There’s concern the number of dead North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence could rise.
The total currently sits at six, but Regional Senior Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Advisor Isabelle Elliott says they are currently examining video and photos to try and determine the exact number of whales, “There have been several sightings, but because these animals are drifting around, we have to make that the animals we are seeing are not sightings of the same animals.”
Species At Risk Biologist Diane Amirault Langlais says at this point. they’re unsure what could have caused this, “This has never happened with right whales, it has never been documented. It happened in hump back whales back in 1987 in the U.S, and in that case, it was documented to be related to a toxic algae bloom.”
She adds this is one of the most endangered large whales.
There is also no word of a cause yet for the deaths of the whales, “It’s too early to try and answer that question. We definitely need to do a lot more testing of samples we have been able to acquire to date and to get the necropsies and other testing done, ” Elliot notes.
(Video and photos submitted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
