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Illustration showing how right whales get entangled in fishing gear.

Illustration showing how right whales get entangled in fishing gear.
Illustration showing how right whales get entangled in fishing gear.
Illustration showing how right whales get entangled in fishing gear.
Illustration showing how right whales get entangled in fishing gear.
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Caracappa-Qubeck, Amy
Illustration showing how right whales get entangled in fishing gear.
Illustration
05/09/2008
Rightwhale.buoy.trap-2.jpg
News release caption:
Illustration of how North Atlantic right whales get entangled in fishing gear. Entangled whales can tow fishing gear for tens to hundreds of miles over months or even years, before either being freed, shedding the gear on their own, or succumbing to their injuries.
Image Of the Day caption:
Entanglement in fishing gear is the leading cause of death for endangered North Atlantic right whales. When whales become tangled in fishing gear, such as buoys, and lobster and crab traps, they can tow it around for hundreds of miles over months and sometimes even years. WHOI researchers recently quantified the amount of drag these impediments create on entangled whales pulling the added weight through the water. The new research provides important data for teams evaluating the benefits against the risks of disentanglementto both the whales and the people trained to free them.
Illustration by Amy Caracappa-Qubeck
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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