July 27, 2026 — A surge in sightings of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales off the Massachusetts coast has researchers optimistic.
Aerial surveys and acoustic monitoring in coastal state waters detected 188 individual right whales between autumn 2025 and early May 2026, according to a report from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
The Center for Coastal Studies identified 155 of those whales in Cape Cod Bay, while the rest were spotted in Massachusetts Bay and north of Cape Ann.
The regional surge aligns with a highly successful breeding season taking place in the southern U.S. over the winter, producing 23 mother-calf pairs. The New England Aquarium said this is the highest count on record for the species since 2009.