Federal authorities say the second North Atlantic right whale found dead last month had injuries consistent with a ship strike.
There are now fewer than 360 right whales and the species has seen a decline in recent years. It is considered critically endangered.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was notified of a dead right whale floating off the coast of Savannah, Georgia on February 13.
The agency said Friday evening that an autopsy of the animal “revealed evidence of blunt force trauma, including skull fractures” and that these “injuries were consistent with those caused by a collision with a vessel prior to death.” The announcement came just days after NOAA released more details about a dead right whale off the coast of Massachusetts that showed signs of entanglement in fishing gear, the other major threat these mammals face.
The death of these rare whales caused by the two major threats to the species should motivate rule changes, many environmental groups suggested on Saturday. These groups have long called for stricter rules governing shipping and commercial fishing to protect whales.
“The North Atlantic right whale nursery is becoming a crime scene,” said Greg Reilly, head of the Southeast marine campaign for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “Without increased protection, the North Atlantic right whale is doomed to extinction. Lawmakers should let the administration finalize changing the vessel speed regulation. »
NOAA has proposed new ship speed rules to try to protect whales, but they have not yet gone into effect. Environmental groups have filed lawsuits to try to impose a deadline for enforcement of the new rules.
New fishing standards designed to protect whales from rope entanglements are also the subject of ongoing lawsuits involving environmentalists, fishing groups and the federal government.
The dead whale off the coast of Massachusetts discovered in January showed signs of entanglement in fishing lines from Maine’s lobster fishery, NOAA confirmed this week. Whale entanglement in Maine ship ropes is very rare, said Kevin Kelley, spokesman for the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
“Maine lobstermen have made significant changes to the way they fish over the past 25 years to avoid entanglements and they continue to test the equipment,” he said.
Right whales were once abundant off the east coast, but were decimated during the era of commercial whaling and have been slow to recover. Whales migrate from the waters off Florida and Georgia to New England each year and face dangers such as collisions and entanglements along the way. Some scientists have noticed that warming ocean waters are causing them to move away from protected areas during the voyage.