NOAA and partners worked together off Sandy Hook, New Jersey yesterday to cut a length of rope entangling a juvenile humpback whale, giving the whale a second chance.
When there is a large die-off of marine mammals, experts from NOAA Fisheries and our partners try to identify the reasons for what's known as an Unusual Mortality Event, or UME. Unfortunately, in about half of UMEs, a cause is never determined.