The waters of the North Atlantic are now safer for the highly-endangered northern right whale. With permission from the International Maritime Organization, Canada has relocated shipping routes in the Bay of Fundy to reduce the threat of collissions between ships and whales by up to 80 percent.
Northern right whales inhabit the North Atlantic, spending their summers in the Bay of Fundy and their winters off the eastern coast of the United States. Currently, fewer than 350 northern right whales exist in the wild. During the past decade, over 50 percent of all right whale deaths were attributed to collissions with ships. In addition to collisions with ships, other factors that threaten right whales include hunting and entanglement in fishing nets.
About Northern Right Whales
The northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is a baleen (filter feeding) whale. They feed on plankton and small crustaceans such as krill, copepods, and pteropods. Adult whales reach lengths of 11 to 18 meters and weights of 30-80 tonnes. Northern right whales have a large, round body and are predominantly black with white patches on their bellies and pale colored growths on their heads (known as callosites or whale lice).
Northern right whales are slow swimmers but despite their lack of speed, are known to be amazing breachers. They often surface and slap their flippers against the water when rolling over. Occasionally right whales raise their tails high into the air. They are also known to be playfull and friendly.
Find out more: Endangered Whales Win Right of Way (BBC News)
