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Artist James Havens and NOAA Fisheries Alaska join forces to raise awareness about the critically endangered Northern Pacific Right Whale. With fewer than 50 individuals remaining, this life-sized mural inspires advocacy, sparks conversation, and supports conservation efforts to safeguard the future of this iconic species.
*Our Mission:*
Through the creation of a breathtaking, life-sized mural, we aim to:
- Inspire a new generation of advocates to champion the cause
- Spark vital conversations and raise awareness about the species' plight
- Support critical conservation efforts to safeguard the future of this majestic creature
- Educate and engage the public on the importance of conservation
- Foster a sense of urgency and responsibility
- Celebrate the beauty and majesty of this iconic species
Together, we can make a difference. Support our mission to protect the Northern Pacific Right Whale and ensure their place in our world's oceans for generations to come.
The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) is a very large, thickset baleen whale species that is extremely rare and criticaly endangered.
ARTIST JAMES HAVENS
"Through art and education, I'm dedicated to inspiring wildlife conservation and shining a spotlight on the critically endangered North Pacific Right Whale, highlighting the urgent need for protection and preservation."
SPECIAL THANKS TO NOAA FISHERIES ALASKA
A very special thank-you to the dedicated team at NOAA FISHERIES ALASKA for collaborating on the development of this very important public outreach.
CURRENT NOAA NPRW RESEARCH
The North Pacific right whale is one of the most endangered large whale species on earth. With less than 50 individuals in the eastern population, NOAA Fisheries is working to better understand this elusive species to aid in our recovery efforts.
Very little is known about the basic biology and ecology of North Pacific right whales – we don’t know where they breed, if or where they migrate, or how many reproductive females are in the population.
To learn more about these whales, NOAA Fisheries utilizes long-term passive acoustic moorings deployed in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska that can tell us when whales are in certain areas during the year. Additionally, our scientists participate in research cruises to collect sightings and real-time acoustic data, when possible. We also conduct outreach to help the public know about North
Pacific right whales, how to identify them, and what to do if they see one.
Thanks to the public, we have received sighting reports from Alaska to California in the last several years.
NOAA SCIENTIFIC PROJECT ADVISOR
Jenna Malek, PhD
North Pacific Right Whale Recovery Coordinator
Marine Mammal Specialist
Protected Resources Division
NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Regional Office
Jenna Malek is an Ecologist with a MS in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland and a PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia. Her graduate work focused on oyster-parasite interactions and how they may be affected by changes in climate.
Jenna began working on marine mammal issues in 2016 as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow and moved to Alaska in 2018 to conduct a review of the co-management of subsistence harvest of marine mammals by Alaska Native Organizations and federal agencies. She transitioned to a position with NOAA Fisheries in 2019 as a Marine Mammal Specialist, continuing her work on marine mammal co-management, as well as becoming the North Pacific Right Whale Recovery Coordinator, working on Endangered Species Act consultations and harbor seal management.
ABOUT THE NORTH PACIFIC RIGHT WHALE
(Content | Photo credit NOAA fisheries)
North Pacific right whales are one of the rarest of all large whale species and among the rarest of all marine mammal species. Two other species of right whale exist in the world’s oceans: the North Atlantic right whale, which is found in the North Atlantic Ocean, and the southern right whale, which is found in the southern hemisphere. North Pacific right whales are baleen whales, which feed by straining huge volumes of ocean water through their comb-like baleen plates that trap copepods and other zooplankton.
Commercial whaling greatly reduced right whale populations in the Pacific Ocean. Whaling is no longer a threat, but human activity such as entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris, vessel strikes, impacts from climate change, Oil and gas development, and ocean noise, continue to endanger this species.
NOAA Fisheries is committed to conserving and protecting the North Pacific right whale. Our scientists and partners use a variety of innovative techniques to study, and protect this species.
POPULATION STATUS
(Content | Photo credit NOAA fisheries)
North Pacific right whales have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1970 and are depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. There are no reliable estimates of current abundance or trends for right whales in the North Pacific. There are likely fewer than 500 North Pacific right whales remaining, and most sightings have been of single whales, though small groups have been sighted. Only about 30 individuals are estimated to remain of the Eastern stock that visits Alaskan waters.
RANGE
(Content | Photo credit NOAA fisheries)
Right whales have occurred historically in all the world's oceans from temperate to subpolar latitudes. Contemporary sightings of right whales have mostly occurred in the central North Pacific and Bering Sea.
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.
Since 1996, right whales have been observed repeatedly in their Critical Habitat in the southeastern Bering Sea during the summer months. Migration patterns of the North Pacific right whale are unknown, although it is thought the whales spend the summer in far northern feeding grounds and migrate south to warmer waters, such as southern California, during the winter.
MANAGMENT OVERVIEW
(Content | Photo credit NOAA fisheries)
The North Pacific right whale has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1973 when it was listed as the "northern right whale." It was originally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, the precursor to the ESA, in June 1970. The species is also designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
North Pacific Right Whale at the Coal Harbour whaling station in 1951. This was the last Right Whale seen in BC waters until June 2013. From 2013 to 2021, there have only been 4 confirmed sightings off the coat of BC. Photo: Gordon Pike, the DFO biologist responsible for monitoring whaling at Coal Harbour. Credit: Pacific Biological Station, DFO.
North Pacific Right Whale catches from 1785 to 1913 in the eastern North Pacific from the records of American whale ships. Photo by Environment and Climate Change Canada’s species at risk registry (via National Observer article
recent PROJECT
THE COOK INLET BELUGA PROJECT 2023 features Alaska’s critically endangered beluga whales of Cook Inlet Alaska. The location featured within the painting is the important archeological Beluga point site located on Cook Inlet’s Turnagain Arm, Alaska.
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