North Atlantic right whale

Right whales live in the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of North America.

In summer many eat in the sea up north. In winter some swim south to warm water, where babies are born.

North Atlantic right whales live mostly in coastal waters along the east coast of the United States and Canada, though they sometimes travel far out to sea. They are sometimes called the 'urban whale' because they live so close to busy cities and ports.

From spring to fall, many right whales feed off New England and farther north in Canadian waters. Each fall, some travel more than 1,600 kilometers south to the shallow coastal waters off North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, where calves are born.

The species occurs primarily in Atlantic coastal waters over the continental shelf, though individuals travel far offshore over deep water. Acoustic monitoring shows right whales off New England and the Mid-Atlantic year-round.

In spring, summer and fall many feed and mate off New England and in Canadian waters. Each fall some travel more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to calving grounds off the southeastern United States, though migration patterns vary. NOAA Fisheries has designated two critical habitats: a foraging area off New England and a calving area from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to below Cape Canaveral, Florida. Over the past decade, the whales have shifted their distribution, likely following changes in prey caused by warming waters.

Right whales eat tiny animals called copepods.

They swim slowly with their mouths open. Their baleen catches the tiny animals, like a sieve.

Right whales eat copepods, which are tiny crustaceans, along with other zooplankton. A right whale swims slowly through a thick patch of them with its mouth open.

The water flows out through its baleen plates. The copepods get caught in a tangle of hair-like fringes on the baleen, like food in a sieve. Sometimes you can see a right whale skim-feeding with the front of its head sticking out of the water.

Right whales are skim feeders that target dense patches of copepods and other zooplankton. Swimming slowly with the mouth open, they strain huge volumes of water through baleen plates, where prey is trapped in a tangle of hair-like fringes. Feeding can take place anywhere from the surface, sometimes with the rostrum above water, to the bottom of the water column.

NOAA Fisheries reports that over the past decade right whales have changed where they spend time, likely following changes in their prey as oceans warm. It links a recent dip in births and longer gaps between calves to females struggling to find enough food to support pregnancy.

There are not many right whales, so many people are helping them.

Boats slow down where the whales live. Fishers and scientists work together to make fishing safer for whales. Rescue teams help whales tangled in ropes.

Right whales are critically endangered. Scientists estimated that about 384 were alive at the start of 2024, and only about 70 of them are females that are able to have calves. The biggest dangers are getting tangled in fishing ropes and being hit by ships.

People are working hard to help. Boats must stay at least 500 yards away, and ships slow down in areas where whales are found. Fishing and shipping companies work with scientists on new safety rules, rescue teams free tangled whales, and anyone who sees a right whale is asked to report it. Numbers have started to rise again, slowly.

The IUCN lists the species as Critically Endangered (2020) and it has been listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act since 1970. In October 2025 NOAA Fisheries estimated 384 (+10/−9) whales alive at the start of 2024; NOAA says the population has shown signs of increasing for a third consecutive year, but there are only about 70 reproductively active females. An Unusual Mortality Event declared in 2017 is ongoing, and only about one-third of deaths are thought to be detected.

Over 85 percent of right whales have been entangled at least once, and since 2017 at least 18 have been confirmed dead or seriously injured by vessel strikes. Measures include a 500-yard no-approach zone, required slow speeds in Seasonal Management Areas, voluntary Slow Zones where whales are detected, sinking groundline, broadly required in U.S. trap and gillnet fisheries, disentanglement response, sighting alerts and joint recovery planning with Canada. NOAA describes itself as cautiously optimistic.