5 large whales found entangled off the Maine coast in 2025

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2026

Five large whales were found entangled in heavy ocean ropes off the coast of Maine last year, but new federal data carries a vital silver lining for the state’s multimillion-dollar lobster fleet: not a single one was a North Atlantic right whale. Rescue teams and aerial surveyors documented three humpback whales, one fin whale, and one minke whale caught in ropes off Maine’s coast in 2025. The complete absence of right whales in Maine gear last year arrives at a high-stakes moment for coastal communities. North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered. Because the dwindling species teeters near extinction, federal regulators have spent years imposing strict rules on how Maine lobstermen set their gear.