{"id":869055,"date":"2026-10-03T05:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T05:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/869055\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T05:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T05:22:17","slug":"5-large-whales-found-entangled-off-the-maine-coast-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/869055\/","title":{"rendered":"5 large whales found entangled off the Maine coast in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five large whales were found entangled in heavy ocean ropes off the coast of Maine last year, but new federal data carries a vital silver lining for the state\u2019s multimillion-dollar lobster fleet: not a single one was a North Atlantic right whale.<\/p>\n

Rescue teams and aerial surveyors documented three humpback whales, one fin whale, and one minke whale caught in ropes off Maine\u2019s coast in 2025. The complete absence of right whales in Maine gear last year arrives at a high-stakes moment for coastal communities.<\/p>\n

A report released<\/a> this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lists only one right whale entanglement in U.S. waters in 2025, and it occurred in the calving grounds off the coast of Georgia.<\/p>\n

North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, with about 380 individuals believed to be alive today. Because the dwindling species teeters near extinction, federal regulators have spent years imposing strict rules on how Maine lobstermen set their gear. <\/p>\n

Regulators have targeted seabed-to-surface buoy ropes \u2014 the long lines connecting ocean floor traps to floating buoys \u2014 which can wrap tightly around migrating whales, causing injuries and death. Heavy ropes can drag for months, inflicting painful wounds and hindering reproduction.<\/p>\n

Tensions escalated dramatically after regulators confirmed a young female right whale known as No. 5120 died<\/a> in early 2024 from entanglement in Maine lobster rope. It was the first right whale death tied directly to Maine gear, sparking industry fears of a federal crackdown.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The right whale identified as \u201c5120\u201d was discovered washed up dead on Martha\u2019s Vineyard on Jan. 28, 2024. (Eve Zuckoff\/CAI)<\/p>\n

On a national level, entanglement numbers dropped last year. NOAA documented 76 confirmed large whale entanglements in U.S. waters in 2025, a sharp decline from the 95 confirmed cases in 2024 but a minor increase over the 18-year annual average of about 73 cases. <\/p>\n

Humpbacks made up the vast majority of national entanglements in 2025, with 65 reported cases.<\/p>\n

Regionally, the year-to-year and long-term entanglement numbers were even better. Confirmed entanglements in New England waters dropped to their lowest since 2013, showing a big regional decline even as West Coast cases surged.<\/p>\n

The encouraging numbers align with hopeful news from southern calving grounds, where scientists recorded 23 newborn right whale calves last winter \u2014 the species\u2019 most successful calving season since 2009<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The federal report comes at the perfect time for Maine\u2019s multimillion-dollar lobster industry.<\/p>\n

The U.S. House recently passed the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, D-2nd District. If passed by the Senate, it would extend a current congressional pause on new whale regulations from 2028 until 2035.<\/p>\n

The industry and its supporters, including Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump, argue that because right whale entanglements are not happening in Maine waters, new restrictions are unnecessary and would needlessly cripple a historic industry.<\/p>\n

Federal officials say rising birth rates combined with lower regional entanglements may give regulators greater flexibility when drafting future whale protection rules, but conservationists caution that right whales remain in peril from vessel strikes and heavy ropes. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re utterly failing to solve this deadly problem,\u201d said Rachel Rilee, oceans policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. \u201cPop-up fishing gear could help end this gruesome problem. Federal officials and the fishing industry need to stop making excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, for Maine fishermen defending their livelihoods, last year\u2019s whale entanglement figures demonstrate that working waterfronts and endangered wildlife can coexist with just the right mix of ocean safeguards in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five large whales were found entangled in heavy ocean ropes off the coast of Maine last year, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-869055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}