New population estimates for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale are pointing toward a positive trend.
The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population has been dipping in recent years during an “Unusual Mortality Event,” according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). From 2017 to 2023, a statistically above-average number of whales have been injured or found dead.
Each year before the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium’s annual meeting, the government agencies and researchers tracking and trying to preserve the population review the previous year’s population estimates and make some tweaks, according to New England Aquarium research scientist Heather Pettis.
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