Right Whales were regarded by Nineteenth century whalers as the
'right' whales for their industry. By the 1860's their numbers
were so severely depleted that whalers could no longer hunt them
profitably. From an estimated world population of 100,000
whales, 30,000 were taken from Australian and New Zealand waters
alone. Today the world population numbers about 2,000 of which
500 visit southern Australian waters to mate and breed. It is
feared that the eastern American stock, now less than 300, is in
great danger of extinction due to the accidental deaths of right
whales involved in shipping accidents. All Right whales are
protected internationally under the convention for the
regulation of whaling and have not been actively hunted since
1935. Right Whales are slow, skimmer-feeders. Their baleen
plates, up to 2 metres long, filter out plankton and krill
(small shrimp-like crustaceans) as they cruise along the
surface. They seldom reach a speed of 9km/hr. and take over a
month to swim the 5000 km or so distance