North Atlantic right whale Catalogue #5132, pictured entangled in fishing gear off the coast of North Carolina. Photo credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit #26919
PROVINCETOWN – One week after two North Atlantic right whales were seen entangled in fishing line off the coast of Nantucket, a third whale was sighted on December 16 off the coast of North Carolina in an entanglement so severe it may be preventing the juvenile male from opening its mouth.
Experts say the entanglement is a “serious injury” case that will likely prove fatal, as current weather conditions are unsuitable for emergency response.
The sighting was recorded during an aerial research survey by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institution performed sixty miles east of the Outer Banks.
“If what we suspect is true – that this whale’s mouth is strung shut and it cannot feed – its condition will decline, and we will bear witness to another right whale’s prolonged suffering and eventual death,” said Heather Pettis, a research scientist at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life.
Scientists say the latest run of entanglements highlights the need for dramatic changes to fixed-gear fisheries to prevent the species population from complete collapse.
“This case is yet another example of the ongoing entanglement threat facing North Atlantic right whales, which should be living much longer and healthier lives, but instead are being killed by human activities,” said Amy Knowlton, one of the Aquarium’s senior scientists.
“We fear time is running out.”
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