Whale species identified just last year already on the brink of extinction

It's been less than a year since scientists identified the Gulf of Mexico whale as a distinct species, and it's already on the verge of extinction. 

Scientists estimate there are only between 50 and 100 of the creatures in existence, and they make their home in U.S. waters that are rife with dangerous human activity, including oil and gas speculation. 

"As soon as we knew that this was a unique species, we also knew that it was one of the most critically endangered species on the planet," Vancouver's Michael Jasny, director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council,  told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

"Just a single oil spill, a strike from a single vessel, just the continuous din of industrial noise around the whales' habitat, all of these things can drive this … species of whale into extinction."

That's why Jasny helped organize an open letter — addressed to U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, and signed by more than 100 marine scientists — calling for new conservation policies to protect the species. 

"Gulf of Mexico whales are on the edge of extinction, and measures are urgently needed to reduce mortality and serious injury as well as to alleviate human stressors," the letter reads. 

A new species discovered

Jasny says the Gulf of Mexico Whale — also known as Balaenoptera ricei or Rice's whale — is "sleek and beautiful."

It can grow as long as 13 metres and weigh as much as 27,000 kilograms, and has a unique whale song that Jasny describes as "a long moan."

"It's this wonderful … enigmatic series of tonal shifts that are very low frequency," he said. "You really kind of feel it in your bones."

LISTEN | The Gulf of Mexico whale's song:

There are recorded sightings of the marine mammal dating back as far back as 1965, when biologist Dale W. Rice first described them, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

But until recently, scientists thought they were Bryde's whales, a species that is found in oceans around the planet. 

Over time, a different picture started to emerge. It became clear they were evolutionarily distinct from Bryde's whales, and that they made their home exclusively in U.S. waters.

At first, they were classified as a sub-species of Bryde's whales. Then, in January 2021, a team of scientists, led by NOAA's Patricia Rosel, published a paper declaring the whale a unique species, based on DNA evidence and a detailed examination of the remains of one that washed ashore and died in Florida in 2019.

Unlike other large whales, which are migratory, Rice's whale resides in the U.S. year-round. Jasny says that "really puts it in the responsibility of a single nation."

The creatures have already been afforded some federal protection. They have been classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 2019, when they were still considered a sub-species. That protection remained in effect after they were determined to be a unique species. They are also listed as "depleted" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

But marine traffic and resource extraction continue to pose a significant threat to their dwindling population, and more needs to be done, the scientists who signed the letter say. 

"Unless significant conservation actions are taken, the United States is likely to cause the first anthropogenic extinction of a great whale species," it reads.

What can be done

One of the Rice whale's primary threats is from marine traffic in the Gulf of Mexico, which cause both collisions and noise pollution. 

"Unfortunately, you couldn't design an animal that could be more vulnerable to collision with those ships," Jasny said. "The whales spend their days diving for food, but at night they come up quite close to the surface to rest. And they're just in the perfect spot to be struck by a ship but not seen by the ship and avoided."

The letter calls on the Biden administration to require traffic in the area to slow down, reducing both noise levels and risk of collision with the whales.

It also calls on the government to reject proposals for offshore oil and gas drilling in the area, warning of the risk of oil spills like 2010's Deep Water Horizon.

Even oil and gas speculation poses a threat, the scientists say, because the seismic air gun blasts that accompany it can disrupt their feeding and reproduction.

"Both from spills and just from the daily business of oil and gas production, you have an activity that … is just antithetical to the survival and recovery of the species," Jasny said. 

Jasny says he remains hopeful the U.S. government will take heed their call.

As It Happens reached out to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for comment. The NOAA said in an email that it's aware of the letter and will "respond through the appropriate channels."

Jasny says if the U.S. can't do what's necessary to protect this whale, it doesn't bode well for how it handles the broader climate and biodiversity crises facing the nation and the planet.

"Here you have a you know, what's known as charismatic megafauna —  I mean, a species that is enormously attractive and appealing to humans," he said.

"If we can't muster the leadership to help bring this species back from the brink, it really begs the question about whether we're going to be able to do anything to stem the tide of the broader crisis we're in."