VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — An endangered North Atlantic right whale was found dead about 50 miles off the southern Virginia Beach coast Saturday morning.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported the whale’s death in the offshore waters east of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge Tuesday and identified the whale as adult female #1950 — a mom from this year’s calving season.
The whale was found by HDR, Inc., a company conducting Mid-Atlantic whale surveys for the Navy. That company, which is funded by U.S. Fleet Forces Command and managed by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic under the U.S. Navy’s Marine Species Monitoring Program, notified NOAA Fisheries of the dead North Atlantic right whale.
According to NOAA, she was first seen in 1989 and gave birth to her sixth calf this past winter.
The whale’s body, which was scavenged by sharks, was towed to shore by NOAA to perform a necropsy. Wind, weather and distance from shore made it more challenging to tow it to shore, NOAA Fisheries said.
This is the seventh recent whale death off the coast of Hampton Roads and the Outer Banks.
It was the 40th mortality in the ongoing Unusual Mortality Event impacting North Atlantic right whales, NOAA Fisheries said. An Unusual Mortality Event was declared for North Atlantic right whales in 2017 due to their increasing deaths in Canada and the U.S. It includes 125 of them — 40 dead, 34 seriously injured and 51 sublethally injured or ill.
The whale’s calf, according to NOAA Fisheries, is also considered “a seriously injured dependent calf” in the Unusual Mortality Event due to the death of its mother.
Two whales washed ashore in Virginia Beach in March and officials with NOAA told 10 On Your Side another four whales were found stranded along the Outer Banks between March 5 and March 9.
Gib Brogan, a campaign director at Oceana, told 10 On Your Side that humans are the problem.
“What we need to do is stop killing the whales,” Brogan said. “If we stop entangling them with fishing gear, if we stop hitting them with boats, this species has come back in the past and is likely to come back in the future. But it’s going to require strong leadership and strong action right now. If we don’t take action right now, this species will continue to slide towards extinction.”
He responded to claims made on social media that offshore wind developments in Virginia are causing these deaths.
“There is no evidence connecting offshore wind development with any whale deaths,” he said, “whether it’s a North Atlantic right whale or a humpback whale.”
He called on President Biden to act now, referencing NOAA’s 2022 proposal, which Oceana supported, to help lessen the impacts vessels have on these whales.
“President Biden has a proposal from federal scientists in front of him right now to make the U.S Atlantic safer from speeding boats,” he said.
He had advice for people who want to help protect these animals.
“Letting your elected officials know is an important step that everyone can and should take,” he said.
Besides HDR Inc., others involved with the recovery, towing and identifying the North Atlantic right whale include the following:
- Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center
- Virginia Marine Resources Commission
- Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
- Georgia Department of Natural Resources
- New England Aquarium
- A skilled local towing company
Those helping with the necropsy include:
- Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
- International Fund for Animal Welfare
- Marine Mammals of Maine
- North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
- North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
- N.C. State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology
- N.C. State College of Veterinary Medicine
- University of North Carolina Wilmington
- Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Anyone who sees an injured or stranded whale, dead or alive, to the Greater Atlantic Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 866-755-6622 or the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 877-942-5343. They ask anyone who encounters an injured or stranded whale to maintain at least a 500-yard (1,500-foot) distance away from it.