NANTUCKET – In what could be another blow to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population, scientists said Wednesday that they recently spotted two entangled whales about 50 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
One of the whales is a three-year-old male, identified as number 5110, and he “will likely die from this injury,” biologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Division said. He was first seen as a calf in 2021 and had just been spotted swimming freely in Cape Cod Bay in April.
“This whale has a thick line that runs once across its head and once across its back,” NOAA said of the sighting that occurred on December 9.
NOAA fishery, taken under NOAA permit #27066
The entangled female whale may not be able to reproduce
The other entangled whale is #4120, a 13-year-old female. Researchers flying overhead saw “two lines coming out of the left side of her mouth, with both lines extending one-half to two-thirds of the way through the body,” NOAA said.
Biologists who have examined her entanglement do not believe it will be fatal. But experts at the New England Aquarium are concerned that she may not be able to add to the struggling species’ figures.
“This is the third documented entanglement of #4120, which could impact her reproductive potential,” the aquarium said in a statement.
NOAA fishery, taken under permit #27066.
NOAA said that because the sighting occurred so far offshore, they were unable to launch a crew by boat to reach the whales. But they say they will try to keep an eye on the whales and find out if it is possible to disentangle them.
Entanglement hazard for whales
There are an estimated 372 whales left in the world, scientists said in October. That’s a small increase from 2020, when the population hit a low of 358.
The biggest threats to the species are boat strikes and fishing gear entanglement.
“North Atlantic right whales remain so entangled that this critically endangered species is at risk of extinction,” New England Aquarium scientist Amy Knowlton said in a statement. “Serious injuries and deaths among whales are preventable and highlight the importance of making effective changes to reduce the ongoing threats from fishing gear, including wider adoption of ropeless or ‘on-demand’ fishing gear and weaker ropes.”
Massachusetts on Wednesday passed a new law, sponsored by Republican Senate Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester, that gives the state the authority to remove abandoned fishing gear from its waters. Abandoned or lost fishing gear was considered private property under Massachusetts law, meaning it could not be disposed of.
