Threats to North Atlantic right whales have cut their lifespan: study [Video]

FREDERICTON –

North Atlantic right whales should live well past 100 years, but threats to the endangered species, including from commercial crab and lobster fishing, have cut their lifespan to a fraction of that, a recent study suggests.

Published in the journal “Science Advances,” the study focused on southern right whales, which aren’t endangered and can live up to 130 years. However, as southern and northern right whales are closely related, lead author Greg Breed said the study “confirmed the sad state of affairs” of the whales that travel up to Canada to feed

“I wasn’t, unfortunately, at all surprised, because we’ve known this species has been gravely endangered for some time,” Breed, a biology professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, said in a recent interview.

On average, North Atlantic right whales live 22 years, a reduced lifespan Breed attributes to ship strikes, entanglements with fishing gear, and climate change. The historical whale hunt, he added, …