BOSTON – Research conducted by scientists from the New England Aquarium has determined that the number of known deaths to North Atlantic right whales caused by humans has been undercounted.
The scientists studied cryptic mortality of the critically endangered species, which are human-caused fatalities that do not lead to a carcass observed in the wild.
The team cross-referenced multiple data points regarding the health of the species, and determined that known fatalities account for just 36% of all estimated right whale deaths from 1990 to 2017.
Right whales often die due to fishing gear entanglements and boat strikes. According to the study, many of these whales were never seen again following a strike or entanglement, which suggests that their remains were never discovered after they died.
The study can be viewed in its entirety in this month’s “Conservation Science and Practice” journal.
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