Entanglements of right whales, Eubalaena australis (Cetacea, Mysticeti), in the 2010 breeding season in Santa Catarina state, Brazil

• Main Authors: Mônica Pontalti, Mônica Danielski
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2011
• Subjects: Entanglements; Santa Catarina state; southern right whale; Science; Q; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Southern Right Whale
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/3fada88ade1043159c32d3149ed2b3f5

Right whales (Eubalaena australis) have been suffering with anthropogenic activities such as pollution, marine traffic and entanglement in fishing nets. The entanglement of right whales grows each breeding season on the southern coast of Santa Catarina state, and can cause strands and even death. During the 2010 breeding season, six entanglements among immature and adult whales were recorded. In most of the cases, the whales kept swimming slowly and didn’t want to approximate the whale watching boat. Fishing activities in the area during the right whale breeding season need to be regularized to avoid conflicts and injuries to the whales.