Saving Seafood

GEORGIA: Right whales return to Georgia coast

November 10, 2025 — North Atlantic right whales have returned to their calving grounds off Georgia earlier than expected. Or at least two of them did.

Anglers videoed the two endangered whales off Hilton Head, S.C., and Savannah Wednesday afternoon, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Two right whales were also reported near Cape Lookout, N.C., on Saturday but researchers couldn’t determine if they were the same whales.

“It is possible they are the same pair that was seen off Cape Lookout on Saturday,” DNR senior wildlife biologist Jessica Thompson told The Current GA. “The sighting documentation was similar. They had video that made it clear it was two adult right whales, but not clear enough to confirm ID. There was also an unconfirmed sighting at another location in N.C. of a single adult. No others have been seen in the Southeast yet. These are the early birds.”

The state marine mammal of Georgia, North Atlantic right whales are one of the most imperiled large whales, with a population estimated last month at 384 individuals. These bus-sized mammals migrate more than 1,000 miles each fall from Canada and New England to the Southeast. The waters off Georgia, north Florida and South Carolina are considered their core calving area, but they usually arrive in late November or early December.

Thompson, leader of the agency’s work with marine mammals, called the early sighting of these two uncommon but not unheard of. It did create an urgency to “make sure boaters know right whales are back and everyone is aware of the need to be vigilant.” She also encouraged boaters to report all sightings and stay at least 500 yards from any whale seen.

Read the full article at GPB

MAINE: Survey finds Maine lobster fishers remain wary of whale conservation measures, but optimistic for industry

October 6, 2025 — A recently released survey of Maine lobster harvesters and processers found the industry remains worried that right whale conservation measures will impact their business, although roughly half of respondents expressed optimism for the fishery’s future.

The Maine Department of Marine Resource (DMR) said 1,366 people responded to its survey, which it released in September. Nearly all of the respondents were harvesters, although 66 dealers also participated. According to DMR, roughly 29 percent of the people involved in the state lobster industry took part in the survey.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Whale entanglement reports declined slightly in 2023, NMFS reports

July 29, 2025 — Entanglement in fishing gear or marine debris ensnared 64 large whales in U.S. waters during 2023, below the average annual number of cases in recent years but not yet a clear trend, the National Marine Fisheries Service reported.

The National Report on Large Whale Entanglements Confirmed in the United States in 2023 notes the 64 confirmed large whale entanglement cases nationally was less than 67 confirmed large whale entanglement cases in 2022.

“It is also below the average annual number of confirmed entanglements over the previous 16 years (which was 71.8),” according to a July 28 summary from the agency. “We will continue to analyze data from 2023 to understand whether this dip is temporary or part of a longer-term downward trend.”

Along with ship strikes, entanglements are a threat to individual whales and threatened or endangered species, such as the North Atlantic right whale with a population now estimated at only around 370 animals.

Reducing that danger to meet NMFS’ mandates  under the Marine Mammal Protection Act drives management actions on the East, Gulf and West coasts, including changes to fishing seasons, gear restrictions and efforts to develop and test so-called ropeless gear in fisheries.

According to a NMFS  breakdown of 2023 confirmed entanglement cases, 61 cases or 95 percent involved live animals, and three were whales found dead and floating when initially reported. The 2023 cases were lower than the average annual number of 71.8 confirmed entanglements from 2007–2022.

Four species of large whales were documented with 2023 entanglements in U.S. waters: humpback whales,  gray whales, minke whale and North Atlantic right whales.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: State launches ‘acoustic’ program using buoys to monitor endangered right whales off Mass. coast

March 27, 2025 — A state program announced this week will enable researchers to monitor North Atlantic right whales off the Massachusetts coast using a system of buoys and underwater recorders that provide information to more effectively manage fishing closures and ship speed limits, officials say.

The program’s goal is to build a more thorough understanding of right whale patterns and aid in efforts to reduce human impact on the endangered species of about 370 individuals, researchers said.

“We want to make sure [fishing and shipping lane] closures are as effective as possible without being unnecessarily burdensome,” Erin Burke, manager of the Division of Marine Fisheries Protected Species Program, said in a call Wednesday.

The new monitoring network is comprised of two passive acoustic monitoring buoys and 17 archival monitoring moorings, Burke said.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe

Conservation groups aim to defend NOAA vessel speed limit in court

March 25, 2025 — Conservation groups are attempting to step in to defend a 2008 vessel speed rule designed to protect North Atlantic right whales from vessel strikes, arguing that the speed limits are vital to saving the endangered species.

“This speed rule is the only one that protects the few remaining right whales from deadly vessel strikes,” Conservation Law Foundation Senior Counsel Erica Fuller said in a statement. “Undermining the rule will set a dangerous precedent that risks the survival of endangered right whales and countless other marine mammals and vulnerable species. Our responsibility to protect these creatures extends beyond policy; it’s a commitment to preserving the health of our oceans for generations to come.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Whales recorded in large numbers off New Jersey coast

February 6, 2025 — Whales are gathering in large numbers off New Jersey in a portion of the Atlantic Ocean called the New York Bight, according to several sources.

Viking Yacht Company of New Gretna, Burlington County, posted to Facebook that a large group of North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species with only about 360 individuals left, was congregating in the New York Bight between the Hudson Canyon off Sandy Hook and Block Canyon off Montauk, New York.

The New York Bight is a triangular area of ocean that stretches between the Jersey Shore and Long Island.

“NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has used planes to identify the whales — present due to large amounts of food,” Viking Yacht staff wrote on Facebook. “We’re advising boaters to be vigilant. If whale(s) are seen, provide a wide berth.”

Read the full article at the Asbury Park Press

Court restores protections for critically endangered whales off New England

February 3, 2025 — A Massachusetts court on Monday restored federal protections for endangered whales off New England against entanglement in fishing equipment, overruling a lower court that struck down the federal rule.

The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association challenged the National Marine Fishers Service (NMFS) rule, finalized in 2024, which closed a 200-square-mile stretch of federal water between February and April. The severely endangered right whale, hunted nearly to extinction during the age of whaling, frequents the area during that period. Ship strikes and entanglement in lobstering gear are a major threat to the whales, believed to have a remaining population of fewer than 400.

Read the full article at The Hill

Appeals court reinstates lobster fishing limits to preserve right whales

January 31, 2025 — Conservation groups are praising a recent decision to reinstate protections for endangered North Atlantic right whales in a particularly precarious stretch of ocean off the coast of Massachusetts.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston decided Thursday to restrict lobster fishing, which in turn restores protections for endangered right whales. That decision overturned a district court verdict by reinstating a 2024 National Marine Fisheries Service rule that cordoned off a 200 square mile area of federal waters between February and April, when right whales are present.

“The First Circuit’s decision represents a major victory for right whale conservation,” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, who argued the case for conservation groups. “The wedge closure affects only a handful of lobstermen for three months but protects right whales from the deadly fishing gear entanglements driving this species towards extinction.”

Found along the East Coast, the whales’ migratory paths overlap with highly productive lobster fishing areas in Maine and Massachusetts, making entanglements in fishing gear one of the major threats for the animals. With a population of less than 400 and even fewer reproductively active females, right whales are approaching extinction with more than half a dozen threats to their existence, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

Read the full article at Maine Morning Star

How long can North Atlantic right whales live? Scientists may finally have an answer

December 26, 2024 — North Atlantic right whales currently only live to about 22 years old, but a new study finds they should be able to live to over 130.

Researchers from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and other institutions involved in the study say that only 10% of North Atlantic right whales reach the age of 47. The median age at death for the species is about 22.

In contrast, southern right whales, a closely related species, have a median lifespan of about 73 years, and 10% are expected to live to nearly 132 years of age.

Read the full article at GBH

First Circuit likely to save the whales despite lobstermen’s complaints

December 3, 2024 — An epic sea battle unfolded at the First Circuit Tuesday as Massachusetts fishermen tried to harpoon federal regulations that protect the North Atlantic right whale. But it appeared the judges were on the whales’ side and, as in “Moby Dick,” the fishermen may end up shipwrecked.

At issue is a federal rule that limits lobster and Jonah crab fisheries’ use of buoy lines, which can entangle and kill whales.

The fishermen’s lawyer, Daniel Cragg, told the judges that the rule resulted from Congress making a “drafting failure,” but the judges seemed incredulous.

“As between ‘Congress didn’t know what it was doing’ and ‘Congress did something that makes sense,’ it seems like making sense is the better option,” U.S. Circuit Judge Seth Aframe commented dryly during oral arguments.

For centuries right whales, which average 50 feet long and 50 to 75 tons, were targeted by whalers due to their docile nature and high blubber content. By 1937, when hunting them was banned worldwide, there were only about 100 left. The species rebounded a little, but in 1970 they were listed as endangered and the population today is estimated to be around 350.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service