At least 3 right whale calves have died so far this year, conservation group says

An international environmental organization iscalling on the federal government to step up protections forendangeredNorth Atlantic right whales beyond the 2023 measures it'sopting to repeat this year, noting birth rates are already belowexpectations for the season and at least three of the 19 calves bornso far are believed to have died.

Oceana Canada campaign director Kim Elmslie said observers should have logged between 25 and 30 new calf births so far, since thetotal local whale population of 360 contains about 70 reproducingfemales.

"It's positive because we're having a few more calves," shesaid Friday in a telephone interview, adding only 12 new rightwhales were born last year. "So that's a positive, but the deathsof calves is really distressing because that's the future of thespecies."

The birthing season for right whales starts toward the end of November and goes on until February, she said.

Right whales generally give birth off the coast of Georgia and Florida in the south and make their way back up to Canada forfeeding, she said.

"I've heard them be called the urban whale because they do travel somewhat close to shore along the Eastern U.S. ... and upinto Canadian waters," Elmslie said."But along the way they're encountering all of these differentvessels that are transiting the area and millions of lines worth offishing gear between the U.S. and Canada.There's the lesser problems of ocean noise and pollution runoff.

"It's very challengingfor these animals. They have threats throughout their entire range."

The U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationFisheries, which tracks right whales, documents calf births on itswebsite dating back as far as 2007. Data show births beganrebounding after hitting a low of zero in 2018. They rose to seventhe following year, 10 in 2020 and 20 in 2021 before dipping back to15 in 2022 and 12 last year.

Right whales, it said, become sexually mature at around 10 and give birth to one calf after a yearlong pregnancy.

While the gap between births is usually three years, now right whales are having calves every six to 10 years, it said.

"Biologists believe the additional stress from entanglements, vessel strike injuries, and changes in prey availability due toclimate change all likely contribute to right whales calving lessoften, even when the females survive the event," thewebsite said.

While a "relatively" productive year for right whales would see at least 20 births, it said rates of human-caused mortality andserious injury mean there need to be at least 50 or more calves peryear for "many years" to stop the decline of the species.

Elmslie highlighted a study published earlier this month in the journal Biological Sciences, where researchers found entanglementsin fishing gear are a main factor in the diminishing number of rightwhales.

Between 1990 and 2017, the study said those factors accounted forthe deaths of at least 41 animals. It said authorities found 21whales killed by vessel collisions and another 20 that died due to gear entanglements.

Instances of moderate to severe entanglements have surged in the past decade, the study reads.

"Entanglement in fishing gear is one of the key threats facing North Atlantic right whales," it concluded. "Almost all females,89 per cent, have experienced at least one entanglement event duringtheir lifetime, and almost two-thirds of these have experienced twoor more, with many resulting in injury or mortality.

"Consistent with previous work, we found that female North Atlantic right whales who experience a severe entanglement havereduced survival probability."

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced earlier this week it was making no changes to last year's right whale protection measures,noting the same speed restrictions, gear prohibitions and areaclosures triggered by signs of a whale willremain unchanged in 2024.

Elmslie said she's glad Ottawa left the same measures in place because North Atlantic right whales need all the help they can get,but added there's need for more action including making "ropeless"fishing gear a priority.

She said establishing lending libraries for such equipment couldhelp with an eventual transition, adding fish harvesters couldborrow the "ropeless" gear for the season without having to shell outfor unfamiliar tools.

The higher the demand for "ropeless" gear, she said, the more the price would drop.