It’s no secret that improperly discarded fishing gear is one of the biggest threats to the lives of many aquatic creatures. Fortunately, a mother North Atlantic right whale, a species that is critically endangered, was miraculously able to give birth to a calf even while chronically entangled in fishing gear.
The 17-year-old whale named Snow Cone was first seen with her new calf by an aerial survey team with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission off the coast of Cumberland Island, Georgia.
“We haven’t seen a chronically entangled whale come down here from up north and half a calf,” says Georgia Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Clay George to The AP. “It’s amazing. But on the other hand, it could ultimately be a death sentence for her.”
Though we celebrate Snow Cone’s successful birth this time around, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Snow Cone had already tragically lost her first known calf to two vessel strikes in June of last year. She was then seen with fishing gear attached to her mouth near Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, on March 10 of this year. Rescuers were able to free her from almost 300 feet of rope before she dove too deep to allow the team to disentangle her further.
Two months later, Canadian rescuers freed her from more rope near New Brunswick, Canada, which left her with one piece of line trailing her tail and another trailing her tailstock. She has likely carried the fishing gear for over 1,300 miles, and as much as rescuers want to remove the remaining gear off of her, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources decided it unsafe to attempt to remove more while she is next to her calf.
While this story is an amazing tale of how animals are able to overcome the obstacles that humans leave in their way, it is also an important reminder of the dangers and threats that human activity poses to the creatures that we share this planet with.
Snow Cone’s story exemplifies how the North Atlantic right whale species, which is currently experiencing an Unusual Mortality Event, are especially impacted by fishing gear and vessel strikes. Since 2017, 50 known whales have perished or sustained serious injuries, but according to the NOAA’s estimate, only a third of whale deaths are properly documented. Now there are fewer than 350 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales left.
The hope is that both mother and calf will stay healthy and that the calf will not get caught in the rope.
