The whales were buoyed by a strong birthing year in 2021 when 18 calves were born into the population.
PORTLAND, Maine — The decline of one of the rarest whales in the world appears to be slowing, but scientists warn the giant mammals still face existential threats from warming oceans, ship collisions, and entanglement in fishing gear., which live off the U.S. East Coast, fell by about 25% from 2010 to 2020 and was down to only about 364 whales as of 2021. Now the whales are at around 356 in total, according to a group of scientists, industry members, and government officials who study them.
The whales were buoyed by a strong birthing year in 2021 when 18 calves were born into the population, the consortium said. However, consortium members cautioned that the high mortality faced by the whales from collisions and entanglement remains an unsustainable burden. Tangled up in nets and heavy ropes, the gentle giants can drown when they're unable to reach the surface, or they can suffer grievous, life-threatening injuries.
As waters have warmed, the whales must wander outside protected areas of ocean in search of food. That has left them vulnerable to the collisions with large ships and getting trapped in commercial fishing gear, which are their biggest causes of early mortality.
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