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from Center for Coastal Studies - Photo Courtesy FMRI 
An entangled right
whale was sighted
during an aerial
survey a few miles
east of Jacksonville
Beach. Photographs
of the head of the
whale have allowed
researchers at the
New England
Aquarium to identify
the animal as the
mature female
#2240.Born in 1992, she has been sighted almost every year since birth. She gave birth to her first known calf during the winter of 2001, in our region. That calf returned with her the following winter - a relatively rare occurrence. This whale was previously seen on May 5, 2002 in the Great South Channel, at which time she was free of gear. The whale has heavy line through the left side of the mouth and trailing at least fifty feet behind the flukes. It is not known where the other end goes, whether to the right flipper or baleen. Heavy chaffing on the tail and flukes indicate a struggle with the entanglement. Beyond the raw wounds around the flukes, the overall condition of the whale appears to be good. On the surface, the entanglement appears to be relatively simple, but more information is needed. After a two-day search by air and sea the day after the initial sighting, this whale was not re-sighted. The search was conducted by researchers with the intention of tagging and assessing the whale for disentanglement. Table of content |
| © 2003 Marine Resources Council of East Florida |