Another right whale has been spotted entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announced Tuesday. The animal is part of an endangered species that is particularly vulnerable to fishing gear and ship strikes.
According to information released by DFO, the whale in question was spotted among a group of right whales east of Miscou Island, New Brunswick, on July 27, 2024, by a departmental scientific team during a routine flight.
“Aerial imagery confirmed that the entangled right whale is right whale #1271 (Dropcloth), an adult male of unknown age,” DFO said. The vast majority of North Atlantic right whales are known to scientists who have been studying the species for several years.
“Dairies and Oceans Canada’s Marine Mammal Response Program will continue to monitor the situation to determine response options with our partners. If the whale is found and weather and sea conditions permit, efforts will be made to try to free it,” the department said in an email to the media.
Earlier in July, a young female was disentangled in the St. Lawrence Estuary by a team from the Maritimes, since there is no team dedicated to this type of operation in Quebec.
Mortality
The North Atlantic right whale is considered “endangered” under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Increasingly present in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, especially in summer, this species spends the winter season along the American east coast, mainly in the southern part of this region.
Its feeding, migration and calving habitats are therefore located in areas of intense human activity.
The species numbers about 360 individuals at most, including fewer than 100 females of breeding age. And following the most recent birthing season, five of the 19 new calves have already died.
Protection efforts had, however, allowed the population to increase to around 500 individuals in 2010. However, the situation has worsened, particularly due to exceptional mortality. In 2017, no fewer than 17 adult right whales were found dead, including 12 in Canadian waters.
It was following these deaths that the federal government implemented measures to protect the species in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In addition to speed limits that can be imposed on ships, fishing areas can be closed in the event of the presence of right whales.
Nearly all females that gave birth during the 2023-2024 season have already been enmeshed more than once, according to data from the New England Aquarium. One of these females has even been entangled eight times in her lifetime.