'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
CTV
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Mackie Greene and his team are waiting for Shelagh to reappear – an entangled North Atlantic right whale recently spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
It can be the longest part of their job, but they have to be ready at a moment’s notice to head out if someone spots Shelagh. Once that happens, Greene and his partners will depart from coast – likely in Shippagan, N.B. – in a Zodiac boat to find and help the elusive creature.
Their target is an adult female right whale which was seen with what seemed to be fishing gear stuck in its mouth on Friday. Greene is the director of the Campobello Whale Rescue Program and he’s helped untangle more than 40 whales in the last 20 years.
“We were notified as soon as it was seen,” Greene said. “We’re on standby. As soon as it’s seen again, we’re in small Zodiac boats. We have the gear all ready. As soon as we get that call, we’ll travel to the nearest port and launch and go out.
“Finding the whale is always the hardest part. It’s a big ocean out there. Often they’re spotted by planes. We hope Fisheries and Oceans Canada can get out to the whale and attach a satellite tag to the whale so we can track it.”
Shelagh is the first North Atlantic right whale spotted in Canadian waters for the 2024 season. The population is in a precarious position as Oceana Canada, an environmental organization, says it believes three calves have already died this season.
“We’re in an unusual mortality event that started in 2017 when you started seeing a steep decline of right whales,” said Kim Elmslie, campaign director with Oceana Canada. “It’s starting to level off. We need to protect the females.
