Severe mutilation of a baleen whale in a longline fishery off the Brazilian coast

The interaction between baleen whales and longline fisheries is poorly known worldwide and likely underestimated. This article presents one of the most severe scenarios of this interaction; an incident that resulted in the severe mutilation of the entire fluke of a whale and probably lead to its dea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Biodiversity Records
Main Authors: Pinheiro, Flavia C.F., Siciliano, Salvatore, de Moura, Jailson F., Tavares, Davi C.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2015
Subjects:
Aquatic Science
Ecology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
baleen whale
baleen whales
minke whale
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s175526721500041x
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S175526721500041X
Description
Summary:The interaction between baleen whales and longline fisheries is poorly known worldwide and likely underestimated. This article presents one of the most severe scenarios of this interaction; an incident that resulted in the severe mutilation of the entire fluke of a whale and probably lead to its death. Considering the characteristic of the fluke, we strongly suggest that the fluke belonged to a small balaenopterid, most likely a dwarf minke whale ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata ). The episode reported here seems to be the first in its nature involving a baleen whale entangled in longline fishing gear off the Brazilian coast, and so, it represents, at the very least, the need for further investigation into the magnitude of such interactions in the south-west Atlantic Ocean.

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