L., Berchok, C.L., Crance, J.L., and Clapham, P.J. 2018. Acoustic detection of the critically endangered North Pacific right whale in the northern Bering Sea. Marine Mammal Science. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12521.
  
  
• Crance, J.L., Berchok, C. L., and Keating, J.L.  2017. Gunshot call production by the North Pacific right whale Eubalaena japonica in the southeastern Bering Sea. Endangered Species Research 34: 251–267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00848
  
  
• Laist, David W. 2017. North Atlantic Right Whales: From Hunted Leviathan to Conservation Icon. Johns Hopkins University Press 464 pages (ISBN-13: 978-1421420981).   Although this book is focused on the North Atlantic right whale, it contains a vast amount of useful historic and scientific information about right whales that is applicable to North Pacific right whales. It is exhaustively referenced to the original scientific papers.
  

• Ford, J.K.B., Pilkington, J.F., Giborne, B., Frasier, T. R. Abernethy, R.M and Ellis, G.M. 2016. Recent observations of critically endangered North Pacific right whales off the west coast of Canada. Marine Biodiversity Records 9:50  DOI 10.1186/s41200-016-0036-3.
  

• Ferguson, M. C., Curtice, C., & Harrison, J. 2015.  Biologically Important Areas for cetaceans within U.S. waters – Gulf of Alaska coast region. In S. M. Van Parijs, C. Curtice, & M. C. Ferguson (Eds.), Biologically Important Areas for cetaceans within U.S. waters pp. 65-78) Aquatic Mammals (Special Issue) 41(1). 128 pp. DOI 10.1578/AM.41.1.2015.65

• Ovsyvanikova, E., Fedutin, I., Belonovich, O., Burdin, A., Burkanov, V.,  Dolgova, E.,  Filatova, O., Fomin, S.,  Hoyt, E.,  Mamaev, E., Richard, G., Savenko, O., Sekiguchi, K., Shpak, O. Sidorenko, M.  and Titova, O.   2015. Opportunistic sightings of the endangered North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica) in Russian waters in 2003-2014. Marine Mammal Science 31(4):1559-1567, DOI:10.1111/mms.12243
  
  
• Ovsyvanikova, E.N., Fedutin, I.D., Burdin, A.M., Burkanov, V.N., Filatova, O.A., Fomin, S.V., Hoyt, E., Mamaev, E.G.,  Sekiguchi, K., Shpak, O.V.. 2014. Sightings of North Pacific Right Whales (Eubalaena japonica) in Russian waters with reference to potential risk areas for the species. waters with reference to potential risk areas for the species. Conference: VIII International Conference «Marine Mammals of the Holarctic», At St. Petersburg, Russia, Volume: Abstracts, p114.
  
  
• Širović, A., Johnson, S.C. , Roche, L.K., Varga, L.M. Wiggins, S.M. and Hildebrand, J.A.. 2014. North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica) recorded in the northeastern Pacific Ocean in 2013. Marine Mammal Science 31(2):800-807, DOI:10.1111/mms.12189.
  
  
• Uni, T., Okabe, J. and Imai, Y. 2014. A sighting record of a North Pacific right whale in the southern Okhotsk Sea, off Shiretoko, Hokkaido. Japan Cetology 24:23-25.
  
  
• Ivashchenko, Y.V. & Clapham, P.J.  2014.  Too much is never enough: the cautionary tale of Soviet whaling.  Marine Fisheries Review 76: 1-21.
  
  
• Ford, John K.B. (2014). Marine Mammals of British Columbia. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Royal BC Museum. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-7726-6734-2.
  
  
• Ivashchenko, Y.V., Clapham, P.J.and Brownell, R.L. Jr.. 2013. Soviet catches of whales in the North Pacific: revised totals. J. Cetaceam Res. Manage. 13(1):59–71. (abstract here)
  
  
• National Marine Fisheries Service. 2013. Final Recovery Plan for the North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica)  National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, MD (issued June 3, 2013)
  
  
• National Marine Fisheries Service. 2013. Draft Recovery Plan for the North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica) (issued January 23, 2013).
  
  
• Taylor, J. K. D., J. W. Mandelman, W. A. McLellan, M. J. Moore, G. B. Skomal, D. S. Rotstein, and S. D. Kraus. 2013. Shark predation on North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the southeastern United States calving ground. Marine Mammal Science, 29(1): 204–212 (January 2013) DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00542.x
  
  
• Ivashchenko, Y.V. & Clapham, P.J. 2012. Soviet catches of bowhead (Balaena mysticetus) and right whales (Eubalaena japonica) in the North Pacific and Okhotsk Sea. Endangered Species Research 18: 201-217. [abstract also available here]
  
  
• Kennedy, A,S, Salden, D.R., and Clapham, P.J. (2012). First high- to low-latitude match of an eastern North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica). Marine Mammal Science 28:4:E539-E544. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00539.x
  
  
• Rone, B. K., C. L. Berchok, J. L. Crance, and P. J. Clapham. 2012. Using air-deployed passive sonobuoys to detect and locate critically endangered North Pacific right whales. Mar. Mammal Sci. 28(4):E528-E538 (Oct 2012) DOI:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2012.000573.x.
  
  
• Rolland, R. M., S. E. Parks, K. E. Hunt, M. Castellotte, P. J. Corkeron, D. P. Nowacek, S. K. Wasser, and S. D. Kraus. 2012. Evidence that ship noise increases stress in right whales. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. [Biol]. 279:2363-2368.
  
  
• Munger, L.M., S.M. Wiggins, and J.A. Hildebrand. 2011. North Pacific right whale up-call source levels and propagation distance on the southeastern Bering Sea shelf. Journal of the Acoustic Society of America. 129:4047-4054.
  
  
• Marques, T.A., L. Munger, L. Thomas, S. Wiggins, and J.A. Hildebrand. 2011. Estimating North Pacific right whale Eubalaena japonica density using passive acoustic cue counting. Endangered Species Research 13(3):163-172., (DOI: 10.3354/esr00325) and erratum.
  
  
• Gregr, E.J. 2011. Insights into North Pacific right whale Eubalaena japonica habitat from historic whaling records. Endangered Species Research 15:223-239. doi: 10.3354/esr00381.
  
  
• Ivashchenko Y.V. and Clapham P.J. 2011. Pushed to the Edge: Soviet Catches of Right Whales in the Eastern North Pacific. Alaska Fisheries Science Center Quarterly Research Reports (Apr-May-June 2011).
  
  
• Kennedy, A.S., D.R. Salden and P.J. Clapham. 2011. First High- to Low-Latitude Match of an eastern North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica) Marine Mammal Science 28(4):E539–E544 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00539.x
  
  
• Wade, P. R., A. De Robertis, K. Hough, R. Booth, A. Kennedy, R. LeDuc, L. Munger, J. Napp, K. E. W. Shelden, S. Rankin, O. Vasquez, and C. Wilson. 2011. Rare detections of North Pacific right whales in the Gulf of Alaska, with observations of their potential prey. Endang. Species Res. 13:99-109. doi: 10.3354/esr00324 (.pdf, 2 MB).
  
  
• Wade, P.R., A. Kennedy, R. LeDuc, J. Barlow, J. Carretta, K. Shelden, W. Perryman, R. Pitman, K. Robertson, B. Rone, J.C. Salinas, A. Zerbini, R. L. Brownell Jr and Phillip J. Clapham. 2010. The world’s smallest whale population? Biol. Lett. (published online) doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0477.
  
  
• Gregr, E.J. and K.O. Coyle. 2009. The biogeography of the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) Progress in Oceanograhy 80:188-198.
  
  
• Good, C. and D. Johnston. 2009. Spatial modeling of optimal North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) calving habitats. North Pacific Research Board Project Final Report 718 (http://doc.nprb.org/web/07_prjs/718_final%20report.pdf)
  
  
• Zerbini, A.N., Clapham, P.J.,  Berchok, C., Kennedy, A.   Rone, B., Mellinger, D., Nieukirk, S., and Moore, S.E. 2009(?).  Occurrence of the Endangered North Pacific Right Whale ( Eubalaena japonica) in the Bering Sea in 2008 (poster presented at ____ conference?)
  
  
• Reilly, S.B., Bannister, J.L., Best, P.B., Brown, M., Brownell Jr., R.L., Butterworth, D.S., Clapham, P.J., Cooke, J., Donovan, G.P., Urbán, J. & Zerbini, A.N. 2008. Eubalaena japonica. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2.
  <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 27 February 2013.
  
  
• Munger, L. M., Wiggins, S. M. W., Moore, S. E., and J. A. Hildebrand. 2008. North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) seasonal and diel calling patterns from long-term acoustic recordings in the southeastern Bering Sea, 2000–2006. Marine Mammal Science: Volume 24 Issue 4, Pages 795 - 814.
  
  
• Josephson, E., T. D. Smith and R. R. Reeves. 2008. Depletion within a Decade: The American 19th-Century North Pacific Right Whale Fishery. pp. in Oceans Past: Management Insights from the History of Marine Animal Populations (eds. David J. Starkey, Poul Holm and Michaela Barnard. Earthscan Research Editions. (Parts of the chapter are available online at charts and some of the text).
  
  
• Josephson, E, T. D Smith and R. R. Reeves. 2008.  Historical distribution of right whales in the North Pacific. Fish and Fisheries Volume 9 Issue 2:155-168.
  
  
• Wade, P., Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., Shelden, K, Barlow, J., Carretta, J., Durban, J., LeDuc, R., Munger, L,, Rankin,;S., Sauter, A., and Stinchcomb, C. 2006. Acoustic detection and satellite-tracking leads to discovery of rare concentration of endangered North Pacific right whales Biol. Lett: 2, 417-419.
  
  
• Sheldon, K.E.,  S E. Moore, J. M. Waite, P. R. Wade and D. J. Rugh. 2005. Historic and current habitat use by North Pacific right whales Eubalaena japonica in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Mammal Rev.Volume 35, No. 2, 129–155.
  
  
• Munger, L., D.K. Mellinger, S.M. Wiggins, S.E. Moore, and J.A. Hildebrand.  2005.  Performance of spectrogram correlation in detecting right whale calls in long-term recordings from the Bering Sea.  Canadian Acoustics 33 (2): 25-34.
  
  
• Mellinger, D.K., Stafford, K.M., Moore, S.E., Munger, L., Fox, C.G. 2004. Detection of North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) calls in the Gulf of Alaska. Marine Mammal Science 20(4):872-879.  61 "certain" right whale calls were recorded in August-September 2000 from a hyrdophone located at 52º38'N, 157º23'W an area approximately 500km SSE of Dutch Harbor and 27 "possible" right whale calls. 21 "probable" right whale calls were recorded from a hydrophone at 57º07'N, 151º51'W east of Kodiak Island.
  
  
• Mellinger, D.K. 2004. A comparison of methods for detecting right whale calls. Canadian Acoustics 32(2):55-65.
  
  
• Wiggins, S.M., M.A. McDonald, L.M. Munger, J.A. Hildebrand and S.E. Moore. 2004. Waveguide propagation allows range estimates for North Pacific right whales in the Bering Sea. Canadian Acoustics 32(2):146-154.
  
  
• Clapham, P.J., Good, C., Quinn,  S.E., Reeves, R.R., Scarff, J.E. and Brownell, R.L. Jr. 2004. Distribution of North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica) as shown by 19^th and 20^th century whaling catch and sighting records (abstract here) J. Cetacean Res. Manage.6(1):1-6.
  
  
• Burdin, A.M, Nikulin, V.S., and Brownell, R.L. Jr. 2004. Cases of entanglement of western north-pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica) in fishing gear: serious threat for species survival. pp. 95-97in Marine Mammals of the Holarctic (ed.) Belkovich VM (KMK Moscow).
  
  
• Waite, J.M., K. Wynne and D.K. Mellinger. 2003. Documented sightings of North Pacific right whale in the Gulf of Alaska and post-sighting acoustic monitoring. Northwestern Naturalist 84:38-43.
  
  
• Macdonald, M.A., and S.E. Moore. 2002. Calls recorded from North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica) in the eastern Bering Sea. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. 4.10.47536/jcrm.v4i3/838.
  
  
• Brownell, R.L. Jr., Clapham, P.J., Miyashita, T., and Kasuya, T. 2001. Conservation status of North Pacific right whales. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. (special issue) 2:269-286. (This is a complete record of all sightings and killings of right whales in the North Pacific in the 20th century.)
  
  
• Miyashita,T, and Kato, H. 2001. Recent data on the status of right whales in the NW Pacific Ocean. Report of the International Whaling Commission. SC/M98/RW11.
  
  
• LeDuc, R.G., W.L. Perryman, J.W. Gilpatrick, Jr., H. Hyde, C. Stonchcomb, J.V. Carretta and R. L. Brownell, Jr. 2001. A note on recent surveys for right whales in the southeastern Bering Sea. J. Cetacean Res. Manage.(special issue 2): 287-289.
  
  
• Scarff, J.E. 2001. Preliminary estimates of whaling-induced mortality in the 19th century Pacific northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) fishery, adjusting for struck-but-lost whales and non-American whaling. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. (Special Issue 18): 261-268.
  
  
• LeDuc, R.G., Perryman, W.L., Gilpatrick,, J.W. Jr., Hyde, J., Stinchcomb, C., Carretta, J.V. and Brownell Jr, R.L. 2001. A note on recent surveys for right whales in the southeastern Bering Sea. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. (special issue) 2:287-289.
  
  
• H. C. Rosenbaum, R. L. Brownwell Jr, M. W. Brown, C. Schaeff, V. Portway, B. N. White, S. Malik, L. A. Pastene, N. J. Patenaude, C. S. Baker, M. Goto, P. B. Best, P. J. Clapham, P. Hamilton, M. Moore, R. Payne, V. Rowntree, C. T. Tynan, J. L. Bannister & R. DeSalle. 2000. World-wide genetic differentiation of Eubalaena: questioning the number of right whale species. Molecular Ecology 9 (11):1793-1802.
  
  
• Doroshenko, N.V. 2000. Soviet whaling for blue, gray, bowhead and right whales in the North Pacific Ocean, 1961-1979. pp. 96-103 in Soviet Whaling Data (1949-1979) Center for Russian Environmental Policy, Moscow.
  
  
• Perry, S.L., D.P. DeMaster and G.K. Silber. 1999. The right whales. Marine Fisheries Review. 61(1):7-23. (Special Issue- history and status of six species listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973) (entire issue on-line on PDF format)
  
  
• Gendron, D. Lanham, S., and Carwardine, M. 1999. North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) sighting South of Baja California. Aquatic Mammals 25(1):31-34.
  
  
• Salden, D.R. and Mickelsen, J. 1999. Rare sighting of a North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in Hawai'i. Pacific Science 53(4):341-345.
  
  
• Goddard, P.D. and D.J. Rugh. 1998. A group of right whales seen in the Bering Sea in July 1996. Marine Mammal Science 14(2):344-49.
  
  
• Carretta, J.V., M.S. Lynn and C.A. LeDuc. 1994. Right whale Eubalaena glacialis) sighting off San Clemente Island, California. Marine Mammal Science 10:101-105.
  
  
• Rowlett, R.A., G.A. Green, C.E. Bowlby and M.A. Smultea. 1994. The first photographic documentation of a northern right whale off Washington State. Northwestern Naturalist 75:102-104.
  
  
• Scarff, J.E. 1991. Historic distribution and abundance of the right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in the North Pacific, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan from the Maury Whale Charts. Rep. Intl Whal. Commn 41:467-489.
  
  
• Webb, R. 1988. On the Northwest, Commercial Whaling in the Pacific Northwest 1790-1967. Univ. Brit. Columbia Press. [This is a superb, and very readable account about the pelagic Northwest whaling industry.]
  
  
• Scarff, J.E. 1986. Historic and present distribution of the right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Eastern North Pacific South of 50° North and East of 180° West. Rep. Intl Whal. Commn (Special Issue 10): 43-63.
  
  
• Scarff, J.E. 1986. Occurrence of the barnacles Coronula diadema, C. reginae and Cetopirus complanatus (Cirripedia) on right whales. Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst. 37:129-153. [This is the best record of the 1982 sighting off Half Moon Bay, California. (plus 2012 Errata and Addenda)

• Omura, H. 1986. History of Right Whale catches in the waters around Japan. Rep. Intl Whal. Comn (Special Issue 10): 35-41.
  
  
• Rowntree, V., Rowntree, J. Darling, G. Silber, and M. Ferrari. 1980. Rare sighting of a right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in Hawaii. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 58(2): 309-312. https://doi.org/10.1139/z80-038.
  
  
• Scarff, J.E. 1977. The international management of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, an interdisciplinary assessment. Ecol. Law Quart. 6:323-427, 574-638  (Part One: DOI: 10:15779/Z38ZJ82, Part Two: DOI: 10:15779/Z38K81B)

• Klumov, S.K. 1962. The right whales in the Pacific Ocean. Proceedings of the Institute of Oceanology, Academy of Sciences, U.S.S.R. [Trudy Inst. Okeanol.] 58:202-297. (in Russian) (English translation now available here.) (Ths is the official report on the 10 right whales killed pursuant to a scientific permit. This whaling just preceded the massive illegal killing of right whales in the North Pacific by Soviet whalers that was to occur later in the decade. This paper is often cited, but usually for the English summary which inaccurately reflects the generally bad science in the article itself.)

Please send any comments or corrections to: Jim Scarff with "right whale" in subject line.