And when boiled, their thick layer of blubber provided up to 70 barrels of oil that could be used for lamp and lubricating oil. By the late 1800's, right whales had been hunted to near extinction by whaling nations in both Europe and North America. In 1935, the League of Nations banned the hunting of right whales in all oceans. Sixty years later, right whales are still in trouble, with very low birth rates and high death rates. Since 1980, the New England Aquarium's Right Whale Research Project, led by Director of Research Scott Kraus, has studied distribution, abundance, behavior and migration patterns, genetics, reproduction and mortality rates and methods to reduce human impacts.
Information is used to develop optimal conservation strategies.
This project is the first, most comprehensive and longest-running continuous study of the North Atlantic right whale. Of the known human-caused deaths since 1976, collisions with large ships have killed 14 North Atlantic right whales, and fishing gear entanglements have killed two. 7 New England Aquarium genetic research indicates that the remaining right whales may have descended from as few as four female whales. Right whales may suffer from inbreeding depression, possibly reducing reproductive rates, increasing infant mortality and curbing resistance to disease. All Rights Reserved.