Third entangled endangered whale spotted in span of a week off East Coast
Associated Press
A third endangered whale has been spotted entangled in fishing gear off the East Coast, marking an alarming end to the year for a species threatened with extinction. The whales are North Atlantic right whales, which number fewer than 400 and are vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in gear. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says an aerial survey found an entangled whale about 60 miles east of the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Dec. 16. NOAA officials say another aerial survey found two entangled right whales off Nantucket, Massachusetts, just days earlier. NOAA says two of the three whales are likely to die from their injuries.