BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 14, 2024
The whale that died and then washed up on the shore of Martha’s Vineyard on Jan. 28 was a three year-old female identified in the New England Aquarium North Atlantic right whale catalog as #5170. It is the first right whale known to have died after suffering injuries that officials say were inflicted by Maine commercial fishing gear. The death is noteworthy because of arguments and lawsuits filed back and forth between Maine lobstermen and environmentalists over the impact that the fishery has on the species, which has an estimated population of around 360 individual animals. Of that estimate, fewer than 70 are reproductively active females.