PROVINCETOWN — An entangled North Atlantic right whale was spotted Friday for a third time with multiple lengths of yellow rope caught through its mouth, according to the Center for Coastal Studies.
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center sighted the entangled whale about 35 miles south of Nantucket, according to a statement from the center.
Although the entanglement does not appear to be immediately life-threatening, it is likely to be impeding the whale’s ability to feed and will affect its health over time, according to Scott Landry, director of the center’s Marine Animal Entanglement Response team.
The team has been monitoring the case and is waiting for an opportunity to disentangle the whale, the statement says.
“Coupled with the generally high winds and short days of winter, this case presents a particular logistical challenge,” Landry says in the statement. “As in all disentanglement operations, the team will be balancing human safety and the need to disentangle the whale.”
The whale was first seen entangled Dec. 21, a few miles from where it was spotted Friday, then again by the center’s aerial survey team Jan. 22, the statement says. In all three sightings the whale was in a large aggregation of right whales.
North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, with an estimated population of less than 400, the statement says.
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