With fewer than 370 individuals remaining, North Atlantic right whales face an extinction crisis driven by entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. Every individual death matters for this critically endangered species.
North Atlantic right whales endure prolonged suffering from entanglement in fishing gear. Ropes can cut through blubber and muscle, cause infections, and impair feeding and reproduction. Entangled whales have been documented dragging gear for over a year before dying. The stress of entanglement is measurable through elevated glucocorticoid hormones - whales show physiological stress responses similar to those of humans experiencing chronic pain and anxiety. Body condition data show that right whale population health has deteriorated, with whales thinner and reproducing less often than in previous decades. The prospect of extinction means each individual's welfare is also a conservation emergency.