BOSTON - About 75 North Atlantic right whales, representing about 20% of the critically endangered species' population worldwide, have gathered in an area off the coast of New England. A aerial survey team from the New England Aquarium spotted the whales this week along a 10-mile stretch off the western edge of Jeffreys Ledge.

The whales were seen “in all directions: at the surface, swimming, and diving,” said Kate Laemmle, associate research technician in the Anderson Cabot Center who was aboard the aerial survey flights.

Dozens of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the Gulf of Maine this week, researchers from the New England Aquarium said Thursday. An aerial survey team from the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life spotted the whales on Jan.