Depending on the time of year and which hemisphere they're found, right whales will spend much of their time near bays and peninsulas and in shallow, coastal waters. This can provide shelter, food abundance, and security for females rearing young or avoiding the mating efforts of males. Four critical habitats for northern right whales are the Browns-Baccaro Bank, Bay of Fundy, Great South Channel, and the Cape Cod Bay. Each of these is distinguished by high densities of copepod populations. The first three have deep basins (150 m) flanked by relatively shallow water. Copepods are concentrated here because of convergences and upwellings driven by tidal currents. This also occurs in the Cape Cod Bay even though a deep basin isn't present.

(Cummings 1985, Katona 1999)

Habitat Regions: temperate ; polar ; saltwater or marine

Aquatic Biomes: coastal