per year) , most of which are believed to have been right 

 whales. Subsequent commercial whaling, which continued into 

 the early 20th century, reduced both the Atlantic and Pacific 

 populations to exceedingly low numbers. The current population 

 in the North Pacific Ocean may number a few tens of animals 

 and be too small to recover. The population off the east 

 coast of the United States and Canada is presently estimated 

 to number about 300 animals. Few, if any, animals remain in 

 the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. 



Northern right whales have been protected from commer- 

 cial whaling since the 1930s; however, there is no evidence 

 of substantial population increases. Right whales spend much 

 of their time in coastal waters and thus are exposed to environ- 

 mental pollution and human activities that may adversely 

 affect both the whales and their habitat. 



As noted in previous Annual Reports, the Marine Mammal 

 Commission has taken a number of steps to improve prospects 

 for the recovery of right whale populations. Among other 

 things, the Commission: provided partial funding for a June 

 1983 workshop convened in response to a request by the 

 International Whaling Commission to assess the extent to 

 which protection from commercial whaling had resulted in 

 recovery of right whales (see Appendix C, Brownell et al . 

 1986) ; supported a study to help develop a right whale sighting 

 network in the southeastern United States (see Appendix B, 

 Winn 1984); funded two workshops in 1985 to describe actions 

 needed to protect and encourage recovery of the northwest 

 Atlantic. Ocean right whale population (see Appendix B, Kraus 

 1986) ; supported aerial surveys of right whales in the Great 

 South Channel off Massachusetts (see Appendix B, Winn et al . 

 1985) ; and helped support a 1986 workshop to assess new 

 information and the need to protect right whale calving areas 

 off the southeastern U.S. coast during winter (see Appendix C, 

 The Georgia Conservancy 1986) . 



Congress also has recognized the need to protect right 

 whales in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. In 1986, Congress 

 appropriated $500,000 to the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 to develop a five-year right whale research program involving 

 a consortium of non-governmental organizations concerned 

 about recovery of the northwest Atlantic population. To 

 continue that program, Congress appropriated an additional 

 $250,000 to the Service in both Fiscal Years 1987 and 1988. 

 Due to the Deficit Reduction and Balanced Budget Act of 1985 

 and other factors, actual funds allocated by the Service to 

 right whale research have been somewhat lower than the 

 appropriated amounts. As discussed in previous Annual Reports, 

 those funds have been used to support research needed to 

 gather and analyze basic information on distribution, abundance, 



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