Federal authorities say a rare whale found dead off Massachusetts earlier this year died as a result of entanglement in Maine lobster fishing gear. The North Atlantic right whale was found dead off Martha’s Vineyard in January. The whales are declining in population and are at the center of efforts to more tightly regulate shipping and commercial fishing off the East Coast. Officials announced Wednesday that a necropsy determined that the whale died from “chronic entanglement” in rope that's consistent with the kind used in Maine’s lobster fishery. The whales now number less than 360. Environmental activists said the whale's death is evidence that tighter restrictions are overdue.
