North Atlantic Right Whales in Crisis

Abstract

The survival of North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) is seriously threatened by mortality caused by ships and entanglements in fishing gear. Demographic modeling indicates that the population is declining despite efforts to reduce anthropogenic mortalities, and in spite of recent increases in calving. The authors of this Policy Forum recommend immediate emergency management actions to reduce shipping and entanglement mortalities in right whales, so as to avoid a catastrophic population decline and inevitable extinction.

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Affiliated Institutions

• University of Rhode Island US
• Florida State University US
• Center for Coastal Studies US
• University of California, Santa Barbara US
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution US
• University of South Carolina Beaufort US
• Cornell University US
• Duke University US
• New England Aquarium US
• University of North Carolina Wilmington US

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