February 1, 2018 — NOAA Fisheries has opened an investigation into the recent deaths of minke whales along the U.S. East Coast, the agency announced on Wednesday, 31 January.
Since January 2017, when a dead minke whale was found near New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the agency has documented a total of 29 stranded minke whales from the coasts of Maine to the Carolinas. Of those 29, 19 were dead. That has prompted NOAA Fisheries to initiate a so-called “Unusual Mortality Event” investigation into the strandings.
Opening a UME investigation will enable NOAA officials to allocate additional resources and respond more quickly to any new strandings that take place. Officials will create a team of scientists to develop a plan of action and collect data from documented and future strandings.
While the whales have only been found between Maine and South Carolina, officials are extending the investigation area to include as far south as Florida to take into consideration the whale’s migration patterns.
While not all the investigations into the deaths have been concluded, officials said preliminary information shows 11 of the dead whales had confirmed or suspected human or fishery interaction, such as blunt force trauma or a net entanglement. Investigators also believe eight of the whales carried an infectious disease.
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