North Atlantic right whale calf found dead off Massachusetts coast

A North Atlantic right whale calf has been found dead off the coast of Massachusetts.

The female calf was found Monday near Edgartown, a town on Martha's Vineyard.

The cause of death is unknown.

Kim Elmslie, the campaign director for ocean conservation organization Oceana, said vessel strikes and entanglements are the two most common causes of whale deaths.

The calf's death comes just weeks after a right whale calf was spotted off the coast of South Carolina with serious injuries consistent with a vessel strike.

The injured whale was the calf of a 38-year-old right whale named Juno, and experts say it will not likely survive.

In total, Elmslie said three calves have been spotted with concerning injuries and it's unknown whether this latest casualty was a part of that figure.

North Atlantic right whale Juno and her calf were sighted off Cane Island, S.C., by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute on Nov. 28, 2023. (Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by United States Army Corps of Engineers. )

"This news is really heartbreaking and especially heartbreaking because we're starting and ending the month in the same way, with bad news about calves," she said.

Elmslie said ropeless fishing gear and speed limits for shipping vessels are some of the solutions to mitigating whale deaths.