{"id":41273,"date":"2025-02-12T14:13:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T19:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?p=41273"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:44:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:44:57","slug":"right-whales-could-live-130-years-if-we-let-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/right-whales-could-live-130-years-if-we-let-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Right Whales Could Live 130 Years, If We Let Them\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Scientists have long known that some large whale species can live exceptionally long lives. Bowhead whales, for example, are believed to reach over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fisheries.noaa.gov\/species\/bowhead-whale\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">200 years old<\/a>! But a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.adq3086\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent study<\/a> suggests that living for centuries may be more common among some large whales than previously believed. Research now shows that both North Atlantic right whales and southern right whales may be capable of living more than 130 years \u2014 nearly twice as long as previously believed. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, North Atlantic right whales are being robbed of the chance to live this long. Due to human-caused threats, these whales have only an average lifespan of just 22 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-understanding-the-threats\">UNDERSTANDING THE THREATS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>North Atlantic right whales are severely threatened by vessel collisions and entanglements in fishing gear. These whales often swim slowly near the ocean\u2019s surface, and speeding boats often cannot maneuver to avoid hitting them. Additionally, a jungle of roughly one million fishing lines stretches across right whale migration routes, calving grounds, and feeding areas in the U.S. and Canada. Today, only about 370 North Atlantic right whales remain, including around 70 breeding females. They are considered one of the most endangered large whale species on the planet. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pathways-to-protection\">PATHWAYS TO PROTECTION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>North Atlantic right whales could be losing 100 years from their lives due to these human-caused threats. To ensure the survival of these whales, we must protect them from their greatest threats:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Speed limits need to be enforced in areas frequented by right whales to decrease the likelihood of deadly boat strikes. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fishers should remove traditional fishing gear in times\u00a0when whales are expected or detected and replace it with new ropeless fishing gear to reduce the number of lines in the water and prevent entanglements. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Oceana and our allies are campaigning for the United States and Canadian governments to put protection plans in action that would make these goals a reality. <a href=\"https:\/\/usa.oceana.org\/our-campaigns\/north-atlantic-right-whales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about our campaign<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/act.oceana.org\/page\/99033\/action\/1?ea.tracking.id=blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sign our petition<\/a> calling for urgent action to protect these critically endangered whales today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scientists have long known that some large whale species can live exceptionally long lives. Bowhead whales, for example, are believed to reach over 200 years old! But a recent study suggests that living for centuries may be more common among some large whales than previously believed. Research now shows that both North Atlantic right whales &#8230; <a title=\"Right Whales Could Live 130 Years, If We Let Them\u00a0\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/right-whales-could-live-130-years-if-we-let-them\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Right Whales Could Live 130 Years, If We Let Them\u00a0\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":41274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"location":[],"expedition":[],"campaign":[197,241,222],"ppma_author":[387],"class_list":["post-41273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","campaign-marine-wildlife","campaign-right-whale","campaign-whales","infinite-scroll-item"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.1 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Right Whales Could Live 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