One of the world’s rarest whales that makes the Atlantic its home grows in population
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — One of the rarest whales on the planet has continued an encouraging trend of population growth following new efforts to protect the giant animals, according to scientists who study the giant animals.
The number of North Atlantic right whales increased by eight whales from the previous year, reaching an estimated 384 animals, according to a report released Tuesday by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. Whales have shown a slow population growth trend over the past four years.
This is a welcome development after the troubling decline of the past decade. The population of whales, which are vulnerable to collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear, declined by about 25% from 2010 to 2020.
Philip Hamilton, senior scientist at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, said the whale’s recovery trend is a testament to the importance of conservation measures. The Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are collaborating to calculate the population estimate.
Hamilton, St. He said new management measures in Canada, which are trying to keep whales safe because of their increasing presence in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, are particularly important.
“We know that a moderate increase each year, if we can sustain it, will lead to population growth,” Hamilton said. “What matters is whether we can sustain this.”
Scientists have warned in recent years that whales are making a slow recovery and that stronger conservation measures are needed, at a time when the giant animals still face the threat of accidental death. But there’s also reason to believe whales have turned a corner in terms of low reproductive numbers, Hamilton said.
Whales are less likely to reproduce if they are injured or are malnourishedscientists said. This turned out to be a problem for whales because they are not like that. birth enough babies To maintain their population, they said.
However, Hamilton said that this year, four mother whales gave birth for the first time. And some other resident mother whales have shorter intervals between calves, he said.
Hamilton said a total of 11 calves were born, which was fewer than researchers had hoped, but the introduction of new females into the breeding pool was encouraging.
Heather Pettis, who directs the right whale research program at the Cabot Center and chairs the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, said any number of calves is beneficial in a year without deaths.
“The slight increase in the population estimate, combined with no detected deaths and fewer detected injuries compared to the last several years, leaves us cautiously optimistic about the future of North Atlantic right whales,” Pettis said. “What we saw before was that this population could be turned on a dime.”
Whales were hunted to the brink of extinction during the era of commercial whaling. They have been federally protected for decades.
Whales migrate each year from calving grounds off Florida and Georgia to feeding grounds off New England and Canada. Some scientists have said that warming oceans make the journey more dangerous because whales are forced to leave protected areas to find food.
