The Gulf’s Whale

Rice’s whales are an extraordinary part of America’s natural heritage – a three-million-year old species that lives only in the Gulf of Mexico. But their shy, offshore ways have kept them under the radar for decades. It took the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to fund the basic science needed to study them. In 2021, after a decade of research, the whale was finally recognized as a unique baleen whale – surviving in a narrow strip of habitat where the continental shelf gives way to deeper water.

Now, with fewer than 100 of these whales left, scientists agree that stronger protections are critical to save them from the first ever human-caused whale extinction.  

The Gulf of Mexico is a high-traffic area for large commercial ships, like tankers and cargo vessels. Rice’s whales are at risk of getting struck and killed, especially at night when they stay close to the ocean surface to rest. Slowing vessels down to safer speeds would greatly reduce the strike risk for the whales, and it’s already a proven method in vulnerable marine habitats around the world. 

Another major risk to Rice’s whales is oil and gas activity. The Gulf is replete with about 2,000 oil and gas platforms and more than 20,000 miles of active pipelines. The Deepwater Horizon spill alone has led to the loss of over 20 percent of the Rice’s whale population. Oil and gas exploration makes it harder for Rice’s whales to communicate, look for food, and find mates, due to the nearly constant seismic airgun blasting used in the Gulf to map oil and gas deposits beneath the seafloor. Quieter technologies are commercially available, but, without regulation, only a few companies are using them in the Gulf.      
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) added the Rice’s whale to its list of Species in the Spotlight, which recognizes wildlife in need of immediate, targeted action to prevent extinction. The time to protect Rice’s whales is now.