(Halifax) The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced Thursday that an endangered North Atlantic right whale became entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The ministry said the whale was observed Wednesday by a Transport Canada aerial surveillance team northeast of the Gaspé Peninsula, off Anticosti Island.
Authorities said it was not known what type of fishing gear entangled the whale or where the gear came from.
According to the observations, experts from the “New England Aquarium” confirmed that it was a female known as Chiminea.
The ministry said it was continuing to monitor the area and that if the whale was located and conditions permitted, efforts would be made to free it.
Last October, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium estimated that there were 356 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet.