The University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Marine Mammal Stranding Program responded to 100 strandings in 2021. WHQR visited their lab to find out why these animals wash up on the coast.
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IMAGE: A North Atlantic right whale photographed in Cape Cod Bay, Mass. Trauma wounds are scarred over but still very evident, showing that non-lethal entanglement can still have serious health. view more
Credit: Photo: J. Durban, NOAA, and Holly Fearnbach, SR3. Permit # 17355-01
Woods Hole, Mass. (February 25, 2021) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) along with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries have released the first broad scale synthesis of available information derived from right whale health assessment techniques. The manuscript published today in the science journal
Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, reviews available tools, and current understanding of the health status and trends of individual whales and the species. The paper concludes with recommendations for additional information needs and necessary management actions to enhance the health of individual right whales.