Table 6. Confirmed human-caused mortality and serious injury records of Western North Atlantic fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), 2004 - 2008

Date^a	Report Type	Age, Sex, Length	Location^a	Assigned Cause: P=primary, S=secondary		Notes/Observations
Date^a	Report Type	Age, Sex, Length	Location^a	Ship strike	Entanglement/ Fishery interaction	Notes/Observations
2/12/2004	serious injury	age & sex unknown	Pea Island, NC		P	Emaciated; no gear recovered
2/25/2004	mortality	Adult Female 16.3m	Port Elizabeth, NJ	P		Displaced vertebrae; ruptured aorta
6/30/2004	mortality	age & sex unknown 12m (est)	Georges Bank		P	Freshly dead; heavy line constricting midsection; no gear recovered
9/26/2004	mortality	age & sex unknown 15m (est)	Saint John, NB	P		Fresh carcass on bow of ship
3/26/2005	mortality	Adult^b Female 16.3m	off Virginia Beach, VA	P		Extensive hemorrhaging and vertebral fractures
4/3/2005	mortality	Adult^b Female 18.8m	Southampton, NY	P		Subdermal hemorrhaging
8/23/2005	mortality	Juvenile^b Male 13.7m	Port Elizabeth, NJ	P		Fresh carcass on bow of ship; extensive hemmorhaging on right side of body
9/11/2005	mortality	Juvenile^b Male 11.0m	Bonne-Esperance, QC	P		Bottom jaw completely severed/broken
09/13/05^c	mortality	age & sex unknown	Blanc Sablon, NL	P		Lower jaw broken associated with massive areas of bruising
9/17/2006	serious injury	age & sex unknown 18m (est)	off Mt. Desert Rock, ME		P	Pale skin overall; cyamid load at point of attachment; emaciated; no gear recovered
3/25/2007	mortality	age unknown Female 18.0m	Norfolk, VA	P		Extensive fracturing of ribs, skull, and vertebrae w/ associated hemorrhage & edema
5/24/2007	mortality	age unknown Male	Newark Bay, NJ	P		Hemorrhage (epaxial muscle, diaphragm, pleural lining) and multiple fractures of the ribs, vertebrae, & sternum and the trailing tissue of the animal was marked by propeller cuts
6/25/2007	serious injury	age & sex unknown	Great South Channel		P	Wrap on tail assoc w/ cyamid load; flippers & mouth involved; extremely emaciated; lethargic; no gear recovered
8/11/2007	mortality	age & sex unknown	Cabot Strait, NS		P	Constricting wrap around body, between the head and flippers; no gear recovered
9/26/2007	mortality	Juvenile Male 13m (est)	off Martha’s Vineyard, MA		P	Freshly dead, scavenged carcass with gear present; evidence of multiple body wraps with associated hemorrhaging; no gear recovered
7/2/2008	mortality	age unknown Male 14.8m	Barnegat Inlet, NJ	P		Vertebral fractures with associated hemorrhaging; hemorrhaging around ball joint of right flipper

^aThe date sighted and location provided in the table are not necessarily when or where the serious injury or mortality occurred; rather, this information indicates when and where the whale was first reported beached, entangled, or injured.

^bThe gender and length were misreported in the 2006 Stock Assessment Report. This table shows the correct values.

^cAdditional record which was not included in previous reports.

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(File Modified Nov. 19 2010)