NOAA Report Shows Surge in Whale Entanglements in Fishing Gear Highlights Need to Advance Ropeless Gear
Press Release Date: September 24, 2025
Location: WASHINGTON
Contact:
Erin Vande Ven, Ashley Blacow | email: EVandeVen@oceana.org, ablacow@oceana.org | tel: 303.829.3877, 1.831.643.9220
Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report showing a steep increase in large whale entanglements in U.S. waters. According to the data, in 2024, 95 large whales were confirmed entangled compared to 64 in 2023, and well above the historical average of around 71 per year. Entanglements were sighted most frequently in waters off California, Massachusetts, Alaska, and Hawaii. Most cases involved threatened or endangered humpback whales, and critically endangered North Atlantic right whales were also impacted. This report comes on the heels of budget cuts to NOAA and threats to weaken the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) currently being discussed in Congress.
Entanglements in fishing gear using traps to catch lobster, crab, and other species continues to be one of the leading causes of whale deaths. Fishing ropes used to connect a trap on the seafloor to a buoy at the surface wrap around whales’ mouths, fins, tails, and bodies, which slow them down; make it difficult to swim, reproduce, and feed; and often cause death from infection, malnutrition, and drowning.
In response to the report, Senior Campaign Director Gib Brogan had the following reaction:
“The largest animals on the planet don’t stand a chance when there are too many fishing lines in times and places that are important to whales. These numbers represent more than dead whales, they showcase needless suffering. This report paints a clear picture: our current safeguards are not enough. With current threats to the MMPA and funding cuts to NOAA, the numbers could climb even higher next year. To give whales a fighting chance, Congress must defend NOAA and core laws like the MMPA and accelerate the transition to whale-safe fishing solutions like ropeless or pop-up fishing gear to prevent off-the-charts entanglements.”
California Campaign Director and Senior Scientist Geoff Shester had the following reaction:
“Fishery managers need to do more to provide whales with safe passage in U.S. waters. Despite efforts to shorten the California Dungeness crab season, too many humpback whales are being entangled because the season for using conventional traps is going on too long. Innovative pop-up fishing gear can restore fishing opportunities while allowing whales to safely migrate and feed. Experimental trials in the California Dungeness crab fishery — the largest and most successful of their kind — show that this gear design is profitable, reliable, and safe for whales. As fishers, gear manufacturers, and state wildlife officials embrace this innovation, we need the federal government to support fishers using pop-up gear and fully fund whale disentanglement teams and the National Marine Fisheries Service so that they can continue the important work of protecting threatened and endangered whales.
Oceana offers the following recommendations to protect large whales and other marine mammals while supporting a thriving fishing industry:
- Reducing the number of vertical lines in the water while advancing and authorizing alternative fishing gear, such as ropeless gear (also called pop-up gear).
- Maintaining a fully funded and staffed NOAA. We need more science, monitoring, and entanglement response teams – not less.
- Continuing to support the important work of the MMPA. This includes strong federal management that works with fishermen to reduce whale entanglements.
