© Dario Podesta
The Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is one of the most iconic species of the Argentine Patagonian coast, having been declared a Natural Monument in 1984. The species is currently in good conservation status, although its population is still less than one-tenth of what it was before the whaling industry. Every year, between June and November, these whales return to the calm waters of the northern Patagonian gulfs to mate, give birth, and care for their calves before embarking on long journeys to their feeding areas. In recent years, new technological tools have enabled satellite tracking of the species, leading to the “Tracking Whales” project (https://siguiendoballenas.org/), which has identified feeding areas and regions of intensive use, as well as the overlap of these areas with various human activities.
Species status tables, by year.
Select the year to display the status tables.
2021
CITATION CONSERVATION STATUS (IUCN criteria) Global Least Concern, 2018 1 Regional – Patagonian Sea Least Concern, 2018 6 Argentina Least Concern, 2019 2 POPULATION SIZE (Individuals) Global 13,600 1 Argentina 4,245 3 POPULATION TREND Global Unknown 1 Argentina Increasing/Stable 4 Number of registered populations in Argentina 1 (Península Valdés) 5
Marine Protected Areas with the presence of the species
- Península Valdés Protected Natural Area
- Bahía de San Antonio Protected Natural Area
- Other MPAs with lesser relevance for their conservation
Marine areas of intensive use by the species
- Breeding and nursery areas in the waters of Península Valdés.
- North of San Matías Gulf, up to San Antonio Bay.
- They use continental shelf and sub-Antarctic waters, as well as waters around the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands as feeding areas.
Marine Protected Areas within areas of intensive use by the species
- Península Valdés Protected Natural Area
- Bahía de San Antonio Protected Natural Area
- Cooke, J.G. & Zerbini, A.N. (2018). Eubalaena australis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T8153A50354147. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T8153A50354147.en
- D´Agostino, V. C.; Mandiola, A.; Bastida, R.; Giardino, G.; García, N. A.; Romero, M. A.; Coscarella, M. A. (2019). Eubalaena australis. En: SAyDS–SAREM (eds.) Categorización 2019 de los mamíferos de Argentina según su riesgo de extinción. Lista Roja de los mamíferos de Argentina.
- International Whaling Commission. (2013). Report of the IWC workshop on the assessment of southern right whales. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 14, 439-462.
- Crespo, E.A., Pedraza, S.N., Dans, S.L., Svendsen, G.M., Degrati, M., Coscarella, M.A. (2019). The southwestern Atlantic southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, population is growing but at a decelerated rate. Marine Mammal Science 35, 93–107.
- Kenney, R.D., (2009). Right Whales: Eubalaena glacialis, E. japonica, and E. australis, in: Perrin, W.F., Würsig, B., Thewissen, J.G.M. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition). Academic Press, London, pp. 962–972.
- Forum for the Conservation of the Patagonian Sea, 2019. Report of the IUCN Regional Red List First Workshop for Species of the Patagonian Sea – 2016: Marine Mammals. V. Falabella & C. Campagna (Eds). http://marpatagonico.org/publicaciones/