Forty Percent of North Atlantic Right Whale Population Using Gulf of Saint Lawrence as Seasonal Habitat
Published:06 Dec.2021 Source:NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Researchers have identified 187 individual North Atlantic right whales -- about 40 percent of the catalogued population -- in Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence during the summer. They used photographs of North Atlantic right whales collected during surveys conducted between 2015 and 2019.
Many of the right whales remain in the area through the summer and autumn, feeding and socializing primarily in southern parts of the Gulf. Almost all of these whales return every year -- a pattern not seen elsewhere -- and stay for up to 5 months.