Eighth dead North Atlantic right whale to be examined

MISCOU ISLAND, N.B. — Marine mammal experts began carving up the remains of another endangered North Atlantic right whale on Friday in a bid to determine what caused the death of the latest whale to be found floating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Matthew Hardy of the Fisheries Department said around 30 people were assisting in the necropsy — or animal autopsy — being conducted near a lighthouse on the northern tip of Miscou Island, N.B. The animal is the eighth North Atlantic right whale to have died in the Gulf over the last six weeks.

Hardy said the whale was first spotted Wednesday afternoon east of Shippigan, N.B., while another right whale was found entangled in fishing gear in the in the Gulf.