2022-2023 Right Whale Calving Season

Calving season is vital for the research and conservation efforts for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Spanning from mid-November to mid-May, teams take to the sky to survey the waters for mother and calf pairs. Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute has collected more than 20 years of aerial survey data and monitors the waters from North Carolina to Florida. This data is crucial for learning more about the current right whale population, which is estimated to be less than 350.

According to NOAA, 20 newborns in a calving season would be considered a relatively productive year based on the current number of females. However, 50 or more calves are needed per year for multiple years to stop the decline and allow for recovery. According to NOAA, 20 newborns in a calving season would be considered a relatively productive year based on the current number of females. However, 50 or more calves are needed per year for multiple years to stop the decline and allow for recovery. Only 15 right whale calves were spotted during the 2021-2022 season.

Mom-Calf Pair Sightings This Season: 11

Pediddle is a calving female that was sighted approximately 18nm east of Blackbeard Island, GA, by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team. She was first seen in 1978 and named for the bright circular scar on her left head that looks like a headlight (when a car has a single headlight out it is called a pediddle).

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Spindle is a calving female that was sighted east of St. Catherines Island, GA, by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team. She was first seen in 1982.

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Pilgrim is a calving female that was sighted by beachgoers just offshore of Canaveral National Seashore in Florida with her calf. They were called into the volunteer sighting network hotline (888-97-WHALE) and verified by Marine Resources Council. She was first seen as a very young calf with her mother off the Pilgrim Power Plant in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts.

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War is a calving female that was seen by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team off of the St. Mary River bordering Georgia and Florida. She was last calved in 2016 and first seen in 1988.

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Aphrodite is a calving female that was seen by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team east of Nassau Sound, FL. She was last calved in 2015 and this is her 7th documented calf.

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Viola was spotted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)  east of Amelia Island, FL. She was first seen in 2011 and named for her callosity pattern which is shaped like a Viola (stringed instrument).

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Smoke was seen by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team east of St. Catherines Island, GA, with her 4th calf. She was first documented in 2015 and was born in 1996.

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Porcia was spotted by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team southeast of Ossabaw Island, GA and again on December 17 with her 3rd calf. She was first seen in 2002 at an unknown age.

Catalog #1711 was seen with her 4th calf by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team east of Cape May, GA, and again on December 17. #1711 was first seen in 1987 as a calf with her mom and has 3 known siblings.

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Archipelago was spotted by FWC off the coast of Georgia with her 3rd calf. She was first seen in 2003 at an unknown age and has no known relatives other than her calves.

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Medusa was seen by our Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) Georgia team off St. Catherines Sound, GA with her 7th calf. She was first seen in 1981 and is named for her jellyfish shaped bonnet.

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North Atlantic right whale identification and history is courtesy of the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, curated by the New England Aquarium.