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CCS - Whale Rescue - Assisting entangled whales on the Eastern Seaboard
January 15, 2003
Previous entanglement:
(Whale found dead in Provincetown) or click here to Support CCS – Whale Rescue
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An entangled right whale was sighted during an aerial
head-on view of whale before a dive- note heavy line
through the left mouth and trailing behind
Photo courtesy - FMRI
survey by researchers off the coast of northern Florida yesterday afternoon (1/14/03). The researchers, from Florida Marine Research Institute - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, found the whale a few miles east of Jacksonville Beach. Photographs of the head of the whale have allowed researchers at the New England Aquarium to identify the animal as the mature female #2240.
Born in 1992, she has been sighted in most of the known habitat areas of right whales in the North Atlantic and has been sighted almost every year since birth. She gave birth to her first, known calf during the winter of 2001, in the Southeast region. That calf returned with her to the Southeast the following winter - a relatively rare occurrence. This whale was last seen on May 5, 2002 in the Great South Channel by the CCS aerial survey team. At that time she was free of gear.
The whale has heavy line through the left side of the mouth and trailing at least fifty feet behind the flukes. It is not known where the other end goes, whether the right flipper or baleen. Heavy chaffing on the tail stock and flukes indicate a struggle with the entanglement. Beyond the raw wounds around the flukes, the overall condition of the whale appears to be good. On the surface, the entanglement appears to be relatively simple, but more information is needed for assessment.
Network members are standing by to assess and perhaps tag the animal if it is relocated by aerial searches scheduled for today. The U.S. Coast Guard has offered stand-by help in the event the whale is found.
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