CHARLESTON — While the North Atlantic right whale continues to hover on the edge of extinction, 2024 marked another year of slow population recovery for the species.

The whales, which migrate to South Carolina’s coastal waters in the winter and spring, have seen their population crater due to whaling, vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements. In an annual estimate released Oct. 21, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium reported that there were about 384 of the sea mammals left in 2024.

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