Following the deaths of 17 endangered North Atlantic right whales during their annual migration north along the coasts of the USA and Canada last summer, efforts to find ways of reducing whale entanglement in fishing gear continue.
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the US Department of Commerce scientific agency, say evidence suggests this small population is in serious decline and they have now established two working groups to study proposals to lessen the risk of entanglement in fishing gear, which may include implementing changes in fishing rules along the Maine coast, one of the highest density fishing areas.
In 2011, the right whale population stood at 481, but in 2016 the number was just 458 individuals despite the birth of 77 calves during the five-year period. That works out to 20 whale deaths and about 15 whale births each year on average. Although several factors including ship strikes, affect the whales’ declining numbers, entanglement is a major contributor. Between 2000 and 2015 deaths from ship strikes declined whilst those from entanglements increased, and with an estimated 2.9million lobster traps in the water within 50 miles of the coast of Maine, there is no doubt this density of fishing gear poses a very high risk of entanglement to whales navigating within these coastal waters.
