First right whale calf of the season spotted

On Tuesday, boaters spotted a North Atlantic right whale with her newborn calf off St. Augustine Inlet, marking the first sighting of a mother-calf pair in the 2026-2027 calving season.

Researchers identified the mother whale as Curlew, a 16-year-old first-time mother. Her calf arrived slightly ahead of the usual start of the right whale calving season, which runs from mid-November through mid-April. Another adult female, “Calvin,” has also been spotted migrating south toward the Southeast U.S. calving grounds, which are centered off the northern Florida and southern Georgia coast.

The whales have arrived before the activation of a seasonal reduced speed zones meant to protect them from ship strikes, Department of Natural Resources senior biologist Jessica Thompson told The Current GA. They’re also here before researchers have started looking for them with aerial surveys scheduled to begin Dec. 1.

“Unfortunately it takes a lot of moving parts to mobilize a seasonal field team and shifting the dates by a few weeks for them isn’t possible,” she wrote in a text message. “So we need all mariners to be very watchful and share all their sightings through the hotline (877-942-5343)or VHF radio channel 16.”

Real-time reporting of sightings with verifiable information such as photos and coordinates allows vessel-based teams to respond if the time and conditions allow.

Named because they were once the “right” whale to hunt, highly endangered North Atlantic right whales now number about 380 individuals. They serve as Georgia’s official state marine mammal.

Each year, North Atlantic right whales travel south along the Atlantic coast from their feeding grounds off New England and Canada to give birth and nurse their calves in the Southeast.

Curlew and her baby were seen just weeks after the previously undetected calf of Silt was confirmed in Canada, bringing last season’s calf total to 24.

Curlew, Calvin and Silt are three of just 72 breeding females in the population. Mother-calf pairs spend much of their time near the surface, where despite their enormous size, they can be difficult to spot. Along with entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes are a leading cause of injury and death among these whales.

Sean Roberts, who’s credited with taking the photos that allowed researchers to identify the mother-calf pair, posted on Facebook about the encounter.

“We were lucky it was so calm that we could see them,” he wrote. “They were right there before we realized it.”

The Tide brings regular notes and observations on news and events by The Current staff.