North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing gear

On December 16, 2024, a 3-year-old North Atlantic right whale was found trapped in fishing gear and wandering in the waters off the Outer Banks Islands in North Carolina, USA. With its head and mouth tightly entangled in several fishing lines and two buoys in tow, its fate was not promising. In the same week, in the waters off Massachusetts, scientists found two other right whales entangled in fishing gear, one of which is also thought to be in a potentially fatal condition. The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world’s most endangered cetaceans, with only about 370 left in the world, and entanglement in fishing gear is a serious threat to the species’ survival.