On a summer day off Manhattan, a juvenile humpback whale named NYC0318 breaks the surface to feed – a thrilling sight for tourists, but a growing concern for conservationists.
Once a migratory highway, the New York Bight – stretching from southern New Jersey to eastern Long Island – has become a regular foraging ground for humpbacks, putting them directly in the path of cargo vessels, cruise ships, tankers, fishing boats and recreational craft.
Since Gotham Whale began tracking them in 2012, the local humpback catalogue has grown from just five whales to 470, mostly juveniles drawn by surface schools of menhaden. But their nearshore feeding puts them at high risk of vessel strikes, which research identifies as the leading cause of an ongoing “Unusual Mortality Event” declared in 2017.
The region also hosts endangered blue, fin, sei, sperm and North Atlantic right whales. In 2024, a cruise ship entered New York with a dead sei whale draped on its bow. Climate change is intensifying risks, drawing whales closer to shore in search of shifting food supplies.
Scientists agree that slowing ships to 10 knots (12mph) reduces strike likelihood and lethality. Yet earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) withdrew proposed speed rule expansions that would have extended protections to more waters, seasons and vessel types. Resistance from shipping and political pushback derailed the measures.
Voluntary slowdowns have proved largely ineffective, and rerouting vessels around New York’s three major shipping lanes is not an option. Meanwhile, cuts to Noaa’s funding and staffing are undermining whale protection efforts.
Janet Coit, former Noaa assistant administrator for fisheries, warned: “Warming waters are bringing more whales in closer to shore, causing greater interactions with vessels and more strikes. If people want to save the whales, they are going to have to change their behaviour.”
