Off the coast of Massachusetts | Two whales entangled in fishing gear

Two endangered whales have been spotted entangled in fishing gear off the coast of Massachusetts, and one of them is at risk of dying from its injuries, the US federal government said.

These are North Atlantic right whales, numbering less than 400 and facing existential threats from entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. An aerial survey discovered the whales swimming about 50 miles southeast of Nantucket on Dec. 9, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

One of the whales is juvenile and has a thick line running across its head and back. She is likely to die from the injury, the agency said in a statement. The other whale is an adult female that biologists believe suffered a non-fatal injury due to the entanglement, NOAA said.

NOAA said in a statement Tuesday that it would “work with authorized responders and trained experts to monitor the whales” and would “further document entanglements and determine whether responses to the entanglements will be possible.”

News of the whale entanglement comes following the release of new data by researchers this fall showing a slight increase in the whale population. A group of researchers said two months ago that the population had increased by about 4% compared to 2020.

However, these researchers and conservationists warned at the time that the whales still faced the threat of extinction. The animal’s population fell by around 25% between 2010 and 2020.

The entanglement of the two whales illustrates the need for new measures to protect the animals, said Gib Brogan, campaign director at Oceana. Environmentalists have been pushing for new restrictions on commercial fishing and shipping to try to protect the whales.

“These whales are not statistics; they are living beings who endure unimaginable suffering caused by human activities,” said Brogan.

The whales migrate each year and typically arrive in Cape Cod Bay in early winter and stay until about mid-May. They give birth off the coasts of Georgia and Florida and reproduce slowly, which is one reason conservationists say they cannot sustain additional mortality.

Whales were once abundant off the east coast, but were decimated during the era of commercial whaling. They have been protected by the federal government for decades.

Some scientists have said climate change poses a major threat to whales because it has changed the availability of their food. This has caused them to move away from protected areas of the ocean.

“North Atlantic right whales continue to be entangled at levels that could drive this species to critical extinction. “It is concerning that several generations of right whales have been affected by the devastating damage of entanglements, leading to deaths, health declines and slower reproductive rates,” said Amy Knowlton, senior scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean. Life of the New England Aquarium.