A North Atlantic right whale named Division was found dead in US waters this week, entangled in fishing gear. According to the Canadian Whale Institute, it is the first entanglement death in 2026.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Friday that an aerial survey team spotted a whale carcass floating approximately 25 miles off the coast of Avon, NC, on January 27.

Scientists from the New England Aquarium confirmed that it was Division, a four-year-old male.

According to the release, fishing line was wrapped around the whale’s head and mouth, which cut into its blow hole and upper jaw.

North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, with scientists saying there are fewer than 400 left. Entanglement and collisions with vessels in US and Canadian waters are the leading causes of death, according to NOAA.

Division was first spotted entangled more than a month earlier, on December 3, and scientists noted that the prolonged entanglement had harmed the whale’s overall health.

Wildlife teams managed to remove some of the fishing gear in December, but bad weather and the Division’s distance from the coast prevented them from completely disentangling it. He was last seen alive on January 21.

Division is the first detected right whale death in the North Atlantic since May 2024, the New England Aquarium said in a statement Saturday.

Due to the location of the department and dangerous weather conditions, it will not be possible to retrieve the carcass or execute autopsies, NOAA said. But federal authorities will analyze fishing gear removed from the whale.

Division has had three previous documented entanglements over the years, according to the New England Aquarium.

North Atlantic right whales are known to travel to Atlantic Canadian waters to feed. The division was often seen in the Bay of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick, where the species has gradually migrated as ocean temperatures have warmed, the aquarium said.

MORE BEST STORIES