ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 5, 2024
The first confirmed baby right whale of the year has been found dead from a collision with a ship, a devastating blow for the vanishing species. North Atlantic right whales number less than 360 and they are vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. Federal authorities were notified of a dead right whale stranded off Georgia on Sunday. Right whales migrate from their calving grounds off Florida and Georgia to feeding grounds off New England and Canada. The federal government has been working on new ship speed rules designed to protect the whales from injuries and deaths.