National Report on Large Whale Entanglements Confirmed in the United States in 2019

There were 75 confirmed cases of large whale entanglement nationally. This was near the 12-year average (73.6 + 22.8), but the number of confirmed entanglements was fewer than confirmed large whale entanglements in 2018. Some of the entanglements involved North Atlantic right whales on the East Coast; the threat of entanglements is impeding recovery of this endangered species approaching extinction. The U.S. Large Whale Entanglement Response Network was able to respond to 17 of the 67 cases that involved live whales that were entangled. They successfully removed entangling gear from 13 whales, increasing their chances of survival.