Although the whales no longer face pressure from commercial whaling, mankind remains by far the greatest threat to these species: the two leading causes of death are being struck by ships and entanglement in fishing gear. Ingestion of plastic marine debris also presents a growing threat. For the North Atlantic right whale, for example, whose population was estimated at 411 in 2017 which was down from 451 in 2016 and 458 in 2015, these two anthropogenic factors alone account for 48% of all known right whale deaths since 1970. Entanglement is now the greatest source of mortality in the North Atlantic right whale, with 85% of recent mortalities (2010–2015) caused by entanglement in fishing lines. More than 85% of North Atlantic right whales have been entangled at least once.