Critically Endangered Right Whale Spotted Entangled

On September 18, a Canadian team surveying for whales caught sight of an entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence, a whale later identified by New England Aquarium scientists as Chiminea. It’s still unclear what type of gear she’s wrapped up in, or if Canadian conservation managers will be able to help her break free.  

This entanglement is the latest chapter in Chiminea’s long comeback story – one that will hopefully yet have a happy ending. Born during the 2008 calving season, she lost her mother to a boat strike when she was only 3 years old. Chiminea’s mother was still with her young calf of the season, so her loss was especially devastating. 

Even worse, in the same year that her mother was killed, Chiminea was found entangled in pot gear. Thankfully, disentanglement teams at the time were able to cut her free. Without this effort to free her, Chiminea may not have made it into adulthood. 

After losing her mom to a boat strike and miraculously surviving an entanglement, Chiminea grew to an adult and even gave birth to her first known calf back in 2020. 

Now, Chiminea’s comeback story may turn into a tragedy – while her injuries are not yet seen as life threatening, chronic entanglement in fishing gear can cause infections and make it harder for her to feed. And even if she survives, she’s likely to take a lot of her energy to heal up – making it harder for her to give birth again. 

Chiminea’s story and new entanglement is a devastating reminder of the dangerous human threats right whales face every day. With less than 360 right whales left on Earth – and only 70 of those being reproductive-aged females – calving right whales like Chiminea are crucial to the species’ survival. Entanglements are the leading cause for right whale deaths, and if we don’t begin fighting for regulations to prevent these accidents, we could lose the species forever. 

Thankfully, there are real solutions that could save right whales like Chiminea. Entanglements can be solved by simply removing rope from the water. Ropeless fishing technology would eliminate the vertical line responsible for most whale entanglements. 

We hope that Chiminea is able to recover and live a long life, raising many calves into adulthood. And it’s not too late to save other right whales from the entanglement fate – we already have the technology to do so. We just need to take the ropes out of the water.