This story appears in the October 2019 issue of National Geographic magazine.
When North Atlantic right whales migrate along North America’s eastern seaboard, they run a gantlet of fishing lines in their path. Today 83 percent of the population shows signs of entanglement, a leading cause of death for this endangered species. Fishing for crab and lobster involves placing traps (also called pots) on the ocean floor and marking the spot with a surface buoy that’s connected to the traps with a sturdy line. But the lines routinely harm whales; they cut into flesh and impede the whales’ diving, surfacing for air, and feeding. To CT Harry of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, a remedy seems clear: “Fishing without vertical lines is what’s going to save this species.”
