MAINE, USA — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed Wednesday that a North Atlantic right whale died of chronic entanglement, and the rope removed from the whale was from Maine.
NOAA was notified of a dead female right whale near Joseph Sylvia State Beach on Martha's Vineyard on Jan. 28, 2024. The whale was identified as #5120 in February, NOAA said in a report on their website.
A necropsy, histopathologic (which is the examination of tissue using a microscope), and diagnostic testing were all done on the whale. It was determined that the rope found on the whale had purple markings, which NOAA said is consistent with rope used in Maine state water trap/pot buoy lines.
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"As of today the full necropsy results are still pending. The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement investigation remains open," the report said.
The whale's death sparked concerns among Maine's lobster fishermen that it could lead to more regulations against the industry.
"Something like this happens and they want to solve the problem with a sledgehammer instead of with a scalpel," Steve Train, a Maine lobster fisherman, said. "We’ve adjusted what we do time and time again. I don't know what else we could change."
Train added that the death doesn't mean what the industry is doing isn't working to protect the whales. It just means it didn’t work this time.
"We’ve got a great history up until this point of having no fatalities attributed to the Maine lobstermen," he told NEWS CENTER Maine. "With the amount of effort we put in to catch these lobsters, the amount of gear we have in the water, statistically the numbers are pretty good."
Since 2017, 15 right whales have been killed by vessel strikes and 10 have died from entanglements, according to NOAA.
The Maine Lobstermen's Association, which represents more than 5,000 licensed lobstermen in Maine, sent a statement Wednesday on NOAA's report:
“The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) is deeply saddened by the death of the juvenile right whale that NMFS attributed to the Maine fishery last February. No Maine lobsterman would ever want to intentionally harm a right whale. The MLA has not yet been allowed to view the gear removed from the whale because the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement investigation remains open.
“The fact is we know that entanglement in Maine gear is extremely rare. This is the first reported entanglement of a right whale in Maine lobster gear in 20 years and the first death attributed to the fishery. Maine lobstermen have made significant changes to how they fish over the last 25 years to avoid entanglement.
“The MLA will continue this important work as we review the data and evidence that NMFS has released. MLA remains committed to working with the federal government as it develops solutions based on accurate data that address all threats to the endangered whales, including ship strikes, to ensure a future for right whales and Maine’s lobster fishery.”
Patrick Keliher, the Commissioner for the Maine Department of Marine Resources, also released a statement on NOAA's latest report:
"It’s important to emphasize that it was first known right whale mortality with Maine gear. It is premature at this point to speculate on the impact of this incident on future rulemaking, however Maine is committed to ensuring that future regulations are based on robust data including improved information on right whale presence that DMR is developing and the enhanced information on the location of fishing activity from recently enacted requirements for state and federal lobster harvesters. That information is intended to support regulations that provide better protections for whales and certainty for fishermen that measures they are required to implement will have meaningful conservation benefits."
North Atlantic right whales have been on the endangered species list since the 1970s. They are vulnerable to gear entanglement and collisions with ships. There are less than 360 right whales left in the wild, and 70 percent of them are reproductively active females, according to NOAA.
For the past few years, there have been legal battles regarding speed limits for fishing vessels, and fishing equipment that would be less harmful to whales. A ban on certain lobster fishing gear began in 2022 in a nearly 1,000-square-mile area off New England to try to protect the endangered whales.
