More endangered whales could be dying than originally thought

BOSTON – More than eight in 10 right whale deaths may be going undiscovered, according to marine scientists who called for emergency action to help prevent humans from accidentally killing the rare animal.

In an article published in the journal Science, researchers estimated that deaths of North Atlantic right whales may be underreported by as much as 83 percent annually. At least eight whales have died in the last 16 months, and only 350 of the animals are believed to exist.

There isn’t time for proposed protections to slog through federal rule-making, Amy Knowlton, a New England Aquarium researcher and one of the article’s 18 co-authors, said Friday.

“We can’t wait to deal with a bureaucratic maze,” Knowlton said.

Federal regulators say emergency rules could be put in place six months earlier than the normal 18- to 24-month process but would not be permanent and would not save much time since the final rules are close to completion. Rules also could do more harm than good without proper review and public comment, officials say.

The estimate of unreported whale deaths is based on a population model that considers the known death rates of male, female and juvenile right whales. Scientists don’t presume a whale dead until it hasn’t been seen for six years.

The Science article, citing the Endangered Species Act, called for emergency rules to protect against ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements, the two primary ways right whales are killed.

Proposed rules include slowing down ships in whale-heavy areas and reducing the amount of floating fishing line in the water. Gear and voluntary speed restrictions are already in place, but the new rules would significantly broaden requirements and improve their effectiveness, advocates say.

The proposed rules have been questioned by fishermen, who worry new whale-safe gear requirements would be too expensive, and the shipping industry, which says it would lose money and compromise safety by slowing down or altering routes to avoid the animals.

The North Atlantic right whale was nearly hunted out of existence in the late 18th century and has struggled since. Scientists said the eight recent deaths were particularly devastating because four were females just starting to bear calves.