Fisheries and Oceans Canada is looking for an endangered North Atlantic right whale that was spotted Thursday entangled in a type of gear east of Gaspé.
The whale is a 14-year-old female known as Sundog.
Federal officials say marine mammal rescue agencies are on high alert, but a rescue mission will only be attempted if sea conditions are favourable.
It is still unclear what type of equipment should be cut or where it comes from.
There are approximately 336 North Atlantic right whales, and many spend their summers feeding in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Fifteen calves were sighted earlier this year in waters off the United States.
The first right whale sighted entering Canadian waters this season was seen on May 4 by crew aboard a surveillance plane flying over the Gulf, north of the Magdalen Islands.
The sighting triggered a 15-day fishing closure in specific fishing grounds in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
To see in video