WPBN: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday that two endangered whales had been found entangled in fishing line off the coast of Massachusetts, with researchers warning that one of the animals is “likely to die.”
According to NOAA, the two North Atlantic right whales were discovered on December 9 while conducting an airborne survey about 50 miles southeast of Nantucket.
According to NOAA Fisheries researchers, a young male, #5110, is “seriously injured” and probably going to die because of a thick line that runs across his head and once over his back.
Two lines that run halfway to two thirds down the whale’s body emerge from the left side of the mouth of the second whale, #4120, which is recognized as an adult female. It is not thought that the second whale’s damage is fatal.
“We recently celebrated the birth of three whale calves this season yet now face the devastating news of two critically entangled right whales: a juvenile male ‘likely to die’ and an adult female,” Kim Elmslie, campaign director at Oceana in Canada stated. “Both were seen gear free earlier this year, making their entanglement even more alarming.”
#BREAKING: Two critically endangered #NorthAtlanticRightWhales entangled in fishing gear off Nantucket, one “likely to die.” In spite of recent good news of three right whale calves already this season, this species continues to face tragedy. Read more: https://t.co/P6rOZLydxn pic.twitter.com/ufI6BZT3lz
— Oceana Canada (@OceanaCAN) December 18, 2024
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has stated that it is now monitoring whales that are protected by the federal government and will assess “if entanglement responses will be possible.”
“Entanglement response teams did not mount a response after the initial sighting because of the time of day and the distance of the whales from shore. As conditions permit, we will work with authorized responders and trained experts to monitor the whales,” NOAA Fisheries stated in a post on X.
The organization Oceana reports that there are currently 370 right whales that are at risk of becoming entangled on a daily basis.
The whales migrate to the coasts of Georgia and Florida each year to give birth, and they spend the early winter months in Cape Cod Bay before making their annual migration. Between the years 2010 and 2020, the population of right whales decreased by 25 percent.
In the month of October, another right whale from the North Atlantic perished as a result of “chronic entanglement.”
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), right whales are on the verge of extinction, with the leading cause of death being entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes in both the oceans of the United States and Canada.
Oceana is requesting that the governments of the United States and Canada increase the protections that are in place to protect whales. One of these measures is the requirement that fishing gear be ropeless.
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“Fishing rope does not belong around a whale — yet two whales are suffering today from human cause. While we remain hopeful for a positive outcome for these two North Atlantic right whales, entanglement means thick ropes, tied so tightly around the body, that the rope cuts into flesh and bone,” Gib Brogan, campaign director at Oceana in the United States, stated.
“Fishing gear entanglements are gruesome — they can make it harder for whales to eat, swim and breed,” Brogan continued. “Ropes cause deep wounds that can cut off fins or tails, or lead to infections so severe the whale dies.”
