Female right whale dead from blunt trauma, NOAA says

April 4 (UPI) -- Marine fisheries experts say necropsy results reveal the recent death of a right whale in the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia coast are consistent with "blunt force from trauma from a vessel strike prior to death," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.

The whale, known as #1950, was found to have catastrophic fatal injuries, including a dislocation of the whale's spine and fractures to all vertebrae in the lower back.

NOAA declared an Unusual Mortality Event for North Atlantic right whales in 2017. The mammals are endangered and approaching extinction, NOAA said.

The UME includes 125 right whales (40 dead, 34 seriously injured and 51 minimally injured or ill). The primary causes of the UME are entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes in both U.S. and Canadian waters, which are long-standing threats to the recovery of the species.

"The necropsy results may say another 'boat strike,' but at this point, it's the Biden administration's continued, unnecessary delays of critical protections that are responsible for this and other recent North Atlantic right whale deaths," said Gib Brogan, campaign director at Oceana in the United States.

Marine experts have called on the Biden administration to create "speed limit zones" near pods of the animals, and implement other rules.

"Without the updated vessel speed rule, moms and calves are at greater risk during calving season because they spend more time at the water's surface and are more prone to boat strike," Brogan continued.

Human impacts continue to threaten the survival of this species, NOAA said. Vessel strikes are one of the leading causes of the ongoing UME.

The loss of a reproductive female like #1950 is particularly damaging to the population, and this whale had a young, dependent calf. The calf has not been seen since it was last spotted with its mother on Feb. 16 off Amelia Island, Fla.

"We do not expect the calf to survive without protection and nursing from its mother," NOAA said.

"Both the mom and calf represented the future of this species, both tragedies were preventable, both are a huge loss to a species on the brink of extinction, and both deaths are on the hands of U.S. government leaders delaying needed protections," Brogan said.

Earlier in March, the calf of Juno, also known as #1612, washed ashore on Cumberland Island National Seashore on March 3.