This has been the deadliest year for the North Atlantic Right Whale in modern history with 15 mammals killed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the New England coast.
The final results of necropsies performed this summer on six North Atlantic Right Whales has revealed four died by blunt trauma, one died from being entangled in fishing gear and the results were inconclusive for the sixth.
Tonya Wimmer with the Marine Animal Response Society says the results were not new or surprising.
“Clearly, human activities were the primary cause of death for most of the animals actually that we were able to examine,” she noted.
Officials say only an estimated 458 mammals are left which is even lower than first thought.
The North Atlantic Right Whale is listed as an endangered species in both Canada and the United States.
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(PHOTO courtesy DFO, Department of Fisheries and Oceans)