The population of the north Atlantic right whales appears to have stabilized at around 350, having fallen from a peak of 483 in just 2010. In 2022 there were 356,...
Once thought to exist in numbers between 9000 and 21000, but whaling pushed them close to extinction – with estimates of just a couple of hundred. In the intervening years, since 1986, the population has reached 350 – potentially doubling the population in just 37 years. However, we need to remember that only around 70 of these are breeding age females. A healthy population can expect breeding females to produce a calf every 3 years or so. Unfortunately, given the entanglements and other things that are stressing these whales, the gap between young is currently in the range 6-10 years. This means we can expect 7-11 calves a year – which suggests that for the population to double again in 37 year – we need a survival rate of over 90%
Should the population continue to grow on at that speed, it will take around 180 years for this population to recover.
Places to try to see them include
The population of the north Atlantic right whales appears to have stabilized at around 350, having fallen from a peak of 483 in just 2010. In 2022 there were 356,...