Each late winter into spring, North Atlantic right whales gather in Cape Cod Bay’s emerald waters, where green plankton blooms thicken the sea and sunlight ripples across the shallows. Here they skim dense swarms of Calanus copepods at or near the surface—one reason they’re so vulnerable to vessel strikes and fishing-gear entanglement.
My artwork translates this scene into sound and color: layered ribbons trace the sound waves right whales use to stay in touch in turbid water. Their signature upcall concentrates near 50–100 Hz, most calls sit below ~400 Hz, and sharp “gunshot” transients can reach ~1–2 kHz—low voices that carry across the bay.
Status & conservation (new figures)
Population: The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium’s 2024 estimate is 384 whales ( +10/–9 )—a 2.1% increase from the recalculated 2023 estimate of 376 ( +4/–3 )—continuing four years of slow growth. The update was released Oct 21, 2025 around the Consortium’s annual meeting (Oct 22–23, New Bedford, MA).
Mortality & injuries: After a difficult 2024 (five deaths, 16 entanglements—10 with attached gear—and eight vessel strikes), 2025 to date has logged no deaths, one new entanglement injury (no attached gear), and one vessel strike. Some whales remain entangled from prior years, including Catalog #5110, seen again in Cape Cod Bay (Apr 2025) still carrying rope despite a partial disentanglement—underscoring the need for prevention, not just response.
Calves: Eleven calves were documented in the 2024–25 season, with four first-time mothers. Notably, “Accordion” (#4150) was first seen with a calf off New York (Feb), and “Monarch” (#2460) in Cape Cod Bay (Apr).
Protection toolkit: Seasonal 10-knot speed limits and routing, real-time acoustic and aerial monitoring, on-demand/ropeless fishing trials, targeted closures, and expert disentanglement teams remain critical—and require continued collaboration across U.S. and Canadian waters.
In the painting, the emerald shallows and golden haze of light mirror the bay at peak season, while sinuous motifs echo calls pulsing through the water. With only ~384 whales left, every quieted propeller, every safer line, and every calf makes the difference between a fading echo and a growing chorus.
