MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. — Animal advocates are demanding action after federal officials determined that entanglement in Maine fishing gear contributed to the death of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale that washed up on Martha’s Vineyard last month.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rope recovered from dead right whale Catalog #5120 is from the Maine lobster fishery, the New England Aquarium said in a statement.
The Right whale #5120 was ashore on Martha’s Vineyard on Jan. 28. The whale was first seen with a tail wound and gear trailing behind it in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Aug. 20, 2022. This whale was spotted on four subsequent occasions, officials said. At all times, the whale was entangled and in declining health.
Preliminary necropsy results of the whale showed chronic entanglement, with rope deeply embedded in the whale’s tail and thin body condition, officials said. The cause of death is pending further testing.
“While marked fishing gear can provide valuable information about the regions and type of gear that pose a risk to whales, the North Atlantic right whale is a highly mobile species that doesn’t recognize state or federal boundaries,” Philip Hamilton, a senior scientist in the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, said in a statement.
“The case of Catalog #5120, who was entangled for at least 17 months as the gear became more embedded into her flukes as she grew, is another example of why prevention of entanglements needs to be prioritized,” Hamilton said. “Without on-demand fishing gear being implemented throughout the right whale’s range in U.S. and Canadian waters in an expedited fashion and with significant funding support, entanglements will continue to threaten the survival of this critically endangered species.”
Meanwhile, in more promising news, the Center for Coastal Studies aerial survey team observed 16 right whales in Cape Cod Bay during its flight on Monday.
“The weather was gorgeous and there were plenty of whales to see! ... The next few hours entailed plenty of circling as we continued to see whales pop up around the eastern side of the bay. We witnessed a variety of different behaviors,” the Center for Coastal Studies said in a statement.
Only about 350 North Atlantic right whales are left on the planet, according to the Conservation Law Foundation.
The dead whale was a three-year-old female, “a terrible loss to a species that desperately needs more female whales to bear calves,” the foundation said in a statement.
“Congress blocked regulations to reduce entanglements in lobster gear between now and 2029, but right whales can’t wait,” the Conservation Law Foundation said in its statement . “We must continue to provide training and funding for ropeless fishing gear to encourage fishermen to adopt this safer alternative, where necessary.”
Erica Fuller, Conservation Law Foundation senior counsel, said in a statement that entanglements “are a constant threat to right whales, cutting their lives short and painting a disheartening future for this species.”
“There have been concerns about the threat Maine fishing gear poses to right whales for years,” Fuller said. “It’s time to move forward with new fishing practices to give these endangered whales a chance at survival.”
The Animal Welfare Institute echoed her comments.
“North Atlantic right whales are at a tipping point, and the loss of this young female whale, known as whale #5120, is a tragic reminder of the risks posed by certain types of fishing gear to this critically endangered species,” Kate O’Connell, senior policy consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Life Program, said in a statement. “Not only does her death bring the species one step closer to extinction, but it also highlights how marine mammals suffer cruelly and unnecessarily from fishing gear entanglements.”
“This young whale struggled to survive for months until she finally died near Martha’s Vineyard, wrapped in rope linked to pots and traps used by Maine fisheries,” O’Connell said. “The Animal Welfare Institute hopes that this death will finally spur the fishing industry to quickly transition to ropeless (or ‘on-demand’) fishing systems, which can virtually eliminate entanglement risk.”
Last year, the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery abandoned its bid for sustainable certification under the “blue tick ecolabel,” a program of the Marine Stewardship Council, according to the Institute. The fishery, which is responsible for more than two-thirds of U.S. lobster landings, had its MSC certification temporarily suspended in 2020 after a federal judge ruled that the U.S. government had violated the ESA in authorizing the fishery. A second suspension was issued in November 2022, following a second federal court ruling that the fishery did not comply with the MMPA and ESA.
New England fishermen have gone to great lengths to protect the Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, Dustin Delano, chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association and a fourth-generation lobsterman, said in a statement.
“As true stewards of the ocean, we have empathy for this magnificent species,” Delano said. “Importantly, this fatality is the first documented entanglement associated with our fishery since 2004.”
“The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds and share new information as it becomes available,” Delano said. “This incident has caused great angst among commercial fishermen as to what retaliatory actions NOAA may take.”
Earlier this month, marine wildlife officials shared promising news about the number of North Atlantic right whales born this season, as they continue to monitor the number of whales being injured or killed by entanglement and vessel strikes at sea.
The number of North Atlantic right whales born this season has already surpassed that of last year, with 17 new calves spotted with their mothers along the coast from Florida to South Carolina, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on Cape Cod said in early February.
In August, stunning video showed a group of humpbacks, including one of the most recognizable whales in New England, that were spotted “bubble feeding” in the water off Massachusetts.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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