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The Bay of Fundy serves as the summer home to many Northern Atlantic Right whales – the most endangered whale in the world. This slow giant used to be plentiful in the Atlantic ocean, but was over hunted. The right whale gets its name because according to hunters it was the right whale to kill. Slow moving, rich in blubber and baleen this catch was easily towed in because it floats once killed.
Though the species has been internationally protected since 1935 and listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, it has yet to recover from its devastating past. Busy shipping lanes often interfere with migration routes. Right whales often become tangled in commercial fishing gear. It is estimated that only 300 right whales are left in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Northern Atlantic Right Whale migrates between the coastal waters off the southeast United States and the Atlantic coast of Canada. The highest summer population exists in the Bay of Fundy, while the highest winter population exists between Brunswick Georgia and Augustine Florida. Migrating to and from these areas takes the right whale through some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
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