Adult right whale found dead off Nova Scotia coast

Another critically endangered northern right whale has been found dead, this time off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Marine Animal Response Society (MARS), a non-profit organization based in Nova Scotia, announced that a Transport Canada surveillance aircraft discovered a partial whale carcass 140 kilometers off the coast in southwestern Nova Scotia. MARS said analysis by experts in Canada and the United States confirmed the carcass was a right whale.

Due to the advanced state of decomposition and the limited number of photos, the exact cause of death cannot yet be determined, MARS said.

“We hoped to access the animal to collect further information, including genetic material, so that colleagues could attempt to identify the individual,” MARS said in a Facebook post. “However, despite the much appreciated assistance of a local fisherman in using his vessel and financial support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to partially fund the expedition, the animal was not recovered during subsequent surveillance flights.”

The latest death adds to a growing number of right whale deaths in 2024. In early January, a right whale calf suffered fatal injuries in a boating accident off the coast of South Carolina. Later that month, a right whale was found dead off the coast of Massachusetts, entangled in fishing gear. In March, another calf was found dead off the coast of Georgia, and in April, a female right whale was found dead off the coast of Virginia.

The latest death renewed calls from the nonprofit Oceana for more action to prevent right whale deaths.

“The number of North Atlantic right whale carcasses is increasing and possible extinction is getting closer,” said Gib Brogan, head of the Oceana campaign. “The last population estimate published in 2023 found that there are around 356 of these whales left on Earth, and we have had many whales washing up on our shores since then. Each death is a devastating blow to their recovery.”

Brogan said the two leading causes of right whale deaths are ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, which is why action by the U.S. and Canadian governments is needed to prevent further deaths.

“Continued delays will lead to more whale deaths like this and potentially the extinction of an entire species,” Brogan said. “President Biden can and must immediately approve the proposed updates to U.S. shipping speed regulations, and stronger safeguards against entanglements must be put in place.”