Nets Disable Minke Whales
Editor's Note-
Follow the link at the end to see the video
The minke whale was spotted off the coast of Quebec, Canada, with a huge scar around its throat thought to be caused by floating rope.
What's more, it fed in a way never before recorded for minke whales, probably in response to its injury.
The sighting is one of the first to detail the handicaps that can be caused to animals that become entangled.
Earth News reports the development as part of a series of articles highlighting the dangers fishing nets pose to marine animals.
Previously, we described how fishing nets are strangling dolphins to death in the Adriatic.
Now marine biologist Brian Kot of the University of California and colleagues working for the Mingan Island Cetacean Study non-profit research organisation have published details in Marine Mammal Science of a minke whale that has been badly scarred by fishing gear.
