VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An endangered female North Atlantic right whale was found dead about 50 miles offshore from Back Bay Wildlife Refuge, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA said in a release that on the morning of March 30, a company conducting Mid-Atlantic whale surveys for the Navy notified NOAA Fisheries of a dead North Atlantic right whale.
The whale was identified as female #1950. NOAA says she was a mom from the 2024 calving season.
Her calf was not seen near her carcass, according to NOAA.
Outer Banks
What we know about 2 dead whales in Virginia Beach, 1 in Corolla
NOAA Fisheries and their partners towed the whale to shore for a necropsy, and say the carcass was scavenged by sharks, along with added logistical towing challenges of wind, weather and distance from shore.
The death of this right whale makes the 40th mortality in the ongoing Unusual Mortality Event (UME) impacting the species.
“It’s absolutely concerning and it’s absolutely not normal. And it’s been not normal for quite a while now," said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, the senior biologist and the executive director for the North American Office of Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
Since 2016, NOAA Fisheries have been investigating a series of unusual whale deaths in the North Atlantic.
“They look on what the average is in a particular area for a particular species. And if it’s above average they declare something called an unusual mortality event,” Asmutis-Silvia told News 3.
NOAA researchers say they're seeing a spike in deaths from Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, and North Atlantic Right Whales.
“The vast majority of humpbacks have either been entanglements or vessel strikes. A huge percentage of them have been vessel strikes. For North Atlantic right whales the majority have been entanglements also," she said.
Even though populations of species like North Atlantic Right Whales are falling across the globe, Asmutis-Silvia says we are seeing more in our Mid-Atlantic region.
“With those shifts in habitat, the shifts in prey availability, these are increasingly used habitats for whales,” she said.
The whale's calf is now also considered a seriously injured dependent calf in the UME due to it's mother's death, according to NOAA.
Virginia Beach
2 dead whales found in Virginia Beach had entanglement scars
This whale death marks the fifth whale to be found on the Virginia and North Carolina coasts in a little over a month. Even though people online have thrown out many reasons as to why this is happening, many are pointing the finger right back at us.
“There’s absolutely no question that human impacts are the driving source for probably all of the unusual mortality’s and potentially for even some of the infectious disease that we are seeing out there," Asmutis-Silvia said.
The Virginia Aquarium is assisting in the necropsy along with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and we have reached out to them for comment.
Stay with News 3 for updates.
