WHOI in the News
Updates on North Atlantic right whales
Saving right whales starts with listening — Cape Cod just turned up the volume
‘Majestic’: More than 20 endangered right whales spotted off Cape Cod beach, harbormaster says
State launches ‘acoustic’ program using buoys to monitor endangered right whales off Mass. coast
The Futures of Right Whales and Lobstermen Are Entangled. Could High-Tech Gear Help Save Them Both?
Right whales and offshore wind: reflections on an uneasy coexistence
Scientists add more underwater robots to monitor endangered North Atlantic right whales
Why are offshore wind farms blamed for killing right whales?
The complicated truths about offshore wind and right whales
New marine technology prevents accidental death of Right whales
To find right whales, some scientists want to find their food’s food
3 endangered right whales prompt closure of Cape Cod Canal
Saving endangered right whales pits advocates against lobstermen
Slow Zone for Ocean City Boaters Recommended After Right Whales Detection
Robotic buoys developed to keep Atlantic right whales safe
Right whales giving birth a cause for excitement, but not enough to save endangered species
WHOI scientist wrote a book on right whales’ possible extinction. Why you should know him.
The Right Tools for Right Whales
Lonati’s methodology involves looking for whales, then hovering the university’s dual-gimbal DJI Matrice 210 V2 drone over a whale when it surfaces, capturing high-resolution images using an RGB camera at 20m above the ocean surface, then descending to 10m to capture a reading of the whale’s internal body temperature via its blowhole using an infrared camera. It is worth noting that drones have been deployed by researchers before to gather information about whales.
Drone Footage Captures Rare Moment of Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ‘Hugging’
Researchers spotted the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales on a recent trip to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts.
Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Experience Highest Birth Rate Since 2015
Endangered North Atlantic right whales gave birth in greater numbers this winter compared to the past six years — a promising sign for a species that’s been driven to the brink of extinction due to human activity.
Cape Cod Researchers To Test New Camera That Could Protect Right Whales From Ships
The technology is a miniaturized version of a system originally designed to protect whales from underwater noises.
Fewer than 366 North Atlantic Right whales are left on earth
“North Atlantic right whales face a serious risk of extinction, but there is hope if we can work together on solutions. Trauma reduction measures and applying new tools to assess their health are critically important to enhance the welfare of individual whales. If we can reduce the number of deaths, and successfully improve their health (and increase their) reproduction, the current decline in population can be reversed,” says lead study author Michael Moore, a whale trauma specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
As their population plummets, right whales verge on extinction
It’s unknown how many right whales are alive today, but Michael Moore, director of the Marine Mammal Center at WHOI, said there are likely to be fewer than 366.
North Atlantic right whales ‘could be extinct within 20 years’ as krill they eat migrate away due to climate change and commercial fishing impacts their habitat
A comprehensive new study of North Atlantic right whales has found the species is significantly smaller and less healthy than southern right whales and could be wiped out in the next 20 years without intervention.