To better understand the conservation issues faced by North Atlantic right whales it is important to learn some basic aspects of their biology. Years of research on right whales have generated a considerable amount of information and many scientific publications. This section presents a distillation of those findings on the distribution, migration, reproduction and mortality of individuals of the species as well as descriptions of right whale habitats in Canadian waters including the Bay of Fundy, Roseway Basin and the waters south of the Gaspé Peninsula.

For more in depth information references are included at the end of each section to papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and books.