Right whales are on the brink of extinction

Marine scientists are worried that North Atlantic right whales, now an endangered species, could become extinct – due to human activities that interfere with the whales’ natural habitat.

Much has been written about the effects that seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast has on marine life. The testing is associated with the exploration process of determining if there are sufficient offshore reservoirs of oil and gas to justify drilling into the ocean floor.

This isn’t a new or easy issue. It’s been an ongoing tug of war. On one end of the rope are scientists who are aligned with environmental groups; at the other end are energy industry lobbyists who represent investors who envision dollar signs bobbing on the ocean surface.

Let’s just suppose, however, that a coalition of 28 marine scientists is correct in its assessment that underwater seismic blasting is gravely harmful to the health of right whales…perhaps even lethal.

These researchers sounded the alarm in 2016 that loud noises cause stress to right whales. They said: “The additional stress of widespread seismic surveys may well represent a tipping point for the survival of this endangered whale, contributing significantly to a decline toward extinction.”

(North Carolina is well-represented among the group of 28 scientists. Five professors affiliated with universities in the state are included. Three are associated with the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, and two are from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.)

Researchers at the National Marine Fisheries Service, a unit of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (also known as NOAA Fisheries) estimate the entire North Atlantic right whale population is about 400.

The situation is dire, however, because adult right whales are dying at a greater rate than females are birthing calves, according to a NOAA Fisheries spokesperson.

“Right whales communicate using low-frequency moans, groans and pulses. Scientists suspect that these calls are used to maintain contact between individuals, communicate threats, signal aggression” or make social conversation, said a NOAA Fisheries spokesperson.

“Underwater noise pollution interrupts the normal behavior of right whales and interferes with their communication,” the spokesperson stated.

Todd Miller, executive director at North Carolina Coastal Federation, has said: “Seismic testing and offshore drilling are incompatible with our coast in North Carolina. There’s never a window that would be a good time for seismic testing to happen.”

NOAA Fisheries says: “In the spring, summer and into early fall, right whales can be found in waters off New England and Canada, where they feed and mate.”

“Each fall, the whales travel from these northern feeding grounds to the shallow, coastal waters of the southeastern United States…the only known calving area for the species.”

NOAA Fisheries researchers recently released these findings:

The normal lifespan of right whales used to be 70 years. Now, females are only living about 45 years while males live to about age 65.

Female right whales become sexually mature at about age 10. They give birth to a single calf after a year-long pregnancy. Three to four years was considered a normal or healthy interval between calving events. But now, on average, females are having calves every 6 to 10 years.

In the last three calving seasons (2017-19), there were only 22 births, about one-third of the average annual birth rate.

Clearly, something has gone wrong with our right whales. Do the people and the government have a responsibility to protect endangered species?

The National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest conservation organization, which has been around since 1936, says: “Yes.”