18 North Atlantic right whales have been born so far this calving season according to the New England Aquarium — an increase from the 11 born last year.
Amy Warren, a scientific program officer and whale expert with the New England Aquarium, says those are sturdy birth numbers for the endangered species, whose entire population is estimated to be 384 individuals.
While calving season typically lasts from mid-November to mid-April, Warren says that in recent years, most right whale calves have arrived in Southeast waters in December and January.
She says since it's only early January, "That is a very good sign that we could potentially hit 20 or more. That said, there could be no more calves born the rest of the year, and I would still consider this a pretty good year."
But even if more calves are born this season, the species will remain at risk.
"The whales giving birth to an ideal 20 plus calves a year is them doing their part," said Warren. "But we have to remove our part of the negative [impacts]."
Over the last decade, North Atlantic right whale deaths have outnumbered births. NOAA Fisheries says that fishing gear entanglements, boat strikes, and climate change have all been major stressors on the population and have led to lower birth rates.
The agency estimates that given the rate of human-caused mortality and injury, 50 calves would need to be born each year for many years to stop the species' decline and allow for recovery.
Warren points out that any whale babies born this season still need to survive the thousand mile-or-so migration north to their feeding grounds in Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of Maine.
