NOAA researchers searching for two missing whale tags along Mass. coast

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had 39 right whale sightings March 10.NOAA

Researchers are asking for the public’s help to find a pair of missing research tags used to track and study large whales.

The tags could wash up “anywhere” along the Massachusetts coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary tweeted Wednesday.

The tags — bright orange, approximately 6 inches long, with suction cups on the underside and an antenna sticking out the top — are used to track endangered North Atlantic right whales, which occasionally congregate along the state’s shoreline. Fewer than 350 right whales remain in the wild, researchers estimate.

According to a video by the NOAA, the tags can contain cameras, hydrophones, and additional sensors. Researchers attach them to whales via a suction cup, which eventually falls off to be retrieved.

Last month, the Cape Cod Canal closed for more than five hours to allow a mother and her calf to pass through. At the time, nearly 80 right whales had gathered in Cape Cod Bay.

Fewer than 70 breeding females remain, researchers estimate. The whales have faced unusually high mortality rates — outpacing births — since 2017, often being struck by vessels or tangled in fishing lines.

Cape Cod Bay is a nursery for young whales, with consistently high amounts of food. Experts say the Massachusetts coast sees some of the highest concentrations of right whales in the world.

Anyone who finds a tag is asked to email [e-mail] or use the contact information written on the unit.