Whale found dead off Tybee Island likely was hit by passing vessel, officials say

A young female North Atlantic right whale found dead this week off the Georgia coast suffered injuries that were likely the result of being hit by a passing vessel, federal officials said Friday.

Investigators found evidence of blunt-force trauma, including fractures of the skull.

“The injuries are consistent with a vessel strike prior to death,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency Fisheries division said Friday.

The year-old female, known as Pilgrim, was discovered Wednesday floating about 20 miles off the coast of Tybee Island.

An aerial survey team from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute searched and found the carcass, which had been “heavily scavenged” by sharks, NOAA reported.

On Thursday, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Sea Tow service brought the whale ashore to Tybee Island. The remains were buried Thursday evening following the examination.

In all, five North Atlantic right whales have been found dead, seriously injured or classified as missing since mid-December.

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The latest discovery came just days after a dead right whale was found off the Massachusetts coast, near Martha’s Vineyard.

The two deaths bring the total of North Atlantic right whale fatalities to 38 since 2017, a spate that prompted NOAA to declare an official "Unusual Mortality Event."

During the current birthing season, which runs from November through March, 17 calves have been observed, including the two that died and a third that was struck by a vessel and is believed to be seriously injured, NOAA said.

The announcement of the likely cause of death in the latest incident brought renewed criticism over the pace of the federal government’s deliberations of proposed expansions of vessel speed limits aimed at protecting right whales from being struck.

“It’s profoundly disturbing to see yet another North Atlantic right whale hit and killed by a vessel while we’re waiting for long-overdue federal protections,” said Catherine Kilduff, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Every death brings these beleaguered whales one big step closer to extinction, especially when we lose young females. We need immediate science-based action that slows vessels down.”

Opponents of the expanded rules say they will negatively impact Georgia’s ports and fishing industry.

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Any premature loss threatens the prospective recovery of right whales, which have been protected for a half-century under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The Atlantic teemed with as many as 21,000 right whales before their population was decimated by commercial whaling in the late 19th century, driving their numbers down to an estimated 100.

There are believed to be about 340 remaining, including fewer than 70 reproducing females.

Just a dozen calves were identified during the 2022-2023 season, but not all of them survived.

John Deem covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. He can be reached at jdeem@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Right whale killed off Georgia coast likely hit by vessel