Wild Marine Mammal Entanglement Welfare

The welfare crisis of marine mammal entanglement in fishing gear, covering suffering caused, rescue operations, and systemic changes needed to reduce entanglement rates.

Key Facts

An estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die annually from fishing gear entanglement globally
North Atlantic right whales face extinction risk partly from entanglement — fewer than 360 individuals remain
Entangled whales can drag fishing gear for months, causing severe lacerations, starvation, and exhaustion before death
Disentanglement operations by trained teams can save individual whales but are dangerous and not always successful
Ropeless fishing technology eliminates vertical lines between seafloor traps and the surface — the primary entanglement risk
Ghost gear — abandoned or lost fishing equipment — continues fishing for decades after loss
Sea turtles are also significantly affected by entanglement — TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices) reduce bycatch in shrimp trawls
Blue whale entanglement has been documented — even the world's largest animals are not exempt from this welfare crisis

Welfare Considerations

Marine mammal entanglement represents one of the most severe individual animal welfare harms occurring at massive scale in human fishing operations. Entangled whales experience a form of prolonged, inescapable distress: ropes constrict around flippers, through the mouth, or around the body, causing deep lacerations that become infected, restrict feeding ability causing starvation, and add drag that exhausts swimming capacity over days to months. The North Atlantic right whale provides the most documented example of entanglement suffering: researchers have documented individual whales carrying entangled gear for months, progressively weakening, developing deep wounds from rope abrasion, and ultimately dying from a combination of starvation, infection, and exhaustion. This is a profound and preventable welfare harm: ropeless fishing technology exists and can eliminate the vertical lines responsible for most large whale entanglement, but its adoption requires regulatory mandate and industry investment. Ghost gear — fishing equipment that continues to entangle and kill long after loss — represents a separate chronic welfare problem requiring expanded gear tracking, retrieval programs, and biodegradable materials standards.

What You Can Do

Support ropeless fishing technology adoption through organizations like Center for Coastal Studies and World Animal Protection
Advocate for mandatory ropeless gear requirements in fishing zones with endangered whale populations
Participate in or donate to Ghost Gear Initiative programs removing abandoned fishing gear from the ocean
Choose seafood certified by schemes requiring bycatch monitoring and gear modification for marine mammal protection
Support NOAA and equivalent national fisheries agencies in their marine mammal entanglement research and regulatory work
Learn about the North Atlantic right whale crisis and advocate for the urgent regulatory changes needed to prevent their extinction