Nearly 200 people packed Tigre Island on Monday, Aug. 24, for the sold-out premiere of a documentary about one of the world's most endangered whales, a species that gives birth in the waters directly off Fernandina Beach, the Fernandina Observer reported.

"The Right Whale: Tales of Resilience and Hope," a 52-minute film by California filmmakers Nick and Cheryl Dean, was shot in waters off Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and the eastern United States. The screening was sponsored by the Amelia Island Whale Ambassadors and Defenders of Wildlife.

"We take viewers on a magical ride through the waters off Argentina and Australia, before winding up here near Amelia Island," Nick Dean told the standing-room-only crowd.

The local connection is stark. During the 2025–2026 calving season, researchers spotted a right whale known as Skittle and her newborn calf about 16 nautical miles off Fernandina Beach on Jan. 5, according to the New England Aquarium.

A whale named Magic and her calf were sighted roughly 10 miles east of Amelia Island on Jan. 16, NOAA Fisheries reported. In all, 23 new mother-and-calf pairs were documented this season, the highest count since 2009, according to NOAA. Still, only about 380 North Atlantic right whales remain, including roughly 70 breeding females.

Candis Whitney, founder of the Amelia Island Whale Ambassadors in Fernandina Beach, framed the stakes at the premiere. She said fewer than 400 right whales exist and called the moment critical for their survival.

The filmmakers also warned about a federal bill they say threatens the species. H.R. 9436, introduced by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, and Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, would extend a moratorium on new fishing gear regulations from a Dec. 31, 2028, deadline through the end of 2035, according to Defenders of Wildlife. Entanglement in fishing gear is the leading killer of adult right whales, the group said.

A 2022 rider to a federal spending bill deemed current fishing gear rules compliant with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) through 2028 but required new regulations by that deadline. A federal judge has already found the existing rules violate both laws, Defenders of Wildlife said.

Nick and Cheryl Dean urged attendees to contact U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody and U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean to support stronger protections. No public statements from Scott, Moody or Bean on H.R. 9436 were available as of Wednesday, Sept. 2.

The Deans co-founded their production company, Spindrift Images, in 2015. Nick Dean spent 25 years in scientific research and published more than 100 research articles before turning to filmmaking, according to the film's FilmFreeway page. Their previous documentary, "The Witness Is a Whale," was released in 2021. In 2025, they launched the Spindrift Images Foundation, a nonprofit focused on ocean wildlife conservation.

No additional public screenings on Amelia Island have been announced.