Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document 07-05 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Marine Fisheries Service

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

February 2007

 Mortality and Serious Injury Determinations

 for Baleen Whale Stocks

 along the United States Eastern Seaboard

and Adjacent Canadian Maritimes, 2001-2005

1National Marine Fisheries Serv., Woods Hole Lab., 166 Water St., Woods Hole MA 02543-1026

2National Marine Fisheries Serv., Regional Office, 3 Heritage Way, Gloucester MA 01930 

by Misty Nelson1, Mendy Garron2, Richard L. Merrick1,

 Richard M. Pace III1

, and Timothy V.N. Cole1
Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Documents

This series is a secondary scientific series designed to assure the long-term documentation and 

to enable the timely transmission of research results by Center and/or non-Center researchers, 

where such results bear upon the research mission of the Center (see the outside back cover for 

the mission statement). These documents receive internal scientific review, and most receive 

copy editing. The National Marine Fisheries Service does not endorse any proprietary material, 

process, or product mentioned in these documents.

 All documents issued in this series since April 2001, and several documents issued prior to 

that date, have been copublished in both paper and electronic versions. To access the electronic 

version of a document in this series, go to http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/. The 

electronic version is available in PDF format to permit printing of a paper copy directly from 

the Internet. If you do not have Internet access, or if a desired document is one of the pre-April 

2001 documents available only in the paper version, you can obtain a paper copy by contacting 

the senior Center author of the desired document. Refer to the title page of the document for 

the senior Center author’s name and mailing address. If there is no Center author, or if there is 

corporate (i.e., non-individualized) authorship, then contact the Center’s Woods Hole Laboratory Library (166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026).

This document’s publication history is as follows: manuscript submitted for review December 28,

2006; manuscript accepted through technical review January 4, 2007; manuscript accepted

through policy review January 12, 2007; and final copy submitted for publication February 20,

2007. This document may be cited as:

Nelson M, Garron M, Merrick RL, Pace RM III, Cole TVN. 2007. Mortality and serious

injury determinations for baleen whale stocks along the United States eastern seaboard and

adjacent Canadian Maritimes, 2001-2005. U.S. Dep. Commer., Northeast Fish. Sci. Cent.

Ref. Doc. 07-05; 18 p. Available from: National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, 

Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026. 
iii

Table of Contents 

Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... iv 

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 

Methods ...........................................................................................................................................1 

 Event and Species Confirmation Criteria ...............................................................................2 

 Human-Induced Mortality Determinations.............................................................................2 

 Serious Injury Determinations ................................................................................................3

Results..............................................................................................................................................3 

Discussion........................................................................................................................................5 

Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................5 

References........................................................................................................................................6 

List of Tables 

Table 1. Summary of all reported baleen and unidentified whale events along the Northern Gulf of 

Mexico coast, U.S. East Coast and adjacent Canadian Maritimes, 2001–2005 ...............7 

Table 2. Summary of mortalities attributed to causes other than entanglement or ship strike, con-

 firmed entanglement and ship strike events not resulting in serious injury or mortality, and 

 confirmed events for which insufficient information was available for determination....8 

Table 3. Summary of the confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury events involving 

baleen whale stocks along the Gulf of Mexico coast, U.S. East Coast, and adjacent Canadian Maritimes, 2001–2005, with the number of events attributed to entanglements and/or 

vessel collisions by year ...................................................................................................9 

Table 4. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Northern right whales,

Western Atlantic stock, 2001–2005 ................................................................................10 

Table 5. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Gulf of Maine humpback whales, 2001–2005..................................................................................................12 

Table 6. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Western North Atlantic 

fin whales, 2001–2005....................................................................................................14 

Table 7. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury of Nova Scotian sei whales, 2001–

2005.................................................................................................................................15 

Table 8. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury of Canadian East Coast minke 

whales, 2001–2005 .........................................................................................................16 

Table 9. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury of Northern Gulf of Mexico Brydes 

whales, 2001–2005 .........................................................................................................18 
iv

Abstract 

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) has developed protocols for determining 

large whale serious injuries and human-caused mortalities. This report describes determinations 

made for events occurring from 2001–2005 involving stocks of right, humpback, fin, sei, blue, 

minke, and Brydes whales along the eastern seaboard of the United States and adjacent Canadian 

Maritimes. A total of 417 unique large whale events was reported during the period, including carcasses 

(both beached and at sea) and live whales sighted at sea. We received 151 entanglement reports and 

48 reports of ship strikes. We were able to verify 133 entanglement events, 42 ship strikes, and 292 

mortalities. Entanglements were identified as the cause of 26 whale deaths and ship strikes the cause of

27; 223 mortalities (76%) lacked sufficient evidence to determine cause of death. Entanglements 

were determined to have caused serious injury in 11 events, and 1 serious injury was caused by a 

vessel strike. Seventy (53%) of the verified entanglement events and 9 (21%) of the ship strike events 

were determined to have not caused serious injury or death; 21 (16%) entanglement events and 2 

(5%) ship strike events lacked sufficient evidence for determination. Minke whales had the greatest 

number of entanglement mortalities (n=11). Humpback whales had the highest number of serious injury 

events resulting from entanglements (n=6). Right whales and fin whales both had 8 mortalities from 

ship strikes. These human-caused mortality and serious injury rates represent the minimum levels of 

impact to these stocks. 
1

INTRODUCTION 

As part of the 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the NOAA 

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) was mandated to establish monitoring programs to obtain statistically reliable estimates of incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals 

taken during commercial fishing operations. The Agency was also charged with developing Take 

Reduction Plans (TRPs) to reduce commercial takes of strategic stocks of marine mammals below 

the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) levels specified in the TRPs within six months after Plan 

implementation. The longer-term goal of all the TRPs is to reduce – within five years of implementation – commercial takes and serious mortality of marine mammals to insignificant levels approaching zero mortality and serious injury rates. 

In April 1997, the NMFS convened a Serious Injury Workshop to develop a consistent set of 

guidelines for determining what constitutes a serious injury (Angliss and DeMaster 1998). Although 

the Workshop produced a set of recommendations, implementation of a national serious injury standard has not yet occurred. 

Nonetheless, NOAA Fisheries staff and Scientific Review Group (SRG) members decided to 

take account of serious injuries in the annual marine mammal stock assessment reports (SARs). 

Subsequently, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) implemented the Workshop’s large 

cetacean recommendations and has annually estimated serious injury and mortality of Northwest 

Atlantic Ocean large whale stocks for the SARs since 1996 (e.g., Cole et al. 2006). 

This report presents the protocols and determinations for events involving right (Eubalaena

glacialis), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), sei (Balaenoptera

borealis), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and Brydes (Balaenoptera edeni) whale stocks along the U.S. eastern seaboard for the period 2001–2005. 

 

METHODS 

Marine mammal strandings and human-induced interaction events were recorded and submitted to the NMFS Northeast Regional Office (NERO) and Southeast Regional Office (SERO) by 

members of the National Stranding Network, large whale disentanglement teams, the U.S. Coast 

Guard, and civilian sources. The Regional Offices identified and obtained all available information 

for each event (photos, necropsy reports, etc.) and placed these in a central folder for each event. 

Case files were compiled for all individually identified whales with injuries. Several NEFSC and 

NERO staff members were involved in reviewing event records, confirming each event’s occurrence 

and the species involved, identifying duplicate records, and consolidating unique information from 

each source into a single record for each event. Information from additional sightings of a previously documented event was added to the original event record. If an identified whale was involved 

in a second interaction, a new event record was assigned. The NEFSC staff then reviewed each 

mortality event and assigned a cause of death following the confirmation criteria listed below. Each 

injury event was similarly examined for indications of cause, and identified as a serious injury if it 

was likely to lead to the whale’s death. One staff member (TVC) reviewed all determinations each 

year to ensure consistency in the application of determination criteria within and across years. 
2

Event and Species Confirmation Criteria 

Events and the species involved were considered confirmed if they met one of the following 

criteria: 

1. the event was observed by a trained marine mammal observer who was certain of the species or event; 

2. the event was observed by a trained member of the Disentanglement Network and the 

species or event was verified via interview by NMFS, disentanglement, or stranding network staff; 

3. the observer was inexperienced, but the report was accompanied by photographs or videotape of sufficient quality to positively verify the species or event; 

4. a fisherman reported a whale entangled in his/her gear or a shipper reported colliding with 

a whale; 

5. gear was retrieved from a whale. 

Events and the species involved were considered confirmed in the following less certain cases: 

6. the observer was experienced and was fairly certain, but not positive, of the species or 

event; 

7. the observer was inexperienced, but was interviewed and the account was descriptive 

enough that the species or event was probable but not certain; 

8. the report was accompanied by poorer quality photographs or video, and staff reviewing 

this material assessed the event as probable but not certain. 

Events or the species involved were considered unconfirmed if: 

1. the observer was inexperienced and no photographs or video were taken, and the observer’s account did not provide sufficient detail to identify the species or event occurrence; 

2. the observer was experienced, but did not see the whale long enough or in good enough 

conditions to state the species or event as being probable; 

3. the event was photographed or videotaped, but staff reviewing the images could not identify species or the event’s occurrence; 

4. a carcass was too decomposed to identify species or to show any indication of human interaction. 

Human-Induced Mortality Determinations 

 Events were categorized as entanglement mortalities if both of the following indications were 

confirmed to be present during gross inspection or necropsy of the carcass: 

1. fishing line constricted any body part; and 

2. subdermal hemorrhaging or extensive necrosis was present at point of attachment. 
3

 Events were categorized as ship strike mortalities if one of the following indications was 

confirmed to be present on a carcass: 

1. large linear lacerations (anywhere on body, as opposed to just dorsally as in Kraus 1990); 

2. large areas of subdermal hemorrhaging, hematoma or edema; 

3. extensive skeletal fracturing; or 

4. a code 2 (fresh dead) carcass was brought in on the bow of a ship. 

Serious Injury Determinations 

 Events were categorized as entanglement serious injuries if one of the following indications 

was confirmed on a living whale: 

1. fishing line constricted on any body part, or was likely to become constricting as the 

whale grew; 

2. it was uncertain if the line was constricting, but appendages near the entanglement’s point 

of attachment were discolored and likely compromised; 

3. the whale showed a marked changed in appearance following entanglement, including 

skin discoloration, lesions near the nares, fat loss, or increased cyamid loads; 

4. gear was ingested; or 

5. whale was anchored. 

 A whale was typically not considered seriously injured if all constricting lines were removed 

or shed. 

 Events were categorized as ship-strike serious injuries if, following the appearance of a linear 

laceration or large gouge, a living whale exhibited a marked change in skin discoloration, lesions 

near the nares, fat loss, or increased cyamid loads. 

 Injuries that impaired the whale’s locomotion or feeding were not considered serious injuries 

unless they were likely to be fatal in the foreseeable future. No forecasts were made as to how an 

entanglement or injury might increase the whale’s susceptibility to further injury (e.g., from additional entanglements or collisions with vessels). 

RESULTS 

 A total of 417 events was reported during 2001–2005, involving both live and dead whales 

(Table 1). There were 151 reports of entanglement and 48 of ship strike. From these, we confirmed 

133 entanglement events and 42 ship strike events. We were able to verify 292 mortalities, and 

determine that 26 mortalities were due to entanglements and 27 mortalities were the result of ship 

strikes. Entanglement was determined to have caused serious injury in 11 events, and one serious 

injury was determined to have resulted from ship strike. Table 2 presents a summary of mortalities 

attributed to causes other than entanglement or ship strike, confirmed entanglement and ship strike 

events not resulting in serious injury or mortality, and confirmed events for which insufficient information was available for determination. The cause of death could not be established for 223 

mortalities (76%). There were 68 entanglement events which did not result in serious injury (this 
4

includes cases where the animal was disentangled or shed gear), and 28 which lacked sufficient 

evidence to determine if serious injury had occurred. Ten ship strike events occurred which did not 

result in serious injury, and four events lacked sufficient evidence to make a determination. Annual 

human-caused mortality and serious injury rates for 2001–2005 are presented by stock in Table 3. 

Tables 4 to 9 provide details of each confirmed serious injury or mortality record. 

 Over the five-year period, right whales had the highest proportion of entanglements and ship 

strikes relative to the number of reports for a species: of 51 reports involving right whales, 24 were 

confirmed entanglements and 14 were confirmed ship strikes. There were 22 verified right whale 

mortalities (Table 1), three due to entanglements, and eight due to ship strikes. Serious injury was 

documented for four entanglement events and one ship strike involving right whales. 

 Humpbacks were involved in 162 reported events (Table 1). Of these, 70 of the 79 reported 

entanglements could be confirmed, as could 12 of the 16 reported ship strikes. Humpbacks were the 

most commonly observed entangled whale species and the most commonly observed dead whale (91 

confirmed mortalities). Entanglements accounted for eight mortalities and six serious injuries. Ship 

strikes were relatively uncommon, with only 12 confirmed events, seven of which were fatal. Contrary to previous determination reports, here we assumed all humpback events involved members of 

the Gulf of Maine stock unless a whale was confirmed to be from another stock. At the time of this 

writing, there was no available information to indicate an event did not involve a Gulf of Maine 

animal (see Table 3). 

 Fin whales had a low proportion of entanglements; of 47 reported events, eight were of 

entanglements (all confirmed), three of which were fatal (Table 1). Twelve ship strikes were reported, 10 of which were confirmed, and eight proved fatal. One serious injury resulted from an 

entanglement. 

 Only six events were reported for sei whales, all of which were confirmed mortalities. Two 

of the mortalities were determined to have resulted from ship strikes. 

 Minke whales were involved in 86 reported events. Entanglements accounted for 30 of these 

reports, but only 25 could be confirmed (Table 1). Eleven of the confirmed entanglement events 

were fatal, the highest percentage for any of the whale species. There were only two confirmed ship 

strike events, both of which resulted in mortality. 

 Blue whales and Brydes whales appeared in only one reported event each. The blue whale 

report was a confirmed entanglement in the St. Lawrence River, Canada, but there was not sufficient 

information available to confirm if a serious injury occurred. The Brydes whale report was a confirmed entanglement which resulted in the death of the whale. 

 In 63 of the 417 large whale events reported during 2001–2005, positive species identification was not possible (Table 1). In nine events, the similarity in body shape and size between fin and 

sei whales prevented positive species identification. In another 15, the whales could only be identified as balaenopterids based on the presence of ventral pleats. The taxonomic identity of the whales 

involved in the remaining 39 events could not be assigned with any certainty. Entanglement was 

reported in seven of these cases, four of which were considered confirmed. Fifty-four of the 63 

reported events involving unidentified whale species were confirmed mortalities. 
5

DISCUSSION 

Differentiating causal injuries from pre-existing ones or post-mortem damage is problematic, 

but can be accomplished through examination of necropsy data. In our determinations, fishing line 

constrictions were considered circumstantial evidence of pre-mortem entanglement, as these constrictions were likely the result of force applied by an active animal. Vessel collisions frequently 

lack external evidence, and may not be detected unless a necropsy is conducted; necropsies frequently identify subdermal hemorrhaging or hematomas, indicating that blood was still circulating at 

the time of injury. Large lacerations were considered an indication of a pre-mortem vessel collision 

since only whales at depth would be exposed to the propellers of a ship; floating carcasses would be 

pushed aside by the ship’s bow wave (Knowlton et al. 1995). 

Events involving constricting entanglements with evidence of the whale’s deteriorating 

health were considered confirmed serious injuries. A whale’s physiological response to tissue damage includes increased secretion of glucocorticoids, which suppresses lymphocytes, and if sustained 

(due to chronic destruction of tissue by gear) compromises the ability of an animal to fight other 

infections. Removal of constricting gear was generally considered to prevent serious injury. Whales 

only loosely entangled in line typically did not have external indications of poor health; some whales 

carried loose wraps for years. 

Over the five-year period, 223 of 292 confirmed mortalities (76%) lacked sufficient evidence 

to determine cause of death. Carcasses floating at sea often cannot be examined sufficiently for 

either internal or external indications, and generate false negatives if they are not towed ashore and 

necropsied. Likewise, insufficient documentation precluded determination in 28 of 133 confirmed 

entanglement events (21%) and four of 42 ship strike events (10%). 

However, our greatest concern remains the number of animals we never saw. Humpback 

whale scar evidence suggests that only 3-10% of entanglements are witnessed and reported (Robbins 

and Mattila 2000, 2004). Thus, whales may succumb to entanglement before the event can be detected. Negatively buoyant species are less likely to be detected after death, and positively buoyant 

species, such as right whales, may become negatively buoyant if an injury precludes effective feeding for an extended period (Moore et al. 2004). The numbers in this report therefore represent the 

minimum values for human-caused serious injury and mortality to large whale stocks along the 

U.S. eastern seaboard. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

We are especially grateful to the East Coast stranding and disentanglement networks, whose 

members searched for and examined whales both live and dead. It is a difficult and smelly job that 

deserves special recognition. The United States Coast Guard was instrumental in conveying sightings reported by mariners, investigating carcasses at sea and assisting in disentanglement efforts. 

We are also grateful to the staff of the Center for Coastal Studies and New England Aquarium, 

NOAA aerial survey teams, Wildlife Trust, the States of Florida/Georgia and many others for providing the sightings that have allowed this work to be conducted. Liz Pomfret-Wiley, Amy Whittingham Chase, Brenda Rone and Misty Niemeyer verified records. Members of the Atlantic Scientific Review Group have provided numerous useful comments on the protocols described here. We 

also thank the anonymous reviewers of earlier drafts of this report. 
6

REFERENCES 

Angliss RP, DeMaster DP. 1998. Differentiating serious and non-serious injury of marine mammals taken incidental to commercial fishing operations: Report of the Serious Injury Workshop, 1-2 April 1997, Silver Spring MD. U.S. Dep Commer, NOAA Tech Memo NMFSOPR-13; 48 p. 

Cole TVN, Hartley DL, Garron M. 2006. Mortality and serious injury determinations for baleen 

whale stocks along the eastern seaboard of the United States, 2000–2004. U.S. Dep Commer, Northeast Fish Sci Cent Ref Doc. 06-04; 18 p. Available at: www.nefsc. 

noaa.gov/publications. 

Knowlton AR, Korsmeyer FT, Kerwin JE, Wu H, Hynes B. 1995. The hydrodynamic effects of 

large vessels on right whales. Final report to NOAA Fisheries for Contract No. 

40EANFF400534; 81 p. 

Kraus SD. 1990. Rates and potential causes of mortality in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena

glacialis). Mar Mamm Sci. 6(4):278-291. 

Lambertsen RH, Rasmussen KJ, Lancaster WC, Hintz RJ. 2005. Functional morphology of the 

mouth of the bowhead whale and its implications for conservation. J Mammal. 86(2):342-

352. 

Moore MJ, Knowlton AR, Kraus SD, McLellan WA, Bonde RK. 2004. Morphometry, gross morphology and available histopathology in North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) 

mortalities (1970–2002). J Cetacean Res Manage. 6(3):199-214. 

Robbins J, Mattila DK. 2000. Monitoring entanglement scars on the caudal peduncle of Gulf of 

Maine humpback whales: 1997-1999. Center for Coastal Studies, Report to the National 

Marine Fisheries Service. Order number 40ENNF900253; 24 p. 

Robbins J, Mattila DK. 2004. Estimating humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) entanglement 

rates on the basis of scar evidence. Center for Coastal Studies, Report to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Order number 43ENNF030121; 22 p. 
7

Table 1. Summary of all reported baleen and unidentified whale events along the Northern Gulf of Mexico coast, U.S. East Coast and adjacent Canadian 

Maritimes, 2001–2005. 

Species

WesternNorthAtlanticright whale 

Northwest Atlantichumpback whaleb

WesternNorthAtlantic fin whale 

Nova Scotian sei whale 

WesternNorthAtlanticblue whale 

CanadianEast Coast minke whale 

WesternNorthAtlanticBrydeswhale 

Unidentifiedfin/sei whale 

Unidentifiedbalaenopteridd

Unidentifiedwhale spp. TOTALS 

Total reportsa (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) 

51

(10, 12, 8, 8, 

13) 

162

(30, 35, 50, 20, 

27) 

47

(10, 5, 13, 

10, 9) 

6

(2, 1, 1, 2, 0) 

1

(0, 1, 0, 0, 0) 

86

(10, 14, 25, 

22, 15) 

1

(0, 0, 1, 0, 0) 

9

(1, 0, 3, 2, 3) 

15

(1, 2, 7, 2, 3) 

39

(5, 4, 19, 3, 8)

417

Total entanglement reportsa 25 (4, 8, 6, 3, 4) 79 (12c, 21c, 21, 11, 

14) 

8

(2, 1, 1, 4, 0) 

0 1 

(0, 1, 0, 0, 0) 

30

(5, 5, 11, 8, 

1) 

1

(0, 0, 1, 0, 0) 

1

(0, 0, 0, 0, 1)

1

(0, 0, 0, 1, 0)

5

(1, 0, 0, 1, 3)

151

Total ship strike reports 

15

(2, 3, 2, 3, 5) 

16

(6c, 4c, 3, 1, 2) 

12

(3, 0, 4, 3, 2) 

3

(1, 0, 1, 1, 0) 

0 1 

(0, 0, 0, 1, 0) 

0 0 0 1 

(0, 0, 0, 0, 1)

48

Confirmed entanglement events 

24

(4, 8, 6, 4, 2) 

70

(10c, 18c, 19, 10, 

13) 

8

(2, 1, 1, 4, 0) 

0 1 

(0, 1, 0, 0, 0) 

25

(4, 4, 9, 6, 2) 

1

(0, 0, 1, 0, 0) 

1

(0, 0, 0, 0, 1)

1

(0, 0, 0, 1, 0)

2

(0, 0, 0, 1, 1)

133

Confirmed ship strike events 

14

(2, 1, 2, 2, 7) 

12

(5c, 3c, 2, 1, 1) 

10

(2, 0, 0, 2, 6) 

3

(1, 0, 1, 1, 0) 

0 2 

(0, 0, 0, 1, 1)

0 0 0 1 

(0, 0, 0, 0, 1)

42

Total confirmed mortalities 

22

(7, 5, 1, 5, 4) 

91

(22, 18, 29, 11, 

11) 

40

(9, 5, 11, 7, 

8) 

6

(2, 1, 1, 2, 0) 

0 78 

(8, 12, 23, 

20, 15) 

1

(0, 0, 1, 0, 0) 

8

(1, 0, 3, 2, 2) 

14

(1, 2, 7, 1, 3) 

32

(4, 4, 18, 2, 4)

292

Confirmed entanglement mortalities 

3

(1, 1, 0, 1, 0) 

8

(3, 3, 1, 1, 0) 

3

(1, 1, 0, 1, 0) 

0 0 11 

(2, 2, 5, 2, 0) 

1

(0, 0, 1, 0, 0) 

0 0 0 26 

Confirmed ship strike mortalities 

8

(2, 1, 1, 2, 2) 

7

(3, 2, 1, 1, 0) 

8

(2, 0, 0, 2, 4) 

2

(1, 0, 1, 0, 0) 

0 2 

(0, 0, 0, 1, 1)

0 0 0 0 27 

Confirmed entanglement serious injuries 

4

(1, 2, 1, 0, 0) 

6

(0, 1, 4, 1, 0) 

1

(0, 0, 0, 1, 0)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 

Confirmed ship strike serious injuries 

1

(0, 0, 0, 0, 1)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 

a Excludes resightings of previously entangled individuals unless a new entanglement was documented. 

b Includes all humpback reports, whether confirmed as members of the Gulf of Maine feeding stock or not. 

c One humpback report included as both a confirmed entanglement and confirmed ship strike event. 

d Described as having throat grooves (rorqual pleats).
8

Table 2. Summary of large whale events not resulting in serious injury or mortality, and events lacking sufficient evidence for determination, 2001–2005. 

Species

WesternNorthAtlanticright whale 

Northwest Atlantichumpback whale 

WesternNorthAtlanticfin whale 

Nova Scotian sei whale 

WesternNorthAtlanticblue whale 

CanadianEast Coast minke whale 

WesternNorthAtlanticBrydeswhale 

Unidentifiedfin/sei whale 

Unidentifiedbalaenopterid

Unidentifiedwhale spp. TOTALS 

Confirmed mortalities, NOT SS1 or EN2

1

5%

4

4%

3

8%

2

33%

0 6

8%

0 0 0 0 16

5%

Confirmed mortalities, IIFD3

10

45%

72

79%

26

65%

2

33%

0 59

76%

0 8

100%

14

100%

32

100%

223

76%

Confirmed entanglement events, NOT SI/MT4, 5

15

63%

45

64%

3

38%

0 05

20%

0 0 0 0 68

51%

Confirmed entanglement events, IIFD* 

2

8%

11

16%

1

13%

0 1

100%

9

36%

0 1

100%

1

100%

2

100%

28

21%

Confirmed ship strike events, NOT SI/MT 

4

29%

5

42%

1

10%

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10

24%

Confirmed ship strike events, IIFD* 

1

7%

0 1

10%

1

33%

000 0 0 1

100%

4

10%

1 SS = ship strike 2 EN = entanglement 3 IIFD = insufficient information for determination 4 MT = mortality 5 Includes cases where animal was disentangled or shed gear 
9

Table 3. Summary of the confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury (SI) events involving baleen whale stocks along the Gulf of Mexico coast, 

U.S. East Coast and adjacent Canadian Maritimes, 2001–2005, with number of events attributed to entanglements or vessel collisions by year.

Entanglements Vessel Collisions

Stock

Mean

annual

mortality

and SI rate

(and PBR)

Annual rate (US

waters / Canadian 

waters / other 

waters)

Confirmed

mortalities

(2001, 2002, 2003, 

2004, 2005)

Confirmed SI’s 

(2001, 2002, 2003, 

2004, 2005)

Annual rate

(US waters / 

Canadian waters)

Confirmed

mortalities

(2001, 2002, 2003, 

2004, 2005)

Confirmed SI’s 

Western North Atlantic right whale 3.2 (0) 1.4 (0.4 / 1.0 / 0) 3 (1, 1, 0, 1, 0) 4 (1, 2, 1, 0, 0) 1.8 (1.6 / 0.2) 8 (2, 1, 1, 2, 2) 1 (0, 0, 0, 0, 1)Gulf of Maine humpback whale1 4.2 (1.1) 2.8 (2.4 / 0.4 / 0) 8 (3, 3, 1, 1, 0) 6 (0, 1, 4, 1, 0) 1.4 (1.4 / 0) 7 (3, 2, 1, 1, 0) 0Western North Atlantic fin whale2 2.4 (4.0) 0.8 (0.6 / 0 / 0.2) 3 (1, 1, 0, 1, 0) 1 (0, 0, 0, 1, 0) 1.6 (1.2 / 0.4) 8 (2, 0, 0, 2, 4) 0Nova Scotian sei whale 0.4 (0.3) 0 0 0 0.4 (0.4 / 0) 2 (1, 0, 1, 0, 0) 0Western North Atlantic blue whale3 0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0 0Canadian East Coast minke whale 2.6 (9.2) 2.2 (2.2 / 0 / 0) 11 (2, 2, 5, 2, 0) 0 0.4 (0.4 / 0) 2 (0, 0, 0, 1, 1) 0Western North Atlantic Brydes whale 0.2 (0.3) 0.2 (0.2 / 0 / 0) 1 (0, 0, 1, 0, 0) 0 0 0 0

1 Excludes events involving confirmed members of a stock other than the Gulf of Maine feeding stock (no events could be excluded based on the information available at the time of writing). 2 Includes an entanglement mortality found off Bermuda in 2001.3 Stock abundance estimates outdated; no Potential Biological Removal established for this stock.

(2001, 2002, 2003,

2004, 2005)
10

Table 4. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Northern right whales, Western

Atlantic stock, 2001–2005. 

Assigned Cause: 

P=primary,

Date S=secondary Report

Type Sex, age, ID Location

Ship

strike 

Entang./

Fsh inter 

Notes / Observations 

3/17/01 mortality Male 

Calf 

Assateague, 

VA P 

Large fresh propeller gashes on dorsal 

caudal and acute muscular hemorrhage 

6/8/01 serious 

injury 

Male 

Adult 

 #1102 

58mi east of 

Cape Cod, 

MA P 

Entangling gear deeply embedded; 

numerous signs of poor health including emaciation, skin discoloration, and 

abnormal cyamid distribution 

6/18/01 mortality Female 

Calf 

Long Island, 

NY P Dorsal propeller wounds, sub-dermal hemorrhage 

11/3/01 mortality Male 

Adult 

#1238 

Magdellen 

Islands, 

Canada 

P 

Thoroughly wrapped up in Danish 

Seine gear, whale seen alive and well 

five months earlier 

7/6/02 mortality Female 

#3107 

Off Briar 

Island, NS 

Canada P 

Carcass ashore on Nantucket, MA, on 

October 12, 2002; caudal peduncle 

severely lacerated where entangled; 

gear consistent with inshore lobster 

fishery 

8/22/02 serious 

injury 

Female 

Adult 

#1815 

Scotian Shelf, 

Canada P 

Line tightly wrapped around head and 

tail stock; no gear recovered 

8/22/02 mortality Female 

1 year old 

off Ocean 

City, MD P Large laceration on dorsal surface 

8/30/02 serious 

injury 

Sex & age 

unknown 

#3210 

Bay of Fundy, 

NS P 

Line tightly wrapped around rostrum, 

resighted in 2004 in poor condition; 

no gear recovered 

1/14/03 serious 

injury 

Female 

Adult 

#2240 

Jacksonville, 

FL P 

Line in mouth no longer visible; body 

condition poor; no gear recovered 

10/02/03 mortality Female 

Adult 

#2150 

Digby, NS 

P 

Large fracture in skull, sub-dermal 

hemorrhage 

2/7/04 mortality Female 

Adult 

#1004 

Virginia 

Beach, VA P 

Severe subdermal bruising, complete 

fracture of rostrum and laceration of 

oral rete 

9/6/04 mortality Female 

Adult 

#2301 

Roseway 

Basin, NS P 

Extensive constricting line on head 

and left flipper; found dead March 3, 

2005 on Ship Shoal Island, VA 

11/24/04 mortality Female 

Adult 

#1909 

Ocean Sands, 

NC P 

Left fluke lobe severed and large bore 

blood vessels exposed. 
11

Assigned Cause: 

P=primary,

Date S=secondary Report

Type Sex, age, ID Location

Ship

strike 

Entang./

Fsh inter 

Notes / Observations 

1/12/05 mortality Female 

Adult 

#2143 

Cumberland 

Island, GA P 

Healed propeller wounds from strike 

as a calf re-opened as a result of 

pregnancy 

3/10/05 serious 

injury 

Sex & age 

unknown 

#2425 

Cumberland 

Island, GA P 

45’ power yacht partially severed left 

fluke; resighted 9/4/05 in extremely 

poor condition 

4/28/05 mortality Female 

Adult 

#2617 

Monomoy 

Island, MA P 

Significant bruising and multiple 

vertebral fractures 
12

Table 5. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Gulf of Maine humpback whales, 

2001–2005. All records were assumed to involve members of the Gulf of Maine humpback whale stock 

unless a whale was confirmed to be a member of another stock. This is in contrast to prior reports. 

Assigned Cause: 

P=primary,

Date S=secondary Report

Type

Sex, age, 

length Location

Ship

strike 

Entang./

Fsh inter 

Notes / Observations 

1/25/01 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

6.9m (est) 

Avon, NC 

P 

Extensive hemorrhaging along left 

thoracic; clean cut through vertebrae 

4/7/01 mortality Male 

Juvenile 

7.6m 

Emerald Isle, 

NC P 

Entanglement around peduncle caused 

extensive edema and hemorrhaging; no 

gear recovered 

4/8/01 mortality Male 

Juvenile 

7.9m 

Myrtle Beach, 

SC S P 

Pre-mortem evidence of chronic line 

entanglement; severe prop wounds; no 

gear recovered 

4/9/01 mortality Female 

Juvenile 

“Inland” 

8.8m 

offshore of 

Sandbridge, 

Virginia Beach P 

Found anchored in croaker sink gillnet 

gear; line wraps around rostrum had 

immobilized the whale 

7/29/01 mortality Female 

Juvenile 

8.5m 

floating south 

of Verrazano 

Bridge, NY 

P 

Large laceration on left side of head, 

extensive fracturing of skull 

10/1/01 mortality Female 

3 yr old 

“Pitfall” 

11.4m 

Duxbury Beach, 

MA P 

Massive fracturing to skull, focal 

bruising indicative of pre-mortem ship 

strike 

2/8/02 mortality Female 

Juvenile 

8.4m 

off Cape Henry, 

VA P 

Three large lacerations, hemorrhaging 

and broken bones 

3/24/02 mortality Male 

Juvenile 

8.0m 

off Virginia 

Beach, VA P 

Deep cuts on caudal peduncle and tail 

indicative of embedded line; no gear 

recovered 

6/3/02 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

9.9m 

off Cape 

Elizabeth, ME P 

Deep cuts on caudal peduncle indicative of embedded line; state waters 

lobster fishery 

6/17/02 serious 

injury 

Sex & age 

unknown 

10.2m (est) 

Cape Cod Bay, 

MA P 

Fluke severely damaged by line, whale 

emaciated 

8/1/02 mortality Male 

9.3m 

Long Island, 

NY P Large hematoma posterior to blow holes 

10/1/02 mortality Female 

Calf 

7.5m 

Plymouth, MA 

P 

Extensive line chaffing and bruising on 

carcass; no gear recovered 
13

Assigned Cause: 

P=primary,

Date S=secondary Report

Type

Sex, age, 

length Location

Ship

strike 

Entang./

Fsh inter 

Notes / Observations 

6/6/03 mortality Female 

8.3m 

Chesapeake 

Bay mouth, VA P Major trauma to right side of head, hematoma present 

7/9/03 serious 

injury 

Calf of 

Shockwave 

Bay of Fundy, 

Canada P Constricting entanglement on a young whale; no gear recovered 

7/12/03 serious 

injury 

unknown Oregon Inlet, 

NC P Entangled in substantial amount of gear; no gear recovered 

8/15/03 mortality Calf 

7.3m (est) 

Petit Manan 

Island, ME P 

Floating offshore wrapped in line 

8/16/03 serious 

injury 

unknown off Cape Cod, 

MA P 

Poor body condition; line deeply 

embedded; gear recovered included 

sink gillnet, vessel anchoring system 

and surface buoy system and endline 

8/18/03 serious 

injury 

unknown off Cape Cod, 

MA P Extensive entanglement; no gear recovered 

7/11/04 serious 

injury 

Subadult 

“Lucky” 

Briar Island, NS P Entanglement likely to become constricting as whale grows 

10/3/04 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

15m (est) 

Georges Bank 

P 

Fresh carcass with entangling line and 

high flyer; no gear recovered 

12/19/04 mortality Calf 

8.0m 

Bethany Beach, 

DE P Hematoma and skeletal fracturing 
14

Table 6. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Western North Atlantic fin whales, 2001–

2005. 

Assigned Cause: 

P=primary,

Date S=secondary Report

Type

Sex, age, 

length Location

Ship

strike 

Entang./

Fsh inter 

Notes / Observations 

1/2/01 mortality Female 

18.1m 

New York 

harbor P Dorsal abrasion marks, hematoma 

2/1/01 mortality Female 

14.5m 

Port Elizabeth, 

NJ P Fresh carcass hung on ship’s bow 

9/19/01 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

10.7m 

off Bermuda 

P 

Extensive fresh entanglement marks; no 

gear recovered 

7/28/02 mortality unknown Georges Bank P Heavy line seen on tail stock, appeared 

embedded; no gear recovered 

2/12/04 serious 

injury 

unknown Pea Island, NC P Entangled whale noticeably emaciated; 

no gear recovered 

2/25/04 mortality Female 

16.3m 

Port Elizabeth, 

NJ P Displaced vertebrae, ruptured aorta 

6/30/04 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

12m (est) 

Georges Bank 

P 

Fresh dead; heavy line constricting 

mid-section; no gear recovered 

9/26/04 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

15m (est) 

St. Johns, NB 

P 

Fresh carcass caught on bow of ship 

3/26/05 mortality Male 

11m 

off Virginia 

Beach, VA P 

Extensive hemorrhaging and vertebral 

fractures 

4/3/05 mortality Male 

13.7m 

Southampton, 

NY P Subdermal hemorrhaging 

8/23/05 mortality Female 

18.8m 

Port Elizabeth, 

NJ P 

Brought in on bow of ship 

9/11/05 mortality Female 

16.3m 

Bonne Esperance, QC P 

Bottom jaw completely severed/broken 
15

Table 7. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Nova Scotian sei whales, 2001–2005. 

Assigned Cause: 

P=primary,

Date S=secondary Report

Type

Sex, age, 

length Location

Ship

strike 

Entang./

Fsh inter 

Notes / Observations 

5/2/01 mortality Female 

13.0 m 

New York 

Harbor P Fresh carcass hung on ship’s bow; hemorrhaging 

2/19/03 mortality Male 

11.0m 

Norfolk, VA 

36 58’N 

76 21’W 

P 

Large gash into muscle, hematoma and 

abrasions 
16

Table 8. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Canadian East Coast minke whales, 

2001–2005. 

Assigned Cause:

P=primary, 

S=secondary

Date Report

Type

Sex, age, 

length

Location 

Ship

strike

Entang./

Fsh.inter

Notes / Observations

8/17/01 mortality Male

3.9m 

Middletown, RI 

4128'N 

7115'W 

P

Unknown fishery. Severe rope 

entanglement around mouth and 

rostrum caused malnutrition and 

infection. No gear recovered. 

12/13/01 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

7m (est) 

Massachusetts

Bay, MA 

4221'N 

7043'W 

P

Unknown fishery. Pictures show 

evidence of fairly fresh entanglement 

marks on tail stock and across flukes. 

No gear recovered. 

7/17/02 mortality Female 

4.6m (est) 

Bar Harbor, ME 

4418'N 

6807'W 

P

Unknown fishery. Carcass had a rope 

scar on the peduncle with associated 

hemorrhaging. Additional bruising 

around the epiglottis and larynx. No 

gear recovered. 

10/15/02 mortality Female 

5.1m 

Gloucester, MA 

4236'N 

7039W 

P

Whale was entangled through the 

mouth and around the pectoral flippers. 

Gear from state water lobster fishery 

was still on the whale. 

5/24/03 mortality Male

7.6m 

Gloucester, MA 

4241'N 

7039'W 

P

Unknown fishery. Line marks on head 

and dorsal fin, no line present. Cut 

across back anterior to dorsal fin. No 

gear recovered. 

5/31/03 mortality Female 

3.6m (est) 

Martha’s 

Vineyard, MA 

4121'N 

7047'W 

P

Unknown fishery. Whale stranded live 

wrapped in about 15 feet of 2-3 inch 

mesh netting; probably trawl gear. 

6/28/03 mortality Male 

5.1m 

Chatham, MA 

4140’N 

6955’W 

 P 

Lobster fishery. Whale wrapped in 

line. 

8/9/03 mortality Sex & age 

unknown 

3.5m (est) 

Harwich, MA 

4137'N 

7003'W 

P

Unknown fishery. Hemorrhaging in 

areas with net marks on whale. No 

gear recovered. 

9/13/03 mortality Female 

6m (est) 

Casco Bay, ME 

4342’N 

6958’W 

 P 

Unknown fishery. Fresh dead. 

External chaffing marks and belly slit 

open. No gear recovered. 

5/6/04 mortality Female 

7.7m 

Marthas 

Vineyard, MA 

4121'N 

7040'W 

 P 

Unknown fishery. Constricting line 

marks on tail stock. Indications of 

drowning from internal exam. No gear 

recovered. 
17

Assigned Cause:

P=primary, 

S=secondary

Date Report

Type

Sex, age, 

length

Location 

Ship

strike

 Entang./ 

Fsh. inter 

Notes / Observations 

6/1/04 mortality Female 

6.5m 

Chatham, MA 

4140'N 

6956'W 

P

Ship strike. Large area of subdermal 

hemorrhaging. 

7/19/04 mortality Female 

7.9m 

Eastham, MA 

4154'N 

6958'W 

 P 

Unknown fishery. Extensive 

entanglement markings. No gear 

recovered. 

5/23/05 mortality Male 

5.9m 

Port Elizabeth, 

NJ

4041'N 

7409'W 

P

Ribs shattered, liver ruptured, evidence 

of internal hemorrhaging 
18

Table 9. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Northern Gulf of Mexico Brydes 

 whales, 2001–2005. 

Assigned Cause: 

P=primary,

Date S=secondary Report

Type

Sex, age, 

length Location

Ship

strike 

Entang./

Fsh inter 

Notes / Observations 

3/13/03 mortality Male 

11.0m 

New Hanover, 

NC 3355'N 

7813'W 

P 

Deeply embedded line; whale extremely emaciated NC03-052 
Procedures for Issuing Manuscripts

in the

Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document (CRD) Series

Clearance

All manuscripts submitted for issuance as CRDs 

must have cleared the NEFSC’s manuscript/abstract/

webpage review process. If any author is not a federal 

employee, he/she will be required to sign an “NEFSC 

Release-of-Copyright Form.” If your manuscript 

includes material from another work which has been 

copyrighted, then you will need to work with the 

NEFSC’s Editorial Office to arrange for permission 

to use that material by securing release signatures on 

the “NEFSC Use-of-Copyrighted-Work Permission 

Form.” 

 For more information, NEFSC authors should see 

the NEFSC’s online publication policy manual, “Manuscript/abstract/webpage preparation, review, and dissemination: NEFSC author’s guide to policy, process, 

and procedure,” located in the Publications/Manuscript 

Review section of the NEFSC intranet page.

Organization

Manuscripts must have an abstract and table of 

contents, and (if applicable) lists of figures and tables. 

As much as possible, use traditional scientific manuscript organization for sections: “Introduction,” “Study 

Area” and/or ”Experimental Apparatus,” “Methods,” 

“Results,” “Discussion,” “Conclusions,” “Acknowledgments,” and “Literature/References Cited.” 

Style

The CRD series is obligated to conform with the 

style contained in the current edition of the United 

States Government Printing Office Style Manual. That 

style manual is silent on many aspects of scientific 

manuscripts. The CRD series relies more on the CSE 

Style Manual. Manuscripts should be prepared to 

conform with these style manuals. 

 The CRD series uses the American Fisheries Society’s guides to names of fishes, mollusks, and decapod 

crustaceans, the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s 

guide to names of marine mammals, the Biosciences 

Information Service’s guide to serial title abbreviations, 

and the ISO’s (International Standardization Organization) guide to statistical terms. 

For in-text citation, use the name-date system. A 

special effort should be made to ensure that all necessary bibliographic information is included in the list 

of cited works. Personal communications must include 

date, full name, and full mailing address of the contact.

Preparation

 Once your document has cleared the review process, the Editorial Office will contact you with publication needs – for example, revised text (if necessary) and 

separate digital figures and tables if they are embedded 

in the document. Materials may be submitted to the 

Editorial Office as files on zip disks or CDs, email 

attachments, or intranet downloads. Text files should 

be in Microsoft Word, tables may be in Word or Excel, 

and graphics files may be in a variety of formats (JPG, 

GIF, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).

Production and Distribution

The Editorial Office will perform a copy-edit of 

the document and may request further revisions. The 

Editorial Office will develop the inside and outside 

front covers, the inside and outside back covers, and 

the title and bibliographic control pages of the document.

 Once both the PDF (print) and Web versions of 

the CRD are ready, the Editorial Office will contact 

you to review both versions and submit corrections or 

changes before the document is posted online.

 A number of organizations and individuals in the 

Northeast Region will be notified by e-mail of the 

availability of the document online. 
Research Communications Branch

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

166 Water St.

Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026

Publications and Reports

of the

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

The mission of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is “stewardship of living marine resources 

for the benefit of the nation through their science-based conservation and management and promotion of the 

health of their environment.” As the research arm of the NMFS’s Northeast Region, the Northeast Fisheries 

Science Center (NEFSC) supports the NMFS mission by “conducting ecosystem-based research and assessments of living marine resources, with a focus on the Northeast Shelf, to promote the recovery and long-term 

sustainability of these resources and to generate social and economic opportunities and benefits from their use.” 

Results of NEFSC research are largely reported in primary scientific media (e.g., anonymously-peer-reviewed 

scientific journals). However, to assist itself in providing data, information, and advice to its constituents, the 

NEFSC occasionally releases its results in its own media. Currently, there are three such media:

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE -- This series is issued irregularly. The series typically includes: data reports of 

long-term field or lab studies of important species or habitats; synthesis reports for important species or habitats; annual reports 

of overall assessment or monitoring programs; manuals describing program-wide surveying or experimental techniques; literature 

surveys of important species or habitat topics; proceedings and collected papers of scientific meetings; and indexed and/or annotated 

bibliographies. All issues receive internal scientific review and most issues receive technical and copy editing.

Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document -- This series is issued irregularly. The series typically includes: data 

reports on field and lab studies; progress reports on experiments, monitoring, and assessments; background papers for, collected

abstracts of, and/or summary reports of scientific meetings; and simple bibliographies. Issues receive internal scientific review and 

most issues receive copy editing.

Resource Survey Report (formerly Fishermen’s Report) -- This information report is a regularly-issued, quick-turnaround report on 

the distribution and relative abundance of selected living marine resources as derived from each of the NEFSC’s periodic research vessel surveys of the Northeast’s continental shelf. This report undergoes internal review, but receives no technical or copy editing.

TO OBTAIN A COPY of a NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE or a Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document, 

either contact the NEFSC Editorial Office (166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026; 508-495-2350) or consult the NEFSC webpage 

on “Reports and Publications” (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/). To access Resource Survey Report, consult the Ecosystem 

Surveys Branch webpage (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/femad/ecosurvey/mainpage/).

ANY USE OF TRADE OR BRAND NAMES IN ANY NEFSC PUBLICATION OR REPORT DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT.

MEDIA

 MAIL