The carcass of an endangered whale was found floating about 32 miles off the coast of Georgia and was towed to shore Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The North Atlantic right whale was discovered off the coast of Tybee Island, east of the savannah, and has been identified as a female born last year, NOAA said.
Tyler Jones, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said the whale’s body was scavenged by sharks, but scientists hope a necropsy will reveal how the whale died. Stated.
“It would be difficult to determine the cause of death because it was so heavily preyed on and decomposed,” Jones said.
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A Georgia Department of Natural Resources crew assesses a dead juvenile North Atlantic right whale approximately 32 miles off the coast of Georgia’s Tybee Island. (Georgia Department of Natural Resources, via AP)
The discovery of this whale carcass off the coast of Georgia comes more than two weeks after another young female right whale was found dead off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, on January 28. Ta. It’s the type used in commercial fishing gear, NOAA said.
“The deaths of two young North Atlantic whales within three weeks is heartbreaking but preventable,” Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaigns manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, told The Associated Press on Thursday. said in a statement. She said: “The right whale graveyard off the east coast continues to grow, and government inaction is digging it out.”
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Female right whales head to warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean, off the southeastern United States, to give birth during the winter, but because they swim close to the surface, they are vulnerable to collisions with ships and entanglement with fishing gear.
An increase in these types of deaths and injuries has been recorded since 2017, with the two recent deaths bringing the total number of deaths over the past seven years to 38. NOAA said scientists believe fewer than 360 North Atlantic right whales currently exist. From 2010 to 2020, the population decreased by approximately 25%.
North Atlantic right whales have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1970. The population of this rare species declined by about 25% from 2010 to 2020. (David L. Ryan/Boston Globe via Getty Images)
They have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1970.
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Conservation groups are working to pass stricter laws regarding vessel speeds and commercial fishing to save the species. A lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court asking the government to finalize rules that expand the area off the East Coast where ships must be slowed down. This rule will also affect a wide range of ships.
The push to protect whales was met with opposition from some in the industry. A federal appeals court last year sided with commercial fishermen who argued that proposed regulations aimed at protecting whales could put them out of business.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
