Two critically endangered sea creatures found wrapped in gear off MA coast, experts say
Two North Atlantic right whales, of which only an estimated 360 remain, are entangled in fishing gear off the coast of Massachusetts, experts say.
Whale #5110 and whale #4120 were spotted during an aerial survey Dec. 9 about 50 miles southeast of Nantucket, according to a Dec. 17 news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
According to experts, whale #5110 is a juvenile male around 3 years old, last spotted in April in Cape Cod Bay without any fishing gear on his body.
The December sighting reveals he now has a thick line wrapped “once across his head and once across his back,” according to NOAA.
Biologists said this entanglement meets the criteria for a “serious injury,” adding that he is “likely to die” as a result.
Whale #4120 is a an adult female estimated to be about 13 years old and was last seen in July off the coast of Long Island, also free of any fishing gear, experts said.
She now has two lines coming out of her mouth, trailing two-thirds of the way down her body, according to NOAA.
Experts said her injuries are considered to be a “morbidity” — a condition that will not lead to death but can impair the whale’s well-being.
“As conditions permit, we will work with authorized responders and trained experts to monitor the whales,” NOAA said. “We will further document the entanglements and determine if entanglement responses will be possible.”
Entangled whales can carry gear for months over thousands of miles, leading to trauma, infection, exhaustion, starvation and drowning, according to NOAA.
On-demand and “ropeless” fishing gear
Traditional fishing gear relies on vertical lines suspended in the water connected to a buoy at the surface and traps at the seafloor.
Advocates and researchers identify on-demand or “ropeless” gear systems as ways to minimize entanglements.
These solutions, all on-demand and activated by signals, include a pop-up buoy, in which a coiled line can be uncoiled at the time of retrieval, an inflatable lift bag that can float traps to the surface without lines and a buoyant spool that is coiled and weighed down on the seafloor but can be unwound.
This story was originally published December 18, 2024 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Two critically endangered sea creatures found wrapped in gear off MA coast, experts say."
