7th North Atlantic right whale found dead in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence

Another Atlantic right whale carcass has been found floating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence just north of Quebec’s Magdalen Islands.

It’s another blow to an endangered species that only has 500 of the blubbery mammals remaining.

READ MORE: Six right whales dead in Gulf of St. Lawrence

The discovery comes after six of the massive animals were found floating in the gulf. Necropsies determining that two suffered from injuries consistent with ship strikes and a third dying from an entanglement in fishing gear.

According to the Marine Animal Response Society, one of the six dead whales has now drifted close to shore on the Magdalen Islands. They’re waiting for word from Fisheries and Oceans Canada as to when another necropsy can begin.

READ MORE: Endangered North Atlantic right whale freed from fishing line

Three right whales were found dead in the southern gulf in 2015, although necropsies were not done on those animals, Kim Davies of Dalhousie University’s Department of Oceanography told the Canadian Press on Thursday.

There are no conservation management initiatives for right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence “because we’ve only known they’ve been there for three years,” Davies said.

— With files from the Canadian Press