1. Commercial Whaling
2. Vessel Strikes
3. Entanglement
4. Ocean Noise
5. Biotoxins from harmful algae blooms
6. Climate Change
Historic Impact
After the 1840s and into the 20th century, the main threat to the North Pacific Right Whale was whaling. Commercial whaling of this species lead to a drastic decline in their numbers. In 1900, the species was too scarce to be a profitable source to commercial whaling. In the 1960s, however, they were hunted illegally by the USSR in large amounts. Before being exploited, their population is thought to be more than 11,000. Some even speculate that their population was between 26,000-37,000 whales. Today, however, there is no more than 500 whales. Some believe the actual number is closer to 300. Whaling is no longer the major threat to the North Pacific Right Whale population. The main threats that they are faced with today include vessel strike, entanglement in fishing gear, bio-toxins from algal/depensation, climate change, limited food supply, and inbreeding depression from low genetic diversity due to exploitation.
Human Impacts
Over the course of the past 200 years to present day, human activity has had and continues to have devastating impact on the North Pacific right whale population. In the early 1800s, the population of the North Pacific right whale was approximately 30,000 whales. However, with threats such as commercial whaling, vessel strikes, entanglement, ocean noise, and climate change. Exploitation of whales in the form of whaling is the main reason why North Pacific right whales are so scarce today. Especially during the period from 1839 to 1849, whaling was extremely common for two main reasons. First, they made easy targets as they were slow swimmers. Second, humans hunted the whales primarily for meat and oil. Although popular in the past, commercial whaling is uncommon in present day.
A great threat that the species faces today is collisions with ships. The continual increase of ship traffic not only increases risk of vessel strikes, but it also creates ocean noise, which permanently impairs whales sense of hearing, an essential adaptation that whales rely on to survive. Another human activity that currently harms this whale species is the use of fishing gear such as traps or gill nets. Oblivious to the gear in place, the whales swim into the nets, becoming entangled, restricting their ability to navigate the ocean. Lastly, humans contributions to climate change is predicted to affect the whales as it alters the the distribution of their food source, zooplankton. Warmer ocean waters will impact environmental signals for migration routes, furthermore decreasing the survivability of the North Pacific right whale. Once known for being one of the most abundant whale species in the ocean with an estimated population of 30,000, the North Pacific right whale has been drastically driven to the brink of extinction by human interference and activities, with its population barely in the hundreds.
Current Impact
Unfortunately, people are unsure what will happen. Many scientists theorize that climate change will negatively affect the whales because zooplankton growth is affected by oceanographic conditions. If water is warming up sooner than usual, it will adjust the supply chain, which in turn affects the ocean’s environmental cues to animals such as migration. Similarly to what we watched about the plankton in the movie, these whales and other animals/plants rely heavily on the zooplankton growth to in the ocean. Warming of ocean currents can lead to distress about food and lower levels of reproduction. Additionally, the North Pacific Right Whales are dying because of vessel strikes. Vessel strikes are when an animal is hit by a boat and killed. These incidents often occur when people are fishing or by huge shipment boats. Vessel strikes are primarily the cause of the North Atlantic Right Whale and with increased ship traffic due to arctic sea ice declining, this will continue to be a main reason for the whale’s endangerment. Both entanglement and ocean noises can negatively impact the whales such as resulting in reduction in reproduction rates and hearing worsen/loss, respectively. Ocean noise is so important for these animals, since they rely on noises to communicate. With an increase in pollution, the ocean noises will not sound the same and may confuse the animals. Scientists are currently speculating biotoxins and how they are affecting the North Pacific Right Whales. As of right now, no biotoxins are found in the North Pacific Right Whale’s environment, however, North Arctic Right Whales and some other southern whales have had documentations of coming into contact with these algal bloom toxins.
Whaling
Effects of Collisions
Effects of Entanglement
