October 25, 2022 — The population of North Atlantic right whales dropped 2.3 percent over the past year to an estimated 340 individuals, according to a report released Monday, 24 October by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
The downward trend was influenced by “ongoing human impacts that are hindering the critically endangered species’ ability to survive and reproduce,” according to the consortium, which was founded in 1986 by the New England Aquarium and partners from the University of Rhode Island, the Center for Coastal Studies, Marineland of Florida, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a collaborative means to better understand and protect the species. The group now has approximately 100 members that are engaged in right whale conservation efforts.