The right whale is facing extinction — we must act now

From bald eagles to grizzly bears, there is no shortage of iconic American wildlife that needs our help. But while the grizzly bear is featured on state flags and the bald eagle is the national bird of America, little attention has been paid to one of the world’s most endangered species along our shores: the North Atlantic right whale.

The North Atlantic right whale is deeply intertwined with our nation’s history. Thousands swam along the East Coast in the days of the Mayflower, roaming from Canada to Florida. The species took its common name because it was the “right” whale to hunt. These whales swim close to shore, and their fat content is so high that they would float long after death while whalers stripped their baleen for buggy whips and corsets and their blubber for lamp oil and soap. The right whale literally fueled the Yankee whaling industry, the engine that drove New England’s economy for more than a century.

While the days of Yankee whaling are long gone, so are those of healthy right whale populations. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium estimates that no more than 400 survive today. Even more alarmingly, this number includes only 95 females of reproductive age — and maybe as few as half that number has successfully calved. These numbers continue to drop each year. Since 2017, 30 right whales have been killed, by ship strikes or commercial fishing gear entanglements. Because a significant percentage of dead whales are lost at sea, these devastating numbers do not show the full picture.

Right whales no longer die of old age. Vessel collisions and fishing entanglements are shaving decades off their average lifespans — from more than 70 years down to about 30 to 40 years. Painful entanglements are a fact of life for right whales; nearly 85 percent have the scars to prove it. Entanglements kill whales in many ways, from drowning that may take an hour to slow, agonizing deaths over months by infection or starvation.

Even if they escape entanglements, females may be so weakened by stress that they cannot calve for years. Recent calving rates reflect the crisis. In the past three years, only 13 calves have been born, less than one-third of the previous average annual birth rate. The math is simple: if right whale deaths continue to outpace births, the species will be functionally extinct within a few short decades.

Despite these dire circumstances, there are still opportunities to turn the tide. This week, Congress passed the FY2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act, allocating $3 million to right whale research and protection — a 200 percent increase from last year. However, one of the most critical initiatives to promote the species’ recovery is the SAVE Right Whales Act of 2019 (S. 2453/H.R. 1568). The bill would authorize $5 million a year for 10 years to support research and development of right whale conservation measures, including testing and implementing innovative technologies to reduce fatalities.

One of those key technologies is ropeless fishing gear. Although additional research is still needed, ropeless gear is the most promising path toward preventing entanglements. A number of American companies are already working with scientists and engineers to test and develop ropeless systems. The SAVE Right Whales Act will expedite this trend, spark further innovation, and ensure that neither the right whale nor the thousands of jobs in the lobster industry go extinct. The Senate version of the bill, introduced by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), advanced through committee this month and passed by voice vote.

Now is the time for members of Congress to act by co-sponsoring and passing the SAVE Right Whales Act. In the right whale’s hour of greatest need, the nation must not forsake this iconic species that has given so much to this country and has been such an integral part of our cultural and economic history.

Jamie Rappaport Clark is the president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. She was previously the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1997-2001. Follow her on Twitter @JClarkprez.