North Atlantic right whale found dead after weeks entangled
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A North Atlantic right whale named Division was found dead this week in US waters entangled in fishing gear. According to the Canadian Whale Institute, this is the first entanglement death of 2026.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a news release on Friday that an aerial survey team spotted the carcass of a right whale floating about 40 kilometers off the coast of Avon, NC, on January 27.
Scientists at the New England Aquarium confirmed that this was a four-year-old male division.
According to the release, a fishing line was wrapped around the whale’s head and mouth, cutting its blowhole and upper jaw.
North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, and scientists say there are less than 400 of them left. According to NOAA, entanglement and ship strikes are the leading causes of death in US and Canadian waters.
Tonya Wimmer is the Executive Director of the Marine Animal Response Society. She says the deaths of critically endangered animals are always significant.
“Every single animal really does matter (even trying to get them back into populations where they can’t be considered endangered),” Wimmer said.
The division was first seen entangled more than a month earlier on December 3, and scientists noted that the prolonged entanglement had harmed the whales’ overall health.
Wildlife teams were able to remove some fishing gear in December, but poor weather and the division’s distance from the coast prevented them from completely disassembling it. He was last seen alive on 21 January.
The New England Aquarium said in a statement Saturday that the division has detected the death of a North Atlantic right whale for the first time since May 2024.
Wimmer says it was difficult to see the obvious effects of the entanglement on the division.
“It was a terrible thing to watch because he went from looking like a right whale just before he died to a very thin, very emaciated, very sick-looking animal,” Wimmer said.
“But it also really inspires people to say, ‘We have to stop this from happening.'”
Species ‘may still revive,’ experts say.
Due to the location of the Division and hazardous weather conditions, it will not be possible to retrieve the body or perform the last rites NOAA said, cremation. But federal officials will analyze fishing gear removed from the whales.
According to the New England Aquarium, there have been three previous documented entanglements in the division over the years.
North Atlantic right whales are known to travel to Atlantic Canadian waters to feed. The aquarium said the split was most often seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick, where the species gradually migrated as ocean temperatures increased.
Despite the death of another right whale, Wimmer says there are some glimmers of hope for the species – more than 21 calves have been born since calving season began in November this year. he is already over 11 Calves born in 2025 season.
“It gives everyone great hope that they’re still strong, that they can still bounce back. We just need to get other things out of their way that we can control.”
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