Critically Endangered Right Whale Survives Multiple Entanglements
Known as No. 5192, the five-year-old whale has repeatedly become entangled in fishing gear but continues to survive.
A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, identified by researchers as No. 5192, has survived multiple entanglements with fishing gear, defying grim prognoses that placed him on a federal list of dead and dying whales four years ago. The five-year-old whale was most recently spotted off Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey, on October 10, entangled in fishing gear, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Despite being added to NOAA's morbidity records in December 2022, when he was just one year old and showed wounds consistent with entanglement, No. 5192 has persisted. Researchers observed him with fishing gear around his mouth in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, in June, with the line extending beyond his tail. Attempts by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to attach a satellite tag were unsuccessful due to weather conditions.
Earlier this year, the whale was seen free of gear in Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay in April. By September, he had traveled an estimated 700 nautical miles to Montauk, New York. His recent sighting off the New Jersey coast has NOAA alert its partners along the East Coast.
“We will continue to work with trained and authorized entanglement responders to monitor and document this case, and assess potential interventions,” said NOAA spokesperson Ava DiFabritiis. She advised the public to maintain a safe distance and report sightings with photos and videos to NOAA Fisheries.
No. 5192 is part of a species with a dwindling population; approximately 380 North Atlantic right whales remain, with about 70 reproductively active females. Fishing gear and ship strikes are identified as the primary threats to their survival. NOAA's Unusual Mortality Event, which began investigating right whale deaths and injuries in 2017, has recorded 176 whales—43 deceased, 41 seriously injured, and 92 sick or otherwise injured.
This resilient whale is the great-grandson of a well-known right whale named 'Wart' (No. 1140). His mother, Millipede (No. 3520), is also alive and has recently been seen with her third calf.