Mary Alex Beverly
Save Our Oceans, Associate, Environment America Research & Policy Center
STATEMENT: Third right whale this month reportedly entangled in fishing gear
Media Contacts
Mark Morgenstein
Director of Media Relations, The Public Interest Network
[email protected]
BOSTON – An aerial survey team spotted an entangled right whale, who scientists call #5132, off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks on December 16. This juvenile male was the third right whale experts found entangled in eight days. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors this critically endangered species, spotted the other two entangled right whales, known as #5110 and #4120, off the coast of Massachusetts on December 9. The North Carolina whale and one of the Massachusetts whales are reportedly seriously injured and are expected to die. Right whale #4120 has less severe injuries; she is expected to survive at this time.
Right whale #5132 had fishing gear line wrapped around his head and mouth, two buoys attached, and more than 100 feet of line trailing behind him. The line wrapped around his mouth may be preventing him from eating.
These recent sightings highlight a sobering reality: Since 2017, NOAA has reported seeing nearly a hundred right whales in poor health, injured or dead after becoming entangled in traditional fishing gear. Only about 370 right whales still exist.
New advancements in fishing technology could help stave off right whales’ extinction. Ropeless fishing gear significantly reduces the threat of entanglement, as it eliminates the vertical fishing line that right whales too often swim through and get tangled in.
In response to the recent entanglements, Environment America Research & Policy Center’s oceans associate Mary Alex Beverly issued the following statement:
“It is heartbreaking enough to hear about one entangled right whale. Three entangled whales — two so severely injured they are likely to die — discovered in just eight days can only be described as ‘tragic.’
“We have the technology to limit these harrowing incidents caused by human activity off our Atlantic coast. Ropeless gear can provide these gentle giants hope for a more plentiful future. But until we see more of this whale-safe gear in the water, we’re going to keep seeing whales suffer as they swim off our coast.”