Officials say search for entangled whale continues in Nova Scotia

Researchers estimate there are about 400 right whales left worldwide. (Pixabay file photo)

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says a whale rescue team removed some rope from an entangled North Atlantic right whale that is moving towards Nova Scotia.

The department says the Whale Release and Strandings, a non-profit organization from Newfoundland and Labrador, has been working since Wednesday to disentangle right whale number 3125.

On Thursday the team cut a line of rope off the whale, but the animal remains entangled.

The department says the whale is moving into waters east of Nova Scotia and the rescue team is determining the best course of action.

The whale was first spotted on July 4 with rope wrapped around it by Transport Canada just east of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec.

Philip Hamilton, a researcher at the New England Aquarium, says the animal is in a challenging entanglement and will be difficult to free.

Researchers estimate there are about 400 right whales left worldwide.

Eight right whales died in Canadian waters in 2019.