Humpback whale that died in Wellfleet waters showed signs of fishing rope entanglement, rescuers say

Asad Jung, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read

WELLFLEET —  A humpback whale that died after it stranded on grass beds of the Herring River was likely entangled in fishing gear, which led to its death, said Misty Niemeyer, the stranding coordinator at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

A necropsy was conducted Friday, which revealed that the whale had entanglement wounds around its tail. Although rescuers have yet to determine what type of fishing gear caused the incident, the hypothesis is based on many years of similar incidents.

“We don’t say that lightly, there’s very clear evidence that’s very consistent with what we’ve seen over many years of doing this work,” said Niemeyer.

The animal welfare agency received a call Tuesday evening about a humpback whale in shallow waters near the mouth of the Herring River in Wellfleet, said Communications Manager Stacey Hedman.

More: 'I was completely inside': Lobster diver swallowed by humpback whale off Provincetown

The whale later became stranded. It died overnight, according to information from residents, Hedman said.

A humpback whale carcass was loaded onto a truck Thursday at the Wellfleet town pier after the whale stranded and died at the mouth of the Herring River.
A humpback whale carcass was loaded onto a truck Thursday at the Wellfleet town pier after the whale stranded and died at the mouth of the Herring River.

Humpback whales frequent Cape Cod Bay and waters around Cape Cod.

Since 2016, humpback whales have died in numbers that researchers consider higher than normal along the Atlantic coastline. The deaths have led to the whales being considered part of an unusual mortality event that is ongoing. Since 2016, there have been 161 deaths, with the most — 34 deaths — in Massachusetts, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Either partial or full necropsies were done on half of the whale carcasses. Of the carcasses examined, about 50% had evidence of human interaction, where the whales had been struck by ships or become wrapped in fishing rope.

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A humpback whale, which became stranded and died this week, was taken to a fuel dock Thursday.
A humpback whale, which became stranded and died this week, was taken to a fuel dock Thursday.

Area also sees dolphin strandings

That area of the river, known as The Gut, is an area where dolphins tend to strand as well, Hedman said. The humpback whale was not a member of the juvenile humpbacks that were recently sighted in Plymouth.

The whale that died in Wellfleet was 24 feet long, which is indicative of a different age range than the juvenile humpbacks. The whale was emaciated, Hedman said.

A dead humpback whale was lifted onto a truck Thursday at a pier in Wellfleet after it stranded at the mouth of the Herring River.
A dead humpback whale was lifted onto a truck Thursday at a pier in Wellfleet after it stranded at the mouth of the Herring River.

The Wellfleet harbormaster’s office received a report Wednesday about the stranded whale, according to Assistant Harbormaster McKenzie Hartman. Officials went down to the Herring River along with the animal rescuers to remove it. However, they could not move it.

More: Minke whale caught in fishing gear rescued off the coast of Plymouth

They waited until high tide on Thursday around 11:30 am, and towed the whale carcass back to a fuel dock around 3:30 pm, where it was lifted onto a truck and taken to a transfer station.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Stranded, emaciated whale dies in Wellfleet at mouth of Herring River