The primary threat to all species of whales are the oil and gas industry.

With less than 50 Rice’s whales left, the primary threat to the species is the oil and gas industry.

In December 2023 the U.S. government auctioned off oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico even though it would endanger the baleen whale known as the Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei).  Learn More at https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v48/p155-174/ and https://www.boem.gov/oil-and-gas-energy