Endangered Species

North Atlantic Right Whales
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Date
North Atlantic Right Whales May Face Extinction after No New Births Recorded
This is an article that covers the issue of North Atlantic Right Whales not having given birth to new calves even by when the mating season is over. This has raised concern among scientist that there is a real danger that the whales may face extinction if the trend was to continue over an extended period. Several factors are identified to be the causes of the decline that has been witnessed over the years. The first of them has been an increase in the different fishing gear that is often left under water and result in entangling of the fish (Walters, 2018). This is stated to have caused a large number of premature deaths that could not have occurred if the fishing gear was not in the water.
Second, there is also the issue of increased motility rate among the whales while on the other hand fertility rates are reducing. This is a factor that has resulted in the number of whales being estimated at 430. To make the matter worse, only 100 of these are considered to be fertile to reproduce and this means the number of the whales may continue to reduce. The use of stronger fishing gear is making it impossible for whales to escape when trapped and this can only be solved through the intervention by the government. The solution being proposed is for the government to regulate the fishing gears that are used for lobsters in an effort to guarantee that the lobster fishing and the whales can coexist without causing harm to the whales.

Lastly, a reduction in the food supply as a result of the global warming can also be blamed to the reducing number of whales (Taylor & Walker, 2017) as warmer waters are leading to lesser food for the whales compared to the food they had in the past.
References
Walters, J. (2018, February 26). North Atlantic right whales may face extinction after no new births recorded. Retrieved February 27, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/26/north-atlantic-right-whale-extinction-no-births-fishingTaylor, S., & Walker, T. R. (2017). North Atlantic right whales in danger. Science, 358(6364), 730-731.