North Atlantic right whales are a rare and delightful sight—but not when they’re found bound by fishing gear.
That’s how officials with Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans spotted a right whale nicknamed Snow Cone this past weekend (Saturday, July 23), entangled in fishing rope in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between northern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Conservation Council supporters who recently attended the St. Andrews or Shediac screenings of the award-winning documentary, The Last of the Right Whales, will no doubt recognize Snow Cone’s name.
The resilient 17-year-old whale played a major role in the documentary. Her story is both inspiring and heart-wrenching.
One of an estimated 336 remaining right whales, Snow Cone shocked those on the water when she was spotted in the Gulf of Mexico—not within the whales’ typical migratory path—with her calf several years ago.
In a particularly poignant interview in the film, a recreational fisher expressed profound awe and wonder when he and his son came upon Snow Cone and her calf in the gulf.
Later in the film, the same man is shown reeling from the devastating news that Snow Cone’s calf was found dead in waters off New Jersey, having been struck twice in short succession by vessels.
Snow Cone trudged on and was spotted in March 2021 entangled in fishing gear near Plymouth Massachusetts.
The local Marine Animal Entanglement Response team managed to remove 300 feet of rope from her, but unfortunately weren’t able to remove it all, leaving rope still embedded in her jaw, causing concern for potential life-threatening wounds.
Again, Snow Cone trudged on and, remarkably, gave birth to her second calf while still entangled.
Sadly, scientists say there was no sign of her new calf during last weekend’s sighting.
We will continue following Snow Cone’s story and will bring you updates in this space.
Background
Warmer waters, driven by climate change, are causing North Atlantic right whales to stray from their traditional feeding grounds, such as the Bay of Fundy, and relocating to places like the Gulf of St Lawrence, where tanker traffic and fisheries are abundant.
Tragedy struck in the summer of 2017, when 12 right whale deaths occurred within and around the Gulf of St. Lawrence, along with six deaths in U.S waters.
The deaths were caused by vessel strikes and entanglement. The Conservation Council responded by calling for a mandatory slow-down of tankers and other measures to protect the whales in their newfound feeding grounds.
The federal government responded with measures such as mandatory speed restrictions, expanding transport zones in which speed restrictions apply, increasing aerial surveillance and imposing fisheries closures when right whales are spotted, among other measures.
This year a new vessel traffic management plan was announced to further protect North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters.
Pictured above: A North Atlantic right whale (not Snow Cone) photographed in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, New Brunswick in summer 2019. Photo by Nick Hawkins.