link offsite to facebook link offsite to twitter link offsite to youtube rss feed   link to AFSC home page
Mobile users can use the Site Map to access the principal pages
 


link to NMFS home page link to AFSC home page link to NOAA home page
North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica)

Before right whales in the North Pacific were heavily exploited by commercial whalers, concentrations were found in the Gulf of Alaska, eastern Aleutian Islands, south-central Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and Sea of Japan. During 1965-99, following illegal catches by the USSR, there were only 82 sightings of right whales in the entire eastern North Pacific, with the majority of these occurring in the Bering Sea and adjacent areas of the Aleutian Islands. Sightings have been reported as far south as central Baja California in the eastern North Pacific, as far south as Hawaii in the central North Pacific, and as far north as the sub-Arctic waters of the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in the summer. Migratory patterns of the North Pacific whales are unknown, although it is thought the whales migrate from high-latitude feeding grounds in summer to more temperate waters during the winter, possibly offshore. No calving grounds have been found in the eastern North Pacific. Northern Right Whale adults are about 17 m long and can weigh up to 100 tons. Females are larger than males.

NMML Research Recent NMML Right Whale Publications
  • RONE, B. K., C. L. BERCHOK, J. L. CRANCE, and P. J. CLAPHAM. 2012. Using air-deployed passive sonobuoys to detect and locate critically endangered North Pacific right whales. Mar. Mammal Sci. 28(4):E528-E538. 
     
  • ROLLAND, R. M., S. E. PARKS, K. E. HUNT, M. CASTELLOTE, P. J. CORKERON, D. P. NOWACEK, S. K. WASSER, and S. D. KRAUS. 2012. Evidence that ship noise increases stress in right whales. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. [Biol]. 279:2363-2368. 
     
  • KENNEDY, A. S., D. R. SALDEN, and P. J. CLAPHAM. 2012. First high- to low-latitude match of an eastern North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica). Mar. Mammal Sci. 28(4):E539-E544. 
     
  • IVASHCHENKO, Y. V., and P. J. CLAPHAM. 2012. Soviet catches of right whales Eubalaena japonica and bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the North Pacific Ocean and the Okhotsk Sea. Endang. Species Res. 18:201–217. 
     
  • Search the AFSC database for additional Right Whale publications
Recent NMML Right Whale Posters
  • Stereotyped, Repetitive Gunshot Call Patterns Produced by the North Pacific Right Whale, Eubalaena japonica
    1.86 MB  Online.
     
  • Employing Active Aerial Acoustics to Increase Detections of the Critically Endangered North Pacific Right Whale
    2.95 MB  Online.
     
  • Aerial Sonobuoys: a Tool for Increasing Detectability of the Endangered North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica) in the Southeastern Bering Sea
    394 KB  Online.
     
  • Search the AFSC database for additional Right Whale posters
Right Whale Stock Assessment Reports
NMML Education Web (these pages are targeted toward students!) Management Right Whale Images Other links

Webmaster | Feedback | Privacy | Disclaimer | Accessibility