Giving North Atlantic Right Whales a Check-Up Using Advanced Technology

This story is part three of a three-part series. Read about how we are listening for North Atlantic right whales with passive acoustics , monitoring them with aerial surveys , and using boats, drones, uncrewed surface vehicles and satellites to learn as much as we can about them and their habitat. In the Northeast, we work with many partners to track right whales, including mothers and calves, using advanced technology to help inform actions that reduce risks to the species.

Passive acoustic monitoring and aerial surveys can provide critical information about endangered North Atlantic right whales. But to assess their health, you need to get closer. That's why we use these techniques in tandem with vessel surveys. From the water, scientists conduct drone photogrammetry, take biopsies and photographs, and even collect breath samples. Our team flies drones and takes samples from the R/V Selkie, a 23-foot boat, in Cape Cod Bay in the spring and in the Southeast over the winter.

Assessing Right Whale Health Using Drones and Biopsies

Taking and analyzing specialized photos using a drone is called photogrammetry. It allows scientists to measure calf growth rates and check on mother right whales' health. Mothers nurse their calves but do not eat while they are in the Southeast, so they lose blubber until they start feeding again in the Northeast. Our team gets a longer time series by sampling both in the Southeast calving grounds and Northeast feeding grounds. They also use drone imagery to examine scarring and entanglements. Our team processes the photos using an open source software called MorphoMetriX .

Our vessel survey teams also collect right whale biopsy samples. Along with state partners, they biopsied all but one of the 23 newborn calves this season. Samples provide critical information about the genetics of the calves. Genetics allow us to identify individuals and trace family relationships. These samples can also inform scientists about the health of the calf. That information is added to the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog.

To biopsy a whale, scientists slowly approach within 30 feet on a small boat and use a specialized hollow biopsy dart discharged by a crossbow. They collect a small sample of skin and blubber-about 1 inch long and the diameter of a pencil. The dart floats, allowing scientists to easily retrieve it for genetic and health analysis. The samples are quickly flash frozen aboard the boat. Ultimately, the samples are stored at the National Institute of Standards and Technology lab in Charleston, South Carolina. They are available for many types of 'omics research studies. The team hopes that long-term preservation will enable researchers to do the most good for right whales.

Using Snot and Suction Cups to Study Whales

Researchers from our science center partnered with the New England Aquarium to collect breath, or "blow," samples using drones. The drone flies over a surfacing whale and collects the air and "snot" exhaled through the blowhole onto a petri dish. This is a non-invasive and low-stress sampling method. Ongoing studies are investigating whether this can be used to measure the whales' hormone levels, indicating pregnancy, stress levels, and other health parameters. If it can, it will help reduce the number of biopsy samples needed and increase our ability to sample health metrics from whales.

Another non-invasive and low-stress way to monitor whales is attaching a suction cup tag to the whale's back using a drone. The tags can stay on for a few days. The tag collects data that help scientists understand feeding ecology, dive patterns, vocalization rates, and other whale behavior. They can also help trained responders track entangled whales.

"Our science center's research focuses on increasing our knowledge of North Atlantic right whales while minimizing any impacts that research has on them. Using drones in our field studies has expanded our ability to study the whales without disturbing them," explained research fish biologist Lisa Conger.

Defining Right Whale Habitat Using Uncrewed Surface Vehicles

Our scientists use autonomous surface vehicles to understand right whale habitat. The vehicles are equipped with echosounders and a hydroacoustic instrument that collects information on currents. A transducer sends pings into the water and records what bounces back. By comparing responses from different frequencies, scientists are working on using active acoustics to identify aggregations of the copepods right whales like to eat. The goal is to use this information to predict where and when right whales will gather and ultimately take action to reduce risks to whales.

"The autonomous surface vehicle we used in January can be out for 20 or more days at a time, and allow us to sample areas that would be hard to reach with a vessel," explained Chris Orphanides, marine resources management specialist.

Looking Forward: Using Satellites to Track Right Whales from Space

Our scientists lead the Geospatial Artificial Intelligence for Animals initiative. This is a broader collaboration with public and private sector partners to detect North Atlantic right whales using very high-resolution satellite imagery. They are currently building a training dataset of expert-annotated images capturing whales across a range of ocean conditions. It will support developing a machine learning model to reliably detect right whales from space under real-world conditions.

How We Reduce Risks to Right Whales

Our work with partners is helping us more effectively track North Atlantic right whales, including mothers and calves, with advanced technology to inform actions to reduce risks to whales. For example, acoustic monitoring and aerial surveys allow us to share information about areas where right whales are detected using voluntary Dynamic Management Areas and Right Whale Slow Zones.

Right Whale Slow Zones and Dynamic Management Areas are voluntary programs to notify vessel operators to slow down to avoid right whales. Maintaining speeds of 10 knots or less can reduce the risk to right whales from lethal vessel collisions. From July 2025 to July 2026, we announced 84 Dynamic Management Areas and Slow Zones in the Northeast to reduce risks to whales. Of these, 47 were triggered by acoustic detections and 37 by visual detections.

All boaters from Maine to Florida can sign up for email or text notifications about the latest Right Whale Slow Zones. You can also download the free Whale Alert app, which will automatically notify you to slow down when you enter one of these areas.

Additionally, partners use some of these advanced technologies to reduce both entanglement and vessel strike risk for right whales in state waters. For example, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries uses visual survey and real-time acoustic monitoring to decide when to open state waters to fishing activity and when to lift a seasonal speed restriction in Cape Cod Bay.

How Can I Help North Atlantic Right Whales?

You can play an important role in conservation by reporting sightings to NOAA Fisheries and partner agencies. These public reports add to data that researchers collect during using aerial and vessel surveys and passive acoustics. They also contribute to updated right whale population and calving season numbers.