Entangled North Atlantic right whale’s condition has worsened: New England Aquarium
The New England Aquarium has released new information this week about an entangled North Atlantic right whale named Snow Cone.
The 17-year-old whale was most recently spotted on July 23 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between northern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island by scientists on vessel.
The sighting confirmed she is still entangled in fishing gear and that her calf born at the end of last year is not with her.
Scientists have now determined Snow Cone’s condition has worsened over the past three months. They say she remains thin and has lesions on both of her lip lines that were not present in the springtime.
Snow Cone was first observed to be caught in fishing gear off Massachusetts in March 2021. The aquarium says a trained disentanglement team removed some of the rope at that time, but not all.
She was seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence two months later and another disentanglement team removed more rope, but the rope embedded in the upper jaw stayed. It is believed that the fishing rope, which is now embedded in her upper jaw bone, will never come out.
If the whale does survive the entanglement, the aquarium says she will most likely never eat properly again. Her ability to have more calves is also drastically diminished.
Snow Cone was spotted again, in December 2021, with a newborn calf near Cumberland Island, Georgia.
Scientists say the July sighting of Snow Cone without her calf is not a good sign. They add that while they can’t be certain what happened, researchers conducting field work continue to search for the calf by boat and by plane.
Heather Pettis, a research scientist at the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, says whales like Snow Cone can swim with excruciating injuries and attached gear for long periods of time, but it greatly diminishes their quality of life and eventually leads to death.
The New England Aquarium says a mix of education and legislative action to prevent entanglements may be the only hope for the species.
Earlier this year, the Canadian government announced seasonal and temporary fishing area closures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Bay of Fundy as part of efforts to protect North Atlantic right whale populations.
There are an estimated 336 North Atlantic right whales left in the ocean, a population drop of about eight per cent since 2019.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.