Right Whale Entangled In Cape Cod Bay Even After Rescue Efforts

CAPE COD, MA — A female North Atlantic right whale remains entangled in the Cape Cod bay even after rescue efforts in the last week.

The Center for Coastal Studies Marine Animal Entanglement Response team removed 200 feet of entangling rope from a female whale in the bay last Wednesday. This whale remains entangled, however, and officials hope they'll have another opportunity to solve the problem.

This whale, identified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as #4545, was first seen entangled in February south of Nantucket. The rescue team was unable to respond at the time due to distance and lack of daylight.

Officials said the whale had a long length of heavy rope caught through her mouth, and, since the time of that first sighting, the situation hasn't gotten better.

"Since then, the entanglement has developed into a highly complex and lethal one, with multiple wraps around her body and likely also her flippers," officials said.

The team will need the proper weather conditions to attempt another disentanglement, though they said it's rare to have those this time of year. That's especially troubling, as they describe the process for this whale as a "difficult and complicated disentanglement."

"This is obviously a difficult situation," said MAER Director Scott Landry.

"We worked very hard for this whale on Wednesday and she did all she could to avoid us. With the telemetry buoy in place on her entanglement all of our attention will be focused on trying again."

Since 2017, the whales have been experiencing what NOAA is calling an "Unusual Mortality Event", resulting in nearly 15 percent of the population either dying or being seriously injured. The primary causes, the agency says, are entanglements in fishing gear and collisions with boats and ships