North Atlantic right whale - Incidents: 2021

2021 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.

2021 Canadian Summary statistics:

• 0 NARW deaths observed in Canadian waters
• 1 NARW entanglement 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

• 1803 (January 11, 2021)
  • Detected East of Amelia Island, Florida, US
  • Unable to relocate for further actions
• 3560 ‘Snowcone’ (March 10, 2021)
  • Detected in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, US
    • Partial disentanglement conducted by US response partners
  • Resighted May 12, 2021, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
    • Additional rope was removed by Canadian response partners
  • Resighted July 8, 2021, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
    • Additional rope was removed by Canadian response partners.
  • Resighted October 24, 2021, in Southern New England, Massachusetts, US
    • Unable to relocate for further actions
  • Resighted December 2, 2021, off the coast of Georgia, US
    • Unable to relocate for further actions
• 4615 (July 13, 2021)
  • Detected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
  • Unable to relocate for further actions

Vessel Strikes

• 3230 (February 16, 2021)
  • Detected off the coast of Florida, US
  • Detected with three propellor cuts to left side
  • Unable to relocate for further actions

Mortalities

• 5130 (February 13, 2021)
  • Carcass detected near St. Augustine, Florida, US
  • Necropsy determined cause of death was sharp and blunt force trauma from a vessel strike
• 3920 ‘Cottontail’ (February 27, 2021)
  • Detected near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US
  • Necropsy determined cause of death was chronic injuries from entanglement
  • Canadian gear analysis findings were indeterminate of fishery or country