A North Atlantic right whale was found dead 15 miles offshore from Myrtle Beach over the past weekend. The species is on the critical endangered list.
An estimate of only 366 right whales were alive as of January 2019. Right whale experts believe that the best estimate is now 356 as of March 2021.
Four months earlier, the now dead whale was seen entangled in fishing nets, according to the Associated Press.
This is the third right whale death recorded since the beginning of calving season in November.
The whale was an 11-year-old male that had been spotted entangled in October off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. It was seen then with a fishing line stuck in its mouth, the AP reports.