The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a comprehensive new report showing there was a decline in large whale entanglements in 2022.
The data, based on 2022 figures, shows there were 67 confirmed large whale entanglements nationally. This was a slight decrease from 2021 and still slightly below the historical average of 72.
The agency noted while some large whale populations are increasing in the United States, entanglements in fishing gear or marine debris "represent a continued threat to the welfare and recovery of these species."
"Entanglements can kill or seriously injure large whales and can cause significant pain to the entangled animal," they noted, pointing in particular to the North Atlantic right whales, which are endangered and are approaching extinction. The report, however, showed there were no right whale entanglements in 2022.
Alaska accounted for 10 of the whale entanglements in 2022, according to the report and the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic accounted for 20 whale entanglements.
Only four right whale entanglements were reported in preliminary data from 2023, and none have been reported so far this year.
The US lobster industry in Maine is at the center of an ongoing debate over its impact on endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The dispute has led to the seafood delicacy being demoted to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's red, or Avoid, list and the revocation of the fishery's Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.
The Gulf of Maine lobster fishery has since abandoned its plans to regain its MSC eco-label.
Commercial fishing gear remains a threat
NOAA reported that 40 percent of the confirmed cases in 2022 involved commercial or recreational fishing gear--such as buoys with identifiable marks, traps, nets, and monofilament line). The remaining cases in 2022 involved line that could not be directly attributed to a fishery or other source.
"Although various marine industries introduce gear into the ocean (e.g., ropes, lines, nets, chains, and cables), one of the most common sources of line is commercial or recreational fishing," NOAA said.
"Therefore, it is likely some of the cases involving only line that could not be identified to a specific source were related to fishing activities."
All large whales are covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, and several species or populations are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973
Last year NOAA released a document providing comprehensive detail of 37 reported killer whale entanglement cases in Alaska over the past three decades, with 20 of those entanglements caused by trawl gear, according to NOAA.
