North Atlantic right whale “Division”, Catalog #5217, off Jekyll Island GA December 3rd. Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit #24359.
BOSTON – The New England Aquarium says an entangled North Atlantic right whale was severely injured, and its survival is now in question.
The juvenile whale named “Division”, named for his callosity pattern that looks like a division sign, has previously been sighted in New England waters and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Division was seen with fishing lines wrapped around its head and through its mouth off the coast of Georgia, December 3rd.
Officials say the entanglement has likely caused a decline in the whale’s health.
“Division’s entanglement is significant and life-threatening,” said Heather Pettis, Senior Scientist in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center. “There are multiple indicators that Division has been entangled for some time and that the entanglement has led to a worrisome decline in his overall health. Aggregations of whale lice on the head, body, and tail, a pronounced decline in body condition, and a section of remaining rope that is deeply embedded in the top of the whale’s head leave us very concerned for this whale’s welfare and survival.”
The Aquarium says trained responders from Georgia and Florida were able to remove some of the fishing gear. Further response efforts will depend on the animal’s condition, weather, and resightings, according to NOAA.
Division was born to mother “Silt” (Catalog #1817) in 2022 and has been regularly sighted in the waters of New England and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He was last seen gear-free in July 2025 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
“Last year, there were four detected entanglement events in December, and so sighting this whale in its current state, while incredibly disheartening, was not a complete surprise,” Pettis said. “We are grateful for the extraordinary efforts that went into trying to free this whale from the gear and hold out hope that Division can overcome the odds stacked against him.”
According to the Aquarium, entanglements and vessel strikes remain the leading causes of death and injury for North Atlantic right whales.
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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