North Atlantic Whales Position Essay

The North Atlantic whale’s population is declining at an alarming rate. Scientists fear the population might go extinct in mere years. Experts believe that the government must act fast to save the population. The major threat to the whale population is entanglement in fishing gear. Over 85 % of whales have been caught up with fishing gear at least once. Entanglement can lead to infections, cuts and starvation. All of which can lead to death. Entanglement is more deadly to female whales. This is because they need a higher storage of fat for reproduction and nursing their young. If a female gets entangled it can affect her ability to feed. This makes it difficult for the female to nurse her young. Amy Knowlton a researcher employed by the New …show more content…
She believes the industry might be using ropes that are stronger than they need to be. Recent research shows that out of the entire right whale population only 23 % of the females are capable of producing calves. The females are dying at a younger age and are not reproducing enough to sustain the population. One scientists named Dr. Baumgartner said that the females capable of breeding today likely won’t exist in the next twenty years. If they die than the population of right whales will likely go extinct. The North Atlantic right whale report card also had similar findings and says that the government must act quickly in introducing regulations that will lessen the number of whales getting entangled in fishing gears. In 2016, it was estimated that the North Atlantic right whales had a population of 451. In 2015, the population was a little bit higher at an estimated 458. This summer 15 whales died because of human activities. Twelve died in Canadian waters after either entanglement or getting struck by ships. Three died in U.S. Unfortunately, the amount of whale that have died is probably much higher since it is difficult to detect whale deaths. For such a small population, this is a huge