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Erica Fuller is senior counsel at the Conservation Law Foundation.
2024 is off to a terrible start for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Last week, a 1-year-old female was found dead off the coast of Georgia after likely being struck and killed by a speeding boat. In January, a 3-year old female washed up on Martha’s Vineyard entangled in fishing rope, which likely led to her death.
With barely 350 North Atlantic right whales, every death is a tragedy and brings this species one step closer to extinction. What’s worse is that scientists estimate that fewer than 70 reproductively viable females remain. Known as “urban whales,” right whales live in the waters right off the East Coast of the United States and Canada. It’s not uncommon to see right whale moms traveling up the coast with their calves in tow, and most of the population has been spotted feeding and socializing in Cape Cod Bay.
This majestic species has lived on Earth for thousands of years, and we’re running the dire risk of it going extinct on our watch. The climate crisis is already endangering right whales, and preventable human actions are threatening to push them over the edge.
The two leading causes of death for right whales are entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with speeding vessels. These deaths are almost entirely avoidable, and it’s time we take necessary actions to stop the decline of this species before it’s too late.
Right whales are uniquely at risk of entanglement in fishing gear because they spend so much time feeding in some of the same places that lobster gear is fished. Astoundingly, the waters off New England likely contain more than a million fishing lines so right whales must navigate an obstacle course to reach their next meal or their breeding grounds. Once a whale gets tangled in this rope, it’s extremely unlikely the line will fall off before causing a serious injury, and extremely difficult and dangerous (for the people involved) to remove it. The rope can end up cutting further into the animal’s mouth or skin, making it unable to feed or swim, until they are so energetically drained that they starve.
There is reason for hope, however. New solutions like ropeless gear have the potential to reduce the number of lines in the water and thus the risk of entanglement for all kinds of marine life including other large whales and sea turtles.
Many fishing communities have pushed back against new technologies claiming that Maine rope is not responsible for a single documented right whale death, which is likely only true because gear was not marked in detail until very recently. The whale that washed up on Martha’s Vineyard in January was entangled in Maine lobster gear, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, so it’s time to put that argument to rest and work on advancing proven technologies that actually reduce the risk to right whales.
The other leading cause of death and grievous injuries is boats of all sizes hitting whales. Common-sense measures like speed limits in areas when and where right whales are known to transit, feed or congregate could make a huge difference, but so far, the federal government has dragged its feet in putting in place the protections that it admits are necessary to recover the species, and proposed more than 18 months ago.
Right whale #5120, which washed up on Martha’s Vineyard, shouldn’t die in vain. It’s time for all of us to step up and protect this species so it doesn’t go extinct on our watch. Federal officials must ensure that sufficient funding is available for ropeless fishing in those times and places where it is necessary. Fishery managers should develop permitting schemes that allow ropeless fishing to coexist with other fisheries in the region. A wider segment of the fishing industry should trial ropeless gear so that they have time to make gear modifications and adjust their fishing practices. And the public should support all of these efforts in every way possible. Right whales are running out of time.
