Rice’s Whale (Balaenoptera ricei) Passive Acoustic Detections Report: January 2020 – January 2021

The Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei) is the only year-round baleen whale found in the Gulf of America, and has a population size of fewer than 100 individuals (Garrison et al., 2020). The majority of visual and acoustic detections of this endangered species occur along the northeastern shelf break near the De Soto Canyon, and some visual detections and passive acoustic recordings indicate some whales persistently occur over a broader range in the Gulf than previously thought (Soldevilla, Debich, et al., 2022).