Young right whale found on Martha's Vineyard died after getting tangled in fishing rope from Maine, scientists say
EDGARTOWN - A young North Atlantic right whale that washed up dead on a Martha's Vineyard beach last month had gotten entangled in fishing gear from Maine, scientists say.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said purple markings on the rope that was deeply embedded in the young whale's tail helped determine "that the rope is consistent with the rope used in Maine state water trap/pot buoy lines." The agency said a law enforcement investigation remains open.
The female, born in 2021 to a whale named Squilla, was found on Jan. 28 near Joseph Sylvia State Beach. A necropsy performed on the island confirmed a "chronic entanglement," but the cause of death is still pending. There was no evidence of blunt force trauma, the necropsy found.
First sighting of serious entanglement
The whale known as #5120 was first discovered by an aerial team to be seriously entangled on Aug. 20, 2022 off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, when she was just a year old.
"She had multiple wraps of line around her tail and flukes, two small buoys at the flukes, and an estimated 200 feet of line trailing behind her," NOAA said.
In January 2023 there were multiple attempts to disentangle her in Cape Cod Bay, but they were not successful. She was last seen off New Brunswick last June feeding with other whales, but "her overall condition had declined" and the wounds from the rope on her tail seemed more severe, NOAA Said.
Right whales "approaching extinction"
North Atlantic right whales are endangered and "approaching extinction," according to NOAA. There are believed to be about 360 remaining, and the primary threats to the species are entanglement and boat strikes.
Since 2017, 37 whales have died, 34 have become seriously injured and another 51 have gotten sick or hurt, NOAA says.
On Monday, a Massachusetts Environmental Police patrol boat spotted 11 whales in Cape Cod Bay.
