Whales killed by ships, fishing gear: ‘They died because of human activity’
CHARLOTTETOWN — Analysis of six endangered North Atlantic right whales found dead since June in the Gulf of St. Lawrence suggests four were struck by ships and one died caught in fishing gear, says a report released Thursday.
The sixth was too decomposed to be sure. Preliminary findings of a seventh carcass assessed after the others and not included in the report indicate it too was caught in snow crab fishing lines, said co-author Pierre-Yves Daoust of the Atlantic Veterinary College.
There was no evidence that various toxins may have played a major role in the deaths, he told a press conference in Charlottetown. They were among 12 right whales discovered lifeless since June 7 in Canadian waters, plus another three in the U.S.
“They died because of human activity,” Tonya Wimmer, director of the Marine Animal Response Society, said Thursday.