September 20, 2016 — Humpback whales off New Jersey’s coast, like the young male that washed up dead Friday on a Sea Isle City beach, were taken off the federal endangered species list this month because of rebounding numbers.
The animals may have gotten entangled, then disentangled, but might have starved to death because of infection or another totally unrelated disease, Gouveia said.
Commercial fishermen are doing what they can to prevent such interactions, said Greg DiDomenico of the Garden State Sea Food Association in Cape May, who is part of the NOAA task force that devises the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.
“These are things no one wants to see happen,” said DiDomenico of entanglements. “It’s never intentional, but still it makes you feel bad.”