North Atlantic right whale - Incidents: 2018

2018 Incident tracker

Incident tracking data presented here by Fisheries and Oceans Canada is collected and draws from reports prepared by Canadian and U.S. response partners, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, research groups and non-governmental organizations. Additional information may be available through different sources that provide additional context; this serves as the official record of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

2018 Canadian Summary statistics:

• 0 NARW deaths observed in Canadian waters
• 3 NARW entanglements observed in Canadian waters
• 2 NARW entanglements in US waters, 0 linked to Canadian fisheries. Please see NOAA website for more information on these cases.

Entanglements

• 4091 (May 12, 2018)
  • Detected near Chatham, Massachusetts, U.S
    • Unable to perform further actions
  • Resighted January 13, 2019, near Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S
    • Unable to relocate for further actions
• 3312 (July 13, 2018)
  • Detected near Grand Manan, New Brunswick, Canada
  • Unable to relocate for further actions
• 3843 (July 30, 2018)
  • Detected near Grand Manan, New Brunswick, Canada
  • Unable to perform further actions
  • Resighted August 5, 2018, Grand Manan, New Brunswick, Canada
    • Partial disentanglement performed by Canadian response partners
  • Resighted: December 30, 2018, near Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S
    • Unable to perform further actions
• 3960 (August 20, 2018)
  • Detected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
    • Unable to relocate for further actions
  • Resighted March 20, 2019, off Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, U.S
    • Confirmed gear free
• 2310 (December 20, 2018)
  • Detected near Nantucket, Massachusetts.
    • Unable to relocate for further actions
  • Resighted April 25, 2019, in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, U.S
    • Disentanglement efforts were performed by US response partners but were unsuccessful. Unable to relocate for further actions

Vessel Strikes

• 4145 (March 1, 2018)
  • Detected in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, U.S
  • Unable to relocate for further actions
• Unknown (July 11, 2018)
  • Detected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
  • Unable to relocate for further actions

Mortalities

• 3893 (January 22, 2018)
  • Carcass detected near East Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S
  • Necropsy determined cause of death was chronic injuries from entanglement. No Canadian gear analysis possible to determine gear origin
• 4505 (August 25, 2018)
  • Carcass detected near Monomoy, Massachusetts, U.S
  • Necropsy determined cause of death was probable entanglement
• 3515 (October 14, 2018)
  • Carcass detected east of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, U.S
  • Necropsy determined cause of death was probable acute injuries from severe entanglement