11 Buoyant Facts About Humpback Whales
Whale carcass off Virginia was humpback
By Mary Ann BraggPosted Jun 24, 2018
Genetic tests conducted on a decomposed whale carcass reported May 31 on an island off the coast of Virginia have indicated the whale was a humpback, according to Jennifer Goebel, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The agency had tentatively identified the heavily decomposed carcass as a North Atlantic right whale based on photographs, but laboratory results from samples taken from the carcass indicated it was a humpback, Goebel said.
In 2016, NOAA Fisheries declared an unusual mortality event for humpback whales from Maine to Florida, and the deaths continue to remain elevated, according to the agency. There are an estimated 10,400 to 10,752 humpback whales in the northern Atlantic Ocean, including the U.S. Atlantic coast waters, according to NOAA. In 2016, the humpback whales along the Atlantic coast were removed from a listing under the Endangered Species Act but are still being monitored for 10 years.
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