Whale entanglements may be dropping but the threat remains, feds say

Posted By TheNewsCommenter: From Npr.org: “Whale entanglements may be dropping but the threat remains, feds say”. Below is an excerpt from the article.

In this photo from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing rope is sighted on Dec. 2, 2021, with a newborn calf near Cumberland Island, Ga. AP hide caption

In this photo from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing rope is sighted on Dec. 2, 2021, with a newborn calf near Cumberland Island, Ga.

PORTLAND, Maine — The number of whales entangled in fishing gear has declined recently, but the entanglements remain a critical threat to rare species, the federal government said in a report released Tuesday.

There were 53 confirmed cases of large whales entangled in gear in the U.S. in 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday. That was a 25% decline from the previous year and a lower figure than the 13-year average, the agency said.

Entanglement in fishing gear is one of the two biggest threats to declining species of whales, particularly North Atlantic right whales, which number less than 340 in the world. The other threat is collisions with ships.

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