Efforts continue to try and rescue three entangled North Atlantic right whales spotted off Miscou Island. in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says weather conditions yesterday allowed experts to search for the first time in several days.
The first whale was located around 10 a.m. during an aerial surveillance flight by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Campobello Whale Rescue Team then began disentanglement operations, successfully removing gear that was keeping the whale from using its tail when diving. Attempts to remove additional gear had to be interrupted at dusk.
The team received air support from NOAA and DFO’s Conservation & Protection airplanes, on-water support from fishery officers, as well as a research vessel from the New England Aquarium.
Officials now believe this whale was entangled prior to entering Canadian waters.
Surveillance flights also continued to search for the two others entangled right whales that were recently observed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Officials say locating these three whales is a challenging task. Right whales spend a significant amount of time under water, making it difficult to observe them from the air
