© M. Zani/New England Aquarium
The dead whale has been identified as a reproductive female named Couplet, pictured here in 2003 with one of her calves.
The dead whale has been identified as a reproductive female named Couplet, pictured here in 2003 with one of her calves.
The U.S. Coast Guard documented and reported the latest carcass on Monday, Jennifer Goebel, public affairs officer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Greater Atlantic region, confirmed on Wednesday.
The dead whale is currently floating in the southern Gulf of Maine, about 160 miles (about 258 kilometres) east of Cape Cod, she told CBC News.
This is the third dead North Atlantic right whale discovered in U.S. waters, said Goebel. The news comes just one week after another whale was found floating off Martha's Vineyard, the Massachusetts island south of Cape Cod.
Between 10 and 12 dead whales have been found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence since June 7. Preliminary necropsy reports suggest ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements as possible causes for the deaths. A final report is expected by mid-September, and will be made public.
Only about 500 North Atlantic right whales are left in the world, according to fisheries officials.
