PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 22, 2024
Scientists announced a rare bit of good news Tuesday for North Atlantic right whales, the most critically endangered large whale species on the planet. An annual population estimate found the whales numbers increased slightly last year to 372, up from 358 in 2020. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, a collaboration among scientists, government agencies and the shipping and fishing industries, celebrated the news but warned that the whale remains critically endangered as a result of human activity. Boat strikes and entanglements with fishing gear are leading causes of death among the whales.