Another North Atlantic right whale has turned up dead, this time off the coast of Virginia in late March. A necropsy found the endangered whale, a mother to a young calf, had suffered “catastrophic injuries” consistent with being struck by a ship, according to a release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
On March 30, a company conducting mid-Atlantic whale surveys for the Navy notified NOAA of the dead whale, floating around 50 miles east of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, NOAA said.
The whale’s carcass, which had been scavenged by sharks, was pulled to shore for a necropsy and identified as a mom from the 2024 calving season, having given birth to her sixth calf this past winter.
According to NOAA, her young, dependent calf has not been seen since it was last spotted with the mother off Amelia Island, Florida, in February.
“We do not expect the calf to survive without protection and nursing from its mother,” the agency said.
The necropsy of the mother whale, conducted on April 2, found “catastrophic injuries with a dislocation of the whale’s spine and fractures to all vertebrae in the lower back (…) consistent with blunt force trauma from a vessel strike prior to death,” the release said.
Since 2016, scientists have been tracking elevated numbers of humpback whale deaths on the East Coast. From Maine to Florida, more than 200 whales have died, and scientists have examined about half of the incidents. Of the whales examined, about 40% were because whales were struck by ships or got tangled in ropes or nets in the water.
According to the NOAA, this whale marks the 40th death in an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event impacting North Atlantic right whales. The agency says human impacts continue to threaten the survival of the species and vessel strikes are one of the leading causes.
Earlier this year, NOAA announced it is working with NASA to expand use of satellite tags, with an eye toward improving whale detection and reducing vessel strikes.
With fewer than 360 whales remaining, the North Atlantic right whale is approaching extinction, NOAA says. That figure includes fewer than 70 female whales that are reproductively active.
NOAA continues to encourage mariners operating along the U.S. East Coast to “slow their vessel speed, stay alert, and report any sightings of right whales or any dead, injured, or entangled whales.”
CNN’s Ella Nilsen contributed to this report.
