Interagency Teams Partially Free Juvenile Right Whale 'Division' From Severe Entanglement Off Georgia

A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, identified as the juvenile male 'Division,' required a complex, multi-day rescue operation after being discovered severely entangled in fishing gear near St. Marys, Georgia. Federal and state wildlife researchers, including personnel from NOAA Fisheries and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), have expressed cautious optimism that the heavy lines, which caused deep lacerations on the whale's flipper and mouth area, may detach naturally during the animal's migratory period.

The whale, cataloged as No. 5217, was first documented with the restrictive gear on December 3, 2025, during aerial surveys conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and NOAA Fisheries, who regularly monitor the southeastern U.S. calving grounds. NOAA Fisheries classified the entanglement as highly complex, noting that lines were wrapped around the whale's head and mouth, with one cutting dangerously close to its blowhole, a situation that meets the criteria for a 'serious injury' case indicating potential mortality.

Interagency teams, spearheaded by the Georgia DNR and including specialists from the Center for Coastal Studies, executed intensive operations on December 3 and 4, 2025, utilizing vessels like the 26-foot rigid inflatable boat RV Timucua. During these efforts, which involved using specialized cutting tools on long carbon fiber poles, some commercial fishing line was successfully removed, and a telemetry buoy was affixed to the remaining gear to enable future tracking of Division's movements and condition.

The plight of 'Division' places him within the context of the ongoing North Atlantic right whale Unusual Mortality Event (UME), which the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) declared in 2017 and remains open. Division is documented as the 168th whale included in this UME, which encompasses documented cases of mortality, serious injury, and sublethal injury or illness since the event began. The UME has documented 151 cases as of January 10, 2025, representing more than 20 percent of the total population, a significant setback for the species' recovery, as research suggests only about one-third of actual deaths are documented.

Entanglement in fishing gear is consistently identified as a primary driver of this crisis, alongside vessel strikes, and remains the most critical threat to the species' survival. Studies indicate that over 85 percent of the North Atlantic right whale population has experienced entanglement at least once, with some individuals entangled multiple times. The energetic cost of dragging this gear is linked to stunting the whales' growth; for instance, whales born in recent years are, on average, about one meter shorter than those born in the early 1980s.

With the current population estimate for the start of 2024 placed at approximately 384 individuals by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, the loss of reproductive-age females is a particular concern, as their numbers are declining more rapidly than males. The waters off Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida serve as vital winter nursery grounds, with DNR teams conducting surveys from December through March to monitor for threats. While the 2023 population estimate of 372 showed a slight increase from the 2020 low of 358, scientists remain cautious, emphasizing that birth rates must significantly increase to ensure the species can rebound from the cumulative impact of human-caused mortality and injury.