NOAA Fisheries releases North Atlantic right whale 5-year review

Posted on December 27, 2022

NOAA Fisheries is releasing its 5-year review for the endangered North Atlantic right whale, a NOAA Fisheries Species in the Spotlight. The review finds the population is continuing to decline and has not met many of the recovery criteria outlined in the North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan. Based on the results of this review, NOAA Fisheries concludes the species should remain listed as endangered.

Under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries is required to conduct a review of listed species at least once every five years to ensure that listing classifications of species are accurate. The review considered peer-reviewed literature, published reports, public comments, and new information that has become available since the release of the last 5-year review in 2017.

This review provides recommendations that will help guide recovery actions for the next five years (2022-2027). These recommendations are informed by priorities such as those found in the Recovery Plan and in the NOAA Fisheries Species in the Spotlight North Atlantic Right Whale Priority Action Plan.

NOAA will continue to work with its partners to implement the actions called for in the Recovery Plan and Priority Action Plan to recover this endangered species. Progress on all  ongoing work across the agency and in collaboration with partners and stakeholders to conserve and rebuild the population are tracked and communicated via the North Atlantic Right Whale Road to Recovery and Recovering Threatened and Endangered Species Reports to Congress.