7th right whale found dead in Gulf of St. Lawrence

The carcass of a seventh North Atlantic right whale has been found off the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, reports Radio-Canada.

The Canadian Coast Guard discovered the dead whale nearHavre-Auberton Wednesday night.

Quebec's marine mammal research network, known by its French initials GREMM, confirmed to CBC'sFrench-language service that it was not previously aware of the carcass.

TonyaWimmer, with the Marine Animal Response Society, said the whale is a male, and it was badly decomposed. She also said it isn't clear yet what caused the whale's death, The Canadian Press reported.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans told CBC News in an emailthat it is investigating the whale carcass to determine if it is a new one or a carcass that has been previously identified.

Six other North Atlantic right whales, which are an endangered species,have beenfound dead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence since June.

Necropsies conducted on three of them found two suffered blunt impact injuries, likely from collisions with ships, and the other had a "chronic entanglement."

• Preliminary results of right whale necropsies released
• Right whale freed from fishing gear in Gulf of St. Lawrence north of P.E.I.

Scientists involved in the necropsies said other causes may be possible but could not be confirmed because of the advanced state of decomposition.

Factors such as parasites and biotoxins produced by algae bloom have also been put forward as possible causes of death.

Another of the first six dead whales has now reached the shore of Corfu Island in the Magdalen Islands and a further necropsy may be conducted.

With only 525 whales left in the species, the "unprecedented die-off" represents more than one per cent of the population, the Marine Animal Response Society said in response to the earlier deaths.

The organization says ships are dangerous to whales and either need to be rerouted away from the whales' feeding groundsor forced to slow down.

• 'Unprecedented event': 6 North Atlantic right whales found dead in June
• Right whales in trouble in gulf without change, says marine society